Last month I wrote an article about how recent trends in immigration enforcement have created extreme anxiety among immigrant communities. Since last month, the Obama Administration announced some exciting news and so, in lieu of my plan of discussing how families can prepare for the prolonged detention of their family members, this month I wanted to share how there is hope for immigrant families and what this new announcement means.
On January 6, 2012, the Obama Administration announced it intends to make changes in the process certain family members of U.S. citizens can apply for a “waiver.” The “waiver” is needed in the case of a person who entered the United States without inspection (i.e., “illegally”) and who remained living in the country without permission for an extended period of time. In a normal case, the person applying for the “waiver” would have to return to their home country to apply at a U.S. Consular Office. The waiver can take anywhere from 3 months to 18 months for a decision and the applicant has to wait out of the country for all this time.
This waiver process separates families for extended periods of time causing unnecessary suffering. The new process that the Obama Administration announced would permit the applicant to apply while they are still in the United States. There have been literally hundreds of thousands of individuals who are eligible to apply for these waivers but who have feared being separated from their families. This change announced by the Obama Administration will benefit those families and will likely encourage hundreds of thousands to come out of the shadows of being “illegal.”
This is a procedural change within the agency and not a change in the law. For this reason President Obama does not need approval from Congress to do this. However, a review period is still needed before the new process is implemented and will likely not be available until the end of 2012. Nonetheless, families who could benefit under this new process are encouraged to speak to an immigration attorney to determine what steps they can take now to prepare for the time the new waiver process is available.
While it is anticipated that President Obama’s political opponents will disapprove of this step, their oppositions will not be based on a consideration of the amount of good this offers to the United States citizens who are affected. This is a great move by the President and offers only positive improvements to an immigration system that is in desperate need of reform.
1 Comment
Choko
February 23, 2012 at 10:02 AM
Alert: I-601 Provisional Waiver Is Not in Effect
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=e954bb09ef4a5310VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=e7801c2c9be44210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD
USCIS is considering changes that would allow certain immediate relatives (the spouse, children or parents of a U.S. citizen) who can demonstrate extreme hardship to a U.S. citizen spouse or parent to receive a provisional waiver of the unlawful presence bars before leaving the United States.
These procedures are not in effect and will not be available to potential applicants until USCIS publishes a final rule in the Federal Register specifying the effective date. USCIS plans to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking in the coming months and will consider all comments received as part of that process before publishing a final rule.
Do not send an application requesting a provisional waiver at this time. USCIS will reject any application requesting this new process and we will return the application package and any related fees to the applicant. USCIS cannot accept applications until a final rule is issued and the process change becomes effective.
Be aware that some unauthorized practitioners of immigration law may wrongly claim they can currently file a provisional waiver application (Form I-601) for you. These same individuals may ask you to pay them to file such forms although the process is not yet in place. Please avoid such scams. USCIS wants you to learn the facts about protecting yourself and your family against scammers by visiting uscis.gov/avoidscams.
If you already have an immigrant visa interview with the U.S. Department of State, we strongly encourage you to attend. The Department of State may cancel your immigrant visa registration if you fail to appear at this interview
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