The I-601A, Provisional Waiver, program first became effective in 2013. This allowed certain individuals to file for a waiver of the 3 or 10 year unlawful presence bar from within the United States rather than first leaving the country before filing. Effective August 29, 2016, the I-601A waiver process will be expanded to allow more people to utilize this program.
Currently, to be eligible to file an I-601A, the applicant must be the beneficiary of an approved immediate relative petition and show extreme hardship to a U.S. citizen parent or spouse. The expansion would allow the beneficiary of any immigrant visa petition, not just an immediate relative petition, to file an I-601A. Additionally, the qualifying relatives to which extreme hardship must be shown, will now include LPR parents and spouses.
The other main change to the I-601A program is that individuals with a final order of removal will now be able to apply for an I-601A if they have received provisional approval of an I-212, waiver of removal. This eliminates the need to seek Department of Justice coorperation to reopen immigration court cases to resolve the removal order.
If you have a final order of removal and have been previously unsuccessful in reopening your case, you may now still be able to proceed with an I-601A case. Contact Kelli Y. Allen Law at 704-727-4900 to see if this new program might be beneficial.