A 601 waiver is a type of immigration waiver filed by certain green card applicants who have been declared inadmissible to the United States. If the 601 waiver is approved, the inadmissibility will be excused and the foreign national will be allowed to immigrate to the US. If the 601 waiver is not approved, however, the person will be unable to enter or remain the United States.
When a foreign national applies for a US immigrant visa or green card, the US immigration or consular officer will review applicant’s filed to ensure that they do not trigger any of the 212(a) inadmissibility grounds. Section 212(a) of the Immigration & Nationality Act (INA) bars certain individuals from entering the United States, including former immigration violators, criminals and those who used misrepresentation or fraud in the immigration process. Some of these grounds of inadmissibility can be waived, or excused, via a 601 waiver. If the official finds that one of the grounds of inadmissibility has been triggered, the visa or green card will be denied and the applicant will be informed of his or her right to apply for a 601 waiver.
Immigration officials have broad discretion in deciding whether or not to approve a 601 waiver and, as such, not all waiver applications will be approved. To prepare a successful immigration waiver, the 601 waiver attorney must prove that refusing to allow the foreign national to immigrate to the US will cause extreme hardship to a US citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident family member (qualifying relative). For inadmissibility due to prior immigration violations or misrepresentation, the family member must be a spouse or parent of the alien. For inadmissibility due to criminal history, the family member can also be a child of the alien. In order to meet the burden, the 601 waiver attorney must show that it would be extreme hardship for the qualifying relative to live in the US without the alien, AND that it would be extreme hardship for the qualifying relative to move to the alien’s home country (or a third country). Once the immigration official has determined that both burdens have been meet, he or she will balance this hardship against the wrong committed by the immigrant, as well as other issues in the applicant’s background, to determine if the discretionary waiver should be granted.
Anyone who is required to file a 601 waiver should hire an immigration lawyer to prepare the 601 waiver form and the waiver package. This is not the type of immigration case that an applicant should attempt on their own. A waiver lawyer will conduct in-depth questioning into the lives of the applicant, and any qualifying relatives, to identify the evidence that will prove the applicant’s case in the most efficient and straight-forward manner. In addition, the 601 waiver lawyer will guide the qualifying relative in drafting a hardship letter, guide third parties in preparing affidavits an other documentary evidence, and will draft a legal brief in support of the waiver package. To discuss how Cavanaugh Law Office can help prepare your 601 waiver, contact us today for a free consultation. 601 waiver lawyer fees start at $2000.
