Immigration Waiver Attorneys in Raleigh & Asheville North Carolina
If you are deemed inadmissible to the United States and are seeking an adjustment of status, an immigrant visa, or other admission to the United States, you maybe be eligible to file for a waiver of your inadmissibility.
Our Experienced Immigration Lawyers Will Help You Navigate The Process
The forms, rules and exceptions in immigration law are complex. It is wise to work with an immigration law firm like Fay & Grafton that has a successful history of helping clients in Wake County and throughout North Carolina.
Call or use the appointment setting form on this website to schedule a consultation with the same lawyer who will handle your case. We will answer your questions, provide a candid assessment of your situation and recommend an effective course of action.
There Are Different Kinds Of Waivers That May Be Available To You
212 (h) Waivers
You may be inadmissible to the United States if you have been convicted of certain crimes, including crimes involving moral turpitude or drug offenses. Section 212(h) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) provides that the Department of Homeland Security may waive certain grounds of inadmissibility relating to crimes involving moral turpitude, multiple criminal convictions, prostitution, commercialized vice or an offense of relating to simple possession of 30 grams or less of marijuana.
One way you can prove you are eligible for this waiver is to prove that the conduct occurred more than 15 years ago, you are not a threat to national security, and you are rehabilitated. If your crime is not more than 15 years old, you may be eligible for this waiver if you can prove your spouse, parent or child who is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident would suffer extreme hardship if you were not allowed to enter or stay in the United States.
If you are deemed inadmissible to the United States as a returning lawful permanent resident, you may be able to seek this waiver. However, there are additional conditions, including that you can’t have a conviction for an aggravated felony and you must have seven years of continuous physical presence in the U.S. This waiver is also discretionary, so before your inadmissibility is waived, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) or the immigration judge will weigh all of the positive factors against the negative factors in your case.
212 (I) Waivers
You may be inadmissible under section 212(a)(6)(C)(i) of the INA if you have ever, by fraud or willful misrepresentation of a material fact, sought to obtain or obtained a visa, other documentation or admission into the United States or other benefit provided under the INA. However, the Department of Homeland Security may waive the application of section 212(a)(6)(C)(i) of the act if you can prove that you are the spouse, son or daughter of a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident, and that refusing to admit you to the United States would result in extreme hardship to your spouse, son or daughter. Extreme hardship is hardship that is beyond what would normally be expected from a deportation or finding of inadmissibility, generally including the separation of a family.
237 (a) (1) (H) Waiver
If you are a lawful permanent resident who obtained your residence through fraud, you may be placed in removal proceedings where the Department of Homeland Security may seek to take away your lawful permanent residence and have you removed from the United States. If the only reason you are removable is because you used fraud to obtain your lawful permanent residence, you may be eligible for a waiver under Section 237(a)(1)(H) of the INA. You must prove that you have a spouse, parent or child who is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, but you do not need to prove hardship to that relative. Rather, you must prove that you are deserving of this discretionary waiver, despite having obtained your status through fraud.
Provisional Waiver For Unlawful Presence (I-601A Waiver)
If you have been present in the United States illegally and you are going to leave the United States to consular process to obtain your lawful permanent residence, you may be inadmissible to the United States under Section 212(a)(9)(B)(i) of the INA. You will need a waiver for your unlawful presence, which you may be eligible for under Section 212(a)(9)(B)(v) if you can prove that your spouse or parent who is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident would suffer extreme hardship. If your spouse or parent is a U.S. citizen, you may be able to apply for this waiver before you leave the United States by filing an I-601A Waiver. This waiver is filed after your visa petition is approved, but before you leave the United States. There are some restrictions on who is able to file this waiver before departing the United States, including persons with other grounds of inadmissibility such as a criminal conviction or those whose visa interviews were scheduled before the provisional waiver was created. If you are unable to file this waiver before you leave the United States, you may be able to file a waiver under Section 212(a)(9)(B)(v) after the consulate finds you inadmissible for unlawful presence.
Petty Offense Exception
Generally, you may be inadmissible to the United States if you have been convicted of crime involving moral turpitude. However, there is an exception under Section 212 (a)(2)(A)(ii)(II) of the INA if you have only been convicted of one. A petty offense is defined as one where the maximum penalty possible for the crime does not exceed one year and if your term of imprisonment is not in excess of six months. This is not a waiver to apply for but rather, if your conviction falls into this exception, you are not inadmissible.