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I-612 Waiver Approval and Success Story

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I-612 Waiver Approval Notice (Filed on 1/2/2018, Approved on 2/4/2019)




  • Date Filed: 1/2/2018
  • Date Approved: 2/4/2019

The Ranchod Law Group was able to get the case approved even though there was Government Financing1.

The Facts About this Approval

  • Applicant has two U.S. citizen children from a relationship he had while in the U.S.
  • Is now married to a U.S. citizen
  • He is the stepfather of his wife’s children from her prior marriage.

The Ranchod Law Group argued numerous factors in this case which would contribute to a finding of exceptional hardship whether:

  • applicant returned to his home country on his own for two years;
  • his qualifying relatives (wife and two children) tried to relocate for the two-year period.

Applicant’s wife has received therapy in the past which we argued is relevant in both scenarios

We maintained:

  • If waiver were denied, Applicant would not be able to see his children from his prior relationship.
  • If his wife relocated, she wouldn’t be able to see her own children.
  • If waiver was denied, the wife and children would all lose their health coverage which is provided by Applicant’s employment.
  • Applicant’s wife is a student, unemployed, and completely financially dependent on Applicant, a role he could not fulfill from abroad.
  • Applicant couldn’t meet his child support payments from abroad.

approvals are currently taking around 17.5 months

We were pleased with the comparably quick turnaround.

(1) – The participation in an exchange program financed by an agency of the United States Government or the government of the country of citizenship or nationality or last foreign residence, for the purpose of promoting international education and cultural exchange.Click here to return to the note.

Latest I-601 waivers processing times And an important H1B update

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Hi it’s Kaushik Ranchod here from The Ranchod Law Group with Brian and we are here with our weekly immigration show giving you the latest updates.Today we’re going to be talking about an important H1-B Visa update, I-601 “>I-601 Waivers processing times, and other timing issues.We recently got this question:

How long is it currently taking for the I-601 waiver?

that is currently taking eleven to fourteen and a half months.

The I-601A Waiver

  • where you have a spouse that is a United States citizen or permanent resident
  • you may have entered without inspection
  • you have a parent that’s a United States citizen or permanent resident

In this situation the processing times are currently six and a half to eight and a half months, so the times have been slowing down – we’ve been noticing a slowdown with the Trump administration and I don’t expect it to speed up. I expect only to slow down.

Moving on to a very important update the H1-B system has been flipped on its head. We have H1-B as a work visa where if your employer sponsors you and it’s in a specialty occupation (very common types of those are software engineers or a physician or an architect or a teacher) then you could be eligible for an H1-B Visa. There’s also other types of visa as well. I’m going to tell you about this very important H1-B update that has happened in a second and if you have any questions give us a call (916) 613-3553 or put your comment below. So, the H1-B update is that now master’s degrees will be a given priority over bachelor’s degrees in the quota. So typically before, with the H1-B Visa, there were 60,000 H1-B Visas available for bachelors and 20,000 for masters. Now that’s been flipped and masters are going to be given the majority and bachelors will be taken given a second smaller spot of that 20,000 quota. Master’s must be from United States University.So what do we have next brain? For other questions we’ve been getting this is a different topic but clients ask:

When should I apply for work authorization

So you can apply for a work authorization depending on what type of application you are considering – so for instance if you’re applying for a marriage-based green card you can apply for the work authorization at the same time as well as the travel document. Typically we’re seeing that take around five to six months for clients to get that approval and that’s why your application is pending: see a lot of times people are wondering they have to wait until the end of the process – no! This gives you an opportunity to work while your application is pending.

Then the other question that we’re getting as well is:

Should I apply for the marriage-based green card immediately? Should I wait?

As soon as you get married you can go ahead and apply for the marriage-based green card there’s no need to wait at all. USCIS will look at how long you’ve been married and evidence of your relationship so it’s important to note that those are things that are going to be reviewed and what they’re looking for us to see if you have a real relationship that can be evaluated in a variety of different ways.

Alright well we want to thank you for joining us today live, we will see you next week, so post your questions below give us a call at 916-613-3553 if you have questions. Thank you and have an awesome day

Related Information on H-1b Visas, Green Cards, and I-601Waivers

Government Shutdown and Border Protection

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The government shut down has temporarily been suspended – if the government shut down goes back into a fact we expect the following to occur…

The government has been shut down since December 22, 2018 due to Congress not being able to agree on a budget. The Senate passed a budget which did not include funding for a border wall and President Trump declared that he would not sign any budget bill which failed to fund a border wall. Therefore, Congress and the President are at a stalemate, unable to agree on a budget.

This has not been the only time that the Federal Government has shut down under the Donald Trump presidency. It was previously closed from January 20-22 and on February 9th. The longest time that the Federal Government was shut down was during a clash between President Clinton and the Republican Party for a total of 21 days from December 1995 to January 1996.

How does government shutdown affect USCIS?

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and USCIS will remain open

The following immigration programs will be shut down:

Most immigration courts are closed except in urgent deportation cases. If a case is scheduled for a deportation hearing it will be postponed

Where does USCIS gets its funding?

USCIS is funded primarily by immigration and naturalization benefit fees charged to applicants and petitioners.

Fees collected from individuals or organizations filing immigration benefit requests are deposited into the Immigration Examinations Fee Account (IEFA).
USCIS uses fee funding to process applications, petitions, and requests related to immigration.

These include but are not limited to:

  • Family-based petitions for close relatives of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents;
  • Employment-based petitions for current and prospective employees to work in the United States, either on a temporary or permanent basis;
  • Naturalization applications filed by those who wish to become U.S. citizens.

The Immigration Examinations Fee Account also covers the USCIS refugee and asylee programs, because the Federal Government doesn’t collect fees for aliens who seek refuge or asylum, despite evidence of egregious abuse in both programs.

What are the funds used for?

Besides the programs already mentioned a very small percentage goes to cover other very important programs such as:

  • International affairs program: conducts investigations background checks and FBI fingerprint checks;
  • information and records management;
  • legal proceedings: attorneys to represent the ins in asylum naturalization and other cases;
  • inspection personnel at the ports-of-entry;
  • investigations a program: focused on the detection and deterrence of fraud and to protect the integrity of benefits and documents;
  • intelligence programs: provides strategic intelligence supports INS offices and other Federal agencies in addressing national security issues;
  • Training for all the above-mentioned programs.

How will the wall be funded?

President Trump is demanding that Congress give him $5 billion on fund border wall.

Consideration is given to using the $1 billion-plus surplus sitting in the USCIS Immigration Examinations Fee Account (IEFA) account.

In Conclusion

President Trump is not willing to end the Federal Government government shutdown until a favorable agreement can be reached that will give him the finances that he is asking for to cover funding for a border wall. The Federal Government shut down will not slow down the processing of your petition because USCIS is fee funded. Consideration is being given to using a percentage of those fees for border security.

Other relevant information about the Federal Government Shut Down

I-601A waiver for Mexican national – Health Insurance, Psychological and Medical Conditions

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I-601A Waiver Approval Document for Mexican national




Our office is proud of our track record in helping our clients keep their families together through the I-601A Waiver process – including our latest success story – approval in 3 months!

Our client is the husband of a U.S. citizen and father to two U.S. citizen children.

Working with The Ranchod Law Group, we were able to identify numerous exceptional hardships to USCIS to help win the Waivers.

A deep dive into the citizen spouse’s medical history revealed a rare condition and our office researched Mexico’s medical system to show that this condition would not be covered by foreign health insurance.
The citizen spouse, also known as the qualifying relative:

  • has good employment;
  • has a significant student loan debt;
  • depends on our client’s joint income to repay this debt.

Among other hardships, we further highlighted the citizen spouse’s psychological impacts of not just being separated from our client, but also raising 2 children in the U.S. as a single mother.

Because of our dedicated team of attorneys and professionals, we were able to show enough evidence of extreme hardships to secure a successful outcome in under three and a half months, at a time when immigration is averaging five to seven months for these waivers!

Call our office at (916) 613-3553 or fill in the form if you have questions regarding your case.

A Detailed list of other information on I-601A Waivers

The Foundation of Everything: Health and Fitness

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While the recent political climate can be challenging, I look to the silver linings and focus on maintaining habits that keep me healthy, both mentally and physically. I practice daily gratitude, and it reminds me that there is so much to be grateful for! Most mornings, I wake up and make a mental note of a few of the things I appreciate. I also write down what I’m thankful for because journaling helps me process my thoughts more thoroughly.

Another habit that has a big influence on the way I feel is engaging in consistent exercise.

Health and fitness are the foundations of everything, so I make them a priority

I’m taking a yoga class called radiant yoga, which isn’t as hot as Bikram but still gets my blood flowing, and I also do a power flow. It’s tough! I usually attend these classes on the weekends. During the week, I do a workout similar to CrossFit. It features circuit training with rounds of lifting, pushups, burpees, and other exercises. It definitely makes me sweat!

Finding my exercise routine has been a journey in and of itself. Last year, I started a challenge where I aimed to lose 20 pounds in six weeks. I was making great progress with it, but during the fifth week, I broke my foot. It took me three months to recover from the injury. As I started getting back into my exercise routine once my foot was healed, I was reminded how hard it is to get your momentum back after months away. It’s been tough, but I know how much better I feel when I make time for exercise.

I’m aiming to do some type of physical activity six days a week, and so far, it’s going well!

Being outdoors is also a big source of joy in my life, and I often combine that desire with fitness. I love hiking, and in addition to doing a lot of that this year, I’m giving skiing a try! I bought a pair of skis, and we’re making some trips to Tahoe to hit the slopes. I took lessons a couple years ago on the bunny hill, and I’m ready to get back out there!

True to his name, Happy has been bringing much mirth to our lives. He’s becoming more well-behaved thanks to the assistance of a trainer who comes to our home to see how we can best support his growth and learning. The trainer observes his habits and shows us how we can effectively encourage him. As we get to know Happy, he’s getting to know us, and we keep in mind that raising a rescue pet comes with additional effort. But we are more than willing to put in the time for him.

Even with the best habits, I know it can be challenging to see the bright side sometimes. Every day, I work with families who face obstacles as the administration makes it more difficult for them to get through the immigration process by issuing more requests for evidence. Despite these barriers, we are still getting our clients’ cases approved, and at the end of the day, we hold our heads up high, knowing we work hard to find resolutions for them. We’re still getting good results for our clients, despite the challenges we face. Because our team knows that we are overwhelmingly successful, it builds confidence.

You can read about some of the triumphant outcomes we’ve obtained for our clients inside the newsletter. I hope it reminds you that even when the situation seems impossible, there is always hope.

Applying for a U Visa and Travelling With a U Visa

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Hi this is Kaushik Ranchod and Brian from The Ranchod Law Group with offices in Sacramento and Stockton.

Today we’re going to be talking about the latest updates with the government shutdown how that affects your filings and the U Visas and travel.

First of all this is the longest shutdown that we’ve had in history – 28 days and counting. We have no idea when it will end. So how does this affect you? Well as we mentioned earlier USCIS is self-funded so if you’re filing an application with USCIS in most cases it shouldn’t affect you with the Department of State ( Department of State Department of State (DOS) ) and in most cases with filings at the United States embassy it shouldn’t be issue. However, there could be some exceptions to issues with the Department of State ( Department of State Department of State (DOS) ) .

Now if you’re in immigration court the government shutdown is creating a huge backlog with cases that are in immigration court and if you do have a case where you are in Deportation proceedings you should check with the court and with your attorney on what is going on with your hearings because many hearings are being cancelled.

We just talked about the government shutdown now we’re going to talk about U visas and traveling.

So Brian what kind of questions have we been getting?

One of the main questions I hear from people that are applying for the U Visa, or they’re not even applying,

Is it possible to travel while you’re in the process of getting a U Visa approved?

So I recommend that you don’t travel.

One reason is that if you travel you may not be able to come back in because of unlawful presence , so I don’t recommend that you do travel while your application is pending. Even if your application is approved, I also don’t recommend that you travel because again that unlawful presence.

Another reason is you need to get a visa from the United States Embassy.

For a U Visa applicant when will they be able to travel, when is it recommended for them to travel outside the United States ?
So when you’re applying for the green card you can apply for advance parole and once you apply for advance parole while your green card application is pending, you could apply for that at that time but the safest approach is just to wait until you get your green card through the visa.

Once you obtain that permission to leave the United States there is no guarantee that they will still allow back in right? Even if USCIS allows you to travel outside the United States CBP has to review and admit you – is there any kind of guarantee?

Yes so you could like even if you get an advance parole document to allow you to leave, people may think oh well I can travel and I’ll be able to come back in to the United States but if you’re subject to unlawful presence when you come back in they may not allow you to come back in just because you’ve been given the advanced parole document: it can be deceiving – even if you get the advanced parole document, it may lead you to think you can travel when in fact you may be able to travel outside but you may not be able to travel back inside.

Is this something that could happen to any green card holder? For example, can any green card holder be held at the border when they try to re-enter?

So for green card holders and every case is unique that situation is a little bit different it depends upon whether or not you have been to be admissible to the United States when you enter as a green card holder so as long as you haven’t shown that you’ve committed any crimes if you have you should consult with an immigration lawyer…

Related Information on U Visas

I-601A Waiver for National from Guatemala

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I-601A waiver Approval Document for Mexican national

I-601A Waivers Approval Document for national from Guatemala



Here at The Ranchod Law Group, we take great care to ensure that we put forth the very best case possible we can prepare for each and every one of our clients. This is evident by our high approval rating for I-601a waivers.

Recent Success Story for a Guatemalan national

A recent I-601a success story can be found with a Guatemalan national who is married to a United States citizen, and who has two U.S. citizen children.

By employing our Hardship Matrix, we were able to prepare a strong case for this family.

  • Our client is the main provider for his family, and his absence would have caused certain financial trouble and exceptional hardship for his wife and children.
  • His wife, the qualifying relative, has medical bills due to ongoing medical issues.
  • Additionally, an evaluation of his wife’s mental health revealed that she suffered from depression and psychosomatic symptoms—largely stemming from our client’s lack of status1 in the United States.

We worked closely with this family to gather compelling evidence to demonstrate exactly why our client’s absence from his family would result in exceptional hardship. Our Legal Team worked to ensure the client’s case was filed with no stone unturned. Our hard work and dedication resulted in an approval for this client, and they are one step closer to their green card!

If you would like to find out more about extreme hardship waivers, and if you would qualify, please contact our office today at (916) 613-3553.

definition of “lack of status”:
Lack of status refers to persons who:

  1. Have overstayed a visa for work, visit or study.
  2. Have worked or studied in the United States without authorization
  3. Have entered the United States without a valid passport or travel document

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A Detailed list of other information on I-601A Waivers

About the Government Shutdown and Filing I-601A Waivers

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Hi this is Kaushik Ranchod from The Ranchod Law Group here with Brian and today we are going to talk about hot topics:

  • The government government shutdown
  • How to prepare an I-601A waiver

So we have been getting a lot of calls about how this government government shutdown is going to affect or is it going to affect filings with the USCIS. So great news, the United States CIS and the department of state are funded with filing fees. So since they are self-funded the government government shutdown does not affect your filings with the USCIS or your United States embassy interviews.Alright now onto our next topic we recently received an I-601 “>I-601 A Waiver.So I wanted to share with you how to file an I-601A waiver it’s really important to demonstrate that there is exceptional hardship to the United States citizen it’s not enough to just show that there is going to be separation. Now you might be thinking, well being separated from my children, from my spouse that’s exceptional hardship to me, but unfortunately what the law states is that mere separation is not enough, but how we build the case is by looking at what the hardship factors would be to your United States citizen spouse.We file many spousal cases, it could also be to your United States citizen parent as well. So for instance in the case that we just got approved they had a United States citizen spouse, United States citizen husband, and they also have two children and what we talked about is:

We were able to do that through extensive documentation, providing economic surveys for instance, and we also like to explain this in detail through a legal brief, which is really important in demonstrating the exceptional hardship.With the health issues it’s really important that you document with actual evidence. You want to make sure you have, for instance, medical records because you can’t just make it up and say “Oh I have issues with my heart” they want to see an actual medical record.Alright, so moving on to the next type of hardship, you could also look at for instance psychological hardship. I mentioned mere separation is not enough however for instance:

  • if you have a history of depression then looking at the psychological evaluation;
  • having a psychological evaluation done, looking at the history of therapy that you might have had and providing that documentation as well demonstrating how that depression could be affected by the separation of you and your spouse.

You also want to document the country condition.How we do that is by providing extensive documentation and research on the country conditions with statistics from a reputable organisation. We also like to refer to what the department of state has put out as well. Additionally we like to look at career disruption and also financial aspects as well because in that situation we are able to show that perhaps you wouldn’t be able to get the same career if you had to go to your spouse’s home country or you would face adverse financial conditions and we back this up with economic surveys and other forms of documentation as well.Alright, we just got a question(I believe it’s Maleek from Los Angeles asking us):

What do I do if I’ve received a denial?

We like to see what the reason of the denial was: was it because the case wasn’t prepared well? We see that a lot of times happening in the situation with a notario or immigration attorneys who just didn’t do a good job if the case wan’t prepared thoroughly then it may warrant re-filing or if there’s some kind of new factor or something that happened in your life that has changed since the filing, then it may warrant a new filing as well. So it is very case specific and we need to look at the individual factors, so in these situations what I would advise is to call us for a consultation because we need to look at all of the factors to determine wether or not it makes sense to re-file or to take it a step further as well or to just not do anything.

We are going to call a wrap for today, so we’ll see you next week again. You can ask your questions and we do respond throughout the week – thank you and have an awesome day!

Related Information on I-601A hardship waiver cases and success stories