Immigration Corner |Does my husband need a waiver?

Dear Mrs Walker-Huntington:

I am interested in getting a 601 petition for my husband who is living in Jamaica. In February I was granted legal permanent resident status as a registered nurse through an agency. My husband was denied on grounds of entering the USA on a fraudulent visa in 2009 where he was held at the airport and sent back to Jamaica. He was told he should not enter the USA until after five years. He was told to apply for a 601 waiver at the embassy in Jamaica.

I would like some legal advice and proceed with the petition if there is a chance for a favourable outcome.

Thank you.

L.P.

Dear L.P.,

When a person is denied entry at the border of the United States as your husband was back in 2009, they face a five-year bar to returning. That five-year bar can be waived, but a separate waiver of the five-year bar must be applied for if the immigrant wants to attempt returning – temporarily or permanently. This might be in addition to any other inadmissibility issues that a person may face that would require a separate waiver under a separate section of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

In this situation, your husband is applying for admission to the United States after five years of his removal, but he faces inadmissibility due to immigration fraud – the underlying reason why he was denied entry in 2009. Due to the passage of time, he now only needs a waiver of the fraud – I601 where he needs a qualifying relative to show they are experiencing extreme hardship that would only go away if he came to the United States. The qualifying relative also must demonstrate why they cannot return to Jamaica to live with him.

Although you did not petition for your husband to migrate, you would be his qualifying relative. You must demonstrate a high standard of hardship – extreme – it cannot be of a level where you miss your husband and want your family to be together. The hardships must be enumerated along with country conditions in Jamaica that would prevent you from returning. This type of hardship waiver requires more than completion of a form and writing a letter – it must be documented.

Some people have obvious hardships, and others do not although they are experiencing hardships due to the separation. You should consult with a US immigration attorney to give you direct legal advice and to assist you in this journey.

Dahlia A. Walker-Huntington, Esq. is a Jamaican-American attorney who practises immigration law in the United States; and family, criminal and international law in Florida. She is a mediator and former special magistrate and hearing officer in Broward County, Florida. info@walkerhuntington.com