ImmigrationTALK: Certain Waivers Now Filed In U.S. And Not At U.S. Embassy

Jun 03, 2012 News

By: Attorney Gail S. Seeram,

Previously, applicants for immigrant visas outside the United States filed Form I-601 or Form I-212 with supporting evidence at a U.S. Embassy or consulate if a consular officer found the individual inadmissible for a reason that may be waived.
Beginning June 4, 2012, individuals abroad who have applied for certain visas and have been found ineligible by a U.S. Consular Officer or U.S. Embassy, will be able to mail requests to waive certain grounds of inadmissibility directly to a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Lockbox facility (in the U.S.). This change affects where individuals abroad, who have been found inadmissible for an immigrant visa or a nonimmigrant K or V visa, must send their waiver applications.
Currently, applicants experience processing times from one-month to more than a year depending on which Embassy or Consulate accepted their waiver. This centralization of filing the waivers with USCIS in the U.S. will provide customers with faster and more efficient application processing and consistent adjudication. It is part of a broader agency effort to transition to domestic filing and adjudication; it does not reflect a change in policy or the standards by which the applications are adjudicated. Individuals filing waiver applications with a USCIS Lockbox will now be able to track the status of their case online.
The change affects filings for Form I-601, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility; Form I-212, Application for Permission to Reapply for Admission into the United States After Deportation or Removal; and Form I-290B, Notice of Appeal or Motion, (if filed after a denial of a Form I-601 or Form I-212).
The advantages of using a USCIS lockbox are (a) the applicant can avoid a second trip to the consulate/embassy to file the waiver after the consular interview takes place, (b) consulate-by-consulate variations in filing requirements are eliminated, (c) delays in forwarding cases from the consulate to USCIS are eliminated, (d) the applicant will get a receipt notice and can take advantage of online case status updates and instant email notification when there is a change in case status, such as an approval, and (e) there will be an expected increase in consistency in the standard for approval.
In practice, once you attend your interview and you are found inadmissible to the U.S. and your pending petition is denied, then the applicable waiver, supporting evidence and filing fees are sent to the USCIS lockbox in the U.S. (not to the U.S. Embassy). The Nebraska Service Center (NSC) will now be adjudicating or making a decision on these waivers.
If USCIS/NSC approves the waiver, then USCIS has to notify the consulate and the consulate has to get the immigrant visa into the applicant’s passport. The whole process from filing the application to getting the visa in the passport (if approved) is more likely to be six to nine months.
Note, this is a new process and until it is fully implemented, we cannot be convinced that the processing times are better than those previously given at the U.S. Embassy. Again, this new process is only available to visa applicants OUTSIDE the United States seeking a waiver for a denied petition based on a ground of inadmissibility.

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