What is the current Provisional I-601 Hardship Waiver?
Currently, immediate relatives of U.S. citizens who have accrued a certain period of unlawful presence in the United States are barred from returning to the United States for as long as 3 or 10 years if they leave the country. However under the provisional I-601 extreme hardship waiver your foreign national spouse may not need to leave the United States to apply for the hardship waiver.
Immediate relatives can obtain a waiver of the unlawful presence bar if:
- they show that a U.S. citizen spouse or parent will experience extreme hardship if they are required to remain outside the United States; and
- immediate relative also would have to show that they warrant a favorable exercise of discretion (have good record otherwise)
Under the new unlawful presence waiver process the foreign national would be able to get a provisional waiver before departure.
The provisional waiver will only be eligible for foreign nationals whose only ground of inadmissibility is unlawful presence.
IF YOU DO NOT QUALIFY FOR THE PROVISIONAL UNLAWFUL PRESENCE WAIVER HERE ARE THE STEPS REQUIRED TO OVERCOME INADMISSIBILITY THROUGH THE I‑601 SHOWING OF EXTREME HARDSHIP
Steps to Attain Legal Immigrant Status Through Marriage to an United States Citizen
| Step | Procedure | Form/Process | Place |
| 1 | File and approval of Marriage Petition, with submitted with supporting evidence | I-130 | USCIS to NVC |
| 2 | National Visa Center reviews eligibility and forwards completely documented case to US Embassy in applicant’s country | NVC to US Embassy in applicant’s native country | |
| 3 | US Embassy interviews and evaluates any grounds of inadmissibility which bars immigration, like unlawful presence | Interview | Embassy interview |
| 4 | If unlawful presence is a ground of inadmissibility, then overcome by filing an I-601 hardship waiver | I-601 | US Embassy to Immigration office in native country |
| 5 | If waiver granted, person returns to US | Green card | Native country to US |
| 6 | If waiver denied, able to appeal | Appeal I-601 | Wait in native country |
| 7 | If appeal denied, then 3 or 10 year period begins before re-entry permitted | Waiting period for readmission | Remain in native country for 3 or 10 years |