Do I Qualify for an Unlawful Presence Waiver?

If immigration authorities catch that you have been unlawfully present in the United States for more than 180 days but less than one year, they may order your removal or deportation and ban you from re-entry for three years. And if the duration of this illegal stay is one year or longer, you may be banned for 10 years. To lift this ban, you must file a waiver with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Follow along to find out whether you qualify for an unlawful presence waiver and how one of the proficient Lancaster County immigration waiver lawyers at Lupton Law LLC can help you fill it out effectively.

What does it mean to have an unlawful presence in the U.S.?

There are two main ways in which you may be deemed to have an unlawful presence in the United States. First, at one point, you may have had a valid visa. However, you may overstay this visa and remain in the country beyond the date authorized on your I-94 Arrival/Departure Record and other visa documentation. Secondly, you may have entered the country illegally to begin with. This means that you crossed the U.S. border at a location other than a designated port of entry, or you otherwise evaded a proper inspection from a Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officer.

Do I qualify for an unlawful presence waiver to stop a re-entry bar?

You may admit that you have made a grave mistake, and already learning your lesson, you do not want to pay the consequences for the next three to 10 years. So, to effectively stop this re-entry bar, you may file Form I-601, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility, or Form I-601A, Application for Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver, if you are outside or inside the U.S., respectively.

With this application, you must prove that you have a qualified relative in the country. Specifically, you must have a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse or parent. Then, you must be able to demonstrate that your separation would cause them an “extreme hardship.” The USCIS may consider an extreme hardship to be your qualified relative being financially dependent on you or reliant on you to provide personal healthcare services for their serious medical condition, as a couple of examples.

What happens if my unlawful presence waiver is denied?

Of note, even if you have a qualified relative, the USCIS may still deny your re-entry bar from being waived. This may be because you failed to provide sufficient evidence of an extreme hardship in your application, or they deemed your claimed hardship invalid. Given these reasons, you may have a chance to re-file your application or appeal it and present more evidence and a stronger legal argument.

Unfortunately, though, it may be more difficult to change the USCIS’s decision if you have a history of immigration violations or criminal offenses. What’s worse is if you have already been removed or deported from the country and re-entered illegally and maintained an unlawful presence again. However, there may still be other immigration relief options at your disposal. This is if you are eligible for asylum, temporary protected status, or Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) protection.

At the end of the day, if you are still hesitant about taking the monumental step of waiving your unlawful presence, consult with one of the talented Lancaster County immigration waiver lawyers from Lupton Law LLC to get the assurance and confidence you need to proceed. From here on out, we will be with you every step of the way.