The Legal Immigrant | Immigration Reform Update and I-601 Waiver for 3/10-Year Unlawful Presence Bar

The Biden Administration’s U.S Citizenship Act of 2021 has yet to be introduced in Congress for a vote. Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey is the lead sponsor of the bill. It provides an earned path to citizenship for certain undocumented immigrants who were physically present in the U.S. on or before January 1, 2021. Another provision seeks to get rid of the 3/10-year unlawful presence bar.

Show Notes

The Biden Administration’s U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 calls for comprehensive immigration reform. One provision seeks to get rid of the 3/10-year unlawful presence bar. 

This would be a major departure from current law, which requires a special waiver for this inadmissibility ground. Immigrant visa applicants who have this bar must first receive an I-601 or I-601A waiver for the visa to be issued.  Nonimmigrant visa applicants with this bar need a 212(d)(3) waiver to be granted a visa. 

In this episode, I focus on the immigrant waiver for the unlawful presence bar. I discuss the key differences between the I-601 and I-601A waiver, the qualifying relative and extreme hardship requirements, and the factors that USCIS considers in deciding whether to approve or deny the application. 

For more information on the unlawful presence waiver, see:

• When do you need an I-601 waiver due to unlawful presence (and how do you get it)?
• What should you do to get an I-601 waiver for unlawful presence?
• Expansion of I-601A Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver: What Changed? 
• Expansion of I-601A Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver: What Stayed the Same? 
• 212(d)(3)(A) Nonimmigrant Waiver: Advantages and Disadvantages

Whether any immigration reform or changes in the law will eliminate the unlawful presence bar is uncertain. In the meantime, the 3/10-year bar due to accrual of unlawful presence lasting more than 180 days - prior to departing the U.S. - continues to exist.

Dyan Williams, Esq.
[e-mail]
www.dyanwilliamslaw.com

What is The Legal Immigrant ?

The Legal Immigrant podcast covers U.S. immigration problems that Dyan Williams Law PLLC can help you solve. Through success stories and Q&As, we'll discuss waivers of inadmissibility due to fraud or misrepresentation, criminal offense, unlawful presence, illegal entries, and removal orders; motions to reconsider inadmissibility bars; marriage-based green card, spousal immigrant visa, K-1 fiance visa; naturalization issues; and more.

Website: www.dyanwilliamslaw.com