Hardship waiver is a generic term used by immigration professionals to refer to the process by which immigrants who would otherwise not be permitted to live and work in the US apply for a waiver of their admissibility bar. Typical examples of hardship waivers are the I-601 waiver for overstay and misrepresentation issues and the 212 waiver for prior deportation and criminal matters. In order to qualify for a hardship waiver, the immigrant must show that his or her not being allowed to live and work in the US will cause a qualifying US citizen or lawful permanent resident (LPR) relative extreme hardship over and above that which would naturally be suffered given separation from family members. In order to meet the extreme hardship standard, there must be significant financial, medical, psychological, educational or cultural reasons why the qualifying relative cannot live in America without the immigrant and why the qualifying relative cannot move to the immigrant’s own country.
