Sherman Oaks Immigration Waivers Attorney

Using Waivers of Admissibility to Assist Clients with Immigration

If your goal is to permanently live and work in the United States, discovering you are inadmissible can be a devastating blow. You may feel you did everything right, to the best of your ability, but either some event in your past or even some factor beyond your control rendered you ineligible in the eyes of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

The good news is inadmissibility does not have to be the end of your immigration journey. Waivers of inadmissibility exist precisely to help immigrants find paths to lawful permanent residency and even citizenship. Our Sherman Oaks immigration waivers lawyer can assess the circumstances of your inadmissibility and help you strategize on what waivers you may be eligible for.

Request a free consultation to see how we may be able to help overcome your grounds of inadmissibility. Call (818) 600-6322 or contact us online today!

Types of Inadmissibility

Not all types of inadmissibility are created or treated equally. Some factors cannot be overcome via waivers, so it is important to understand what can contribute to inadmissibility.

Grounds for inadmissibility include:

• Health Conditions – those diagnosed with certain contagious diseases, those who refuse critical vaccinations, and those with physical or mental conditions that produce harmful behaviors
• Criminal Behavior – those convicted of violent crimes, crimes of “moral turpitude,” prostitution or commercialized vice, crimes involving controlled substances, or crimes in which immunity has been granted; more than two summary convictions can also trigger inadmissibility
• Security Concerns – those who are determined to be terrorists, spies, or members of totalitarian organizations, such as Nazism; also includes those who have at some point somehow aided, funded, or otherwise associated with a terrorist group
• Public Charge Concerns – those who, based on their present financial and physical circumstances, are determined likely to become dependent on government benefit programs
• Fraudulent Behavior – those who willfully misrepresent any element of their immigration documents or information on applications submitted to USCIS
• History of Prior Removals and/or Unlawful Presence – those who have been deported or illegally entered the country after accruing a certain duration of unlawful presence
• Miscellaneous Grounds – includes student visa abusers, child sex traffickers, smugglers, anyone who enters the country illegally, and those who fail to appear for immigration hearings

At Zadykyan Law, we will never judge our clients, though we will always be honest with them about the likelihood of their success in obtaining a waiver of inadmissibility. If you are seeking a green card, also known as lawful permanent residency, there are several grounds for inadmissibility that cannot be combated with any waiver. These mostly center on instances of fraud, violent crimes, drug abuse or related crimes, and unlawful entry into the country. It is important to understand these legal limitations.

Waivers for Unlawful Presence in the United States

It can be common for individuals to inadvertently accumulate “unlawful presence” time in the United States, which can lead to being barred from the country when they leave and attempt to return. If you were unlawfully present for a period between 180 days and 1 year, you will be subject to a 3-year ban; if you were unlawfully present for greater than 1 year, you will be barred for 10 years.

This creates a sort of paradox when an immigrant currently in the country without status must leave the country to apply for a legitimate green card through a family member. In theory, when they leave and later attempt to return, they will be subject to the multi-year bans, in effect preventing them from exercising a legally valid means of obtaining lawful permanent residency.

However, immigrants in this situation may be eligible for the Waiver of Grounds of Admissibility, or Form I-601. Through this application, you must demonstrate that your spouse, fiancé, or parent – who must be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident – will experience “extreme hardship” should you be denied reentry into the country. You can also seek a provisional waiver from USCIS that permits you to temporarily depart the country to conduct matters relating to your green card application before returning to family lawfully living in the U.S.

Proving “extreme hardship” is challenging and can often be up to the discretion of the USCIS officer reviewing your application. Our Sherman Oaks immigration waivers attorney has experience building compelling cases and can help optimize your application to improve odds of success.

Call (818) 600-6322 or contact us online to see how we can help you overcome inadmissibility.