Expansion of Provisional Waiver : USCIS 601A Waiver

        USCIS passed new rule expanding Provisional Waiver (601A Waiver). So now eligibility for the provisional waiver will no longer be limited to the subset of statutorily qualified individuals who seek to immigrate as immediate relatives of U.S. citizens and who can show that denial of admission will result in extreme hardship to a U.S. citizen spouse or parent. Rather, this rule makes eligibility for the provisional waiver available to all individuals who are statutorily eligible for a waiver of the unlawful presence grounds of inadmissibility.

Highlights of new rule:

·         New Rule allows individuals to apply for Provisional Waivers even if USCIS has a reason to believe that he or she may be subject to other grounds of inadmissibility.

·         New Rule eliminates the proposed temporal limitations that would have restricted eligibility for provisional waivers based on DOS visa interview scheduling.

·         New Rule allows individuals with final orders of removal, exclusion, or deportation to be eligible for provisional waivers provided that they have already applied for, and USCIS has approved, an Application for Permission to Reapply for Admission into the United States after Deportation or Removal, Form I–212.

·         A removal, deportation, or exclusion order must have been actually reinstated in order for an individual who has returned to the United States unlawfully after removal to be ineligible for a provisional waiver on that basis.