Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	Waiting for I-601 Waivers in London US Embassy	For those of you that are considering filing an I-601 Waiver, can I suggest that read the article below that was written by Laurel Scott whom is an Immigration Laywer. I hope this helps anyone considering this process. Regards Andrew http://www.scottimmi...et/I601Memo.pdf I-601 Waivers and Extreme Hardship: Strategies for Writing a Convincing Narrative for an Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility Laurel Scott Esq. and Elizabeth Cannon Last Revised April 16, 2009 Under the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1996 are various provisions for the I-601 Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility, formerly titled Application for Waiver of Ground of Excludability. This memo addresses the structure and content of an Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility under INA § 212(a)(9)(B)(v), 212(h), and 212(i). It highlights the merits of various arguments often proffered in the argument of Extreme Hardship. Court decisions addressing the I-601 waiver may change the existing law or create new law. Counsel are advised to independently confirm whether the law in their circuit or BIA decisions have changed existing law or precedent since the date of this memo. What is an Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility and Who Is a Qualifying Relative? An Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility is filed by an alien in the event that an alien has been denied admission to the United States. Different sections of INA § 212 allow for the application of a waiver of inadmissibility. Waivers must establish that a qualifying relative will suffer “extreme hardship” if the alien is not admitted. So who is the qualifying relative? It depends on the ground of inadmissibility. A waiver for prior unlawful presence (INA 212(a)(9)(B)(v)) or misrepresentation (INA 212(i)) requires it to be established that “the refusal of admission to such immigrant alien would result in extreme hardship to the citizen or lawfully resident spouse or parent of such alien,” whereas a waiver for criminal history (INA 212(h)) requires it to be established “that the alien's denial of admission would result in extreme hardship to the United States citizen or lawfully resident spouse, parent, son, or daughter of such alien.” A US citizen fiancé(e) may also be a qualifying relative [9 FAM 41.81 N9.3(a) and 8 CFR 212.7(a)(1)(i)]. For the purposes of this memo the Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility will be referred to as an I-601. Voluntarily Entering into the Foreign-Filed Waiver Process If you have a client who entered without inspection (EWI) and is now married or engaged to a US citizen, consider voluntarily entering into the waiver process after first eliminating adjustment of status (AOS) under INA 245(i) and Cancellation of Removal (COR). Always be sure to explain to your client the risks associated with voluntarily entering into the waiver process. Bear in mind that for foreign-filed waivers, the alien must remain abroad while the 601 is in process, which in some places can take 6-12 months or more, depending on the location. The most noted exception to this lengthy processing time is Juarez, discussed below. The entire process commences with an I-130 or I-129F filing as the I-601 would be filed at the consulate following an immigrant visa or K visa interview. HIV Waivers and Health Grounds of Inadmissibility While the I-601 form is also used for HIV waivers, the content of these arguments is completely different. An HIV waiver’s focus is health insurance. This memo is not meant to provide guidance on HIV waivers or any waivers for health grounds of inadmissibility. Who adjudicates Applications for Waivers of Grounds of Inadmissibility? I-601 waivers filed at a consulate are adjudicated by a representative of CIS, not any consular officer. The consulate may sometimes make a recommendation on whether to approve or deny an I-601, but it is the CIS office that makes the decision. The Officer-in-Charge (OIC) at the CIS office abroad is the I-601 adjudicator. At some busy CIS offices, there is more than one CIS adjudicator, but all decisions are signed by the OIC. When there is more than one adjudicator, they will attempt to make their decisions consistent within that CIS office, with the OIC setting the standard. Not every country has a CIS office. To see which CIS office has jurisdiction over waivers filed in a particular country, check the USCIS Overseas Office Locator: https://egov.uscis.g...office_type=OS For in-country filings, the immigration officer handling the adjustment of status case often makes the decision on the I-601, though sometimes a supervisor will handle the I-601. Waivers may also be filed before a judge when adjusting status in court. The judge then adjudicates the waiver. What are applicable legal arguments for an Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility? All arguments for Applications for Waivers of Grounds of Inadmissibility are based on the precept that there is a qualifying relative who will suffer “extreme hardship” if the Alien’s admission is denied. “Extreme hardship” is very vaguely defined as greater than the normal hardship the qualifying relative can be expected to experience if the Alien is denied admission. It is important to prove both why the qualifying relative cannot move abroad AND why the qualifying relative cannot simply live in the US without the Alien. It is not enough to say that the qualifying relative will miss the Alien’s company as this is considered “normal” hardship, not extreme hardship. Below are some examples of Extreme Hardship arguments. Here they are separated into levels, with Level 1 being the strongest arguments and Level 4 being the weakest. At some USCIS offices abroad, one Level 3 argument and a few Level 4 arguments may be sufficient. At other USCIS offices, an approval will not be issued unless there is at least one Level 1 argument presented. For most offices, it’s best to have at least one Level 2 and a few Level 3 arguments presented in the waiver. You are unlikely to win a waiver case with only Level 4 arguments, though that’s not to say its impossible. For the purpose of this memo “Relative”, is always the qualifying relative. The list below is by no means exhaustive. It is provided to give the reader an idea of what might be a stronger argument vs what might be considered a weaker argument. Level 1 arguments: (a) Relative has a MAJOR medical condition (e.g. brain tumor, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy) which makes Relative unable to move abroad and for which Relative absolutely needs Alien in the US to help take care of him/her, (b) Relative is caring for an elderly, chronically ill, or disabled relative who needs constant care and whose condition is bad enough that Relative either MUST live with the relative or Relative MUST spend at least an hour a day assisting the relative with things like hygiene or physical therapy, and this makes Relative unable to move abroad and makes him/her really need Alien in the US to help him/her care for his/her relative and manage his/her other responsibilities, or © Alien's country is in a state of active war or major political upheaval. Level 2 arguments include: (a) Relative is the primary caregiver for his/her child(ren) from a prior relationship and the child(ren)'s other parent will not allow the children to be taken out of the country AND the child(ren) have formed an emotional attachment to Alien (b) Relative has a serious medical condition that makes it very difficult for Relative to move abroad and Relative needs Alien to provide help (e.g. Relative needs to have major surgery sometime in the next year, with an expected recovery time of several months), © Relative is caring for a moderately disabled relative who normally can care for him/herself but occasionally has episodes in which he/she needs a lot of help from Relative and during those times Relative, in turn, needs help from Alien, (d) a relative is unusually financially dependent on Relative (e.g. Relative's mother has just gone through a nasty divorce with Relative's father in which she got nothing and because she has never worked, she doesn't qualify for social security, so Relative is supporting her in the entirety for the rest of her life), (e) Relative has a child that he/she is about to put through college (note, some offices consider this a stronger argument, some consider it a weaker one), or Alien's country is on the verge of major political unrest or negative political change or the country is known for oppression of one sort or another (e.g. Relative is a Christian woman and Alien is from Saudi Arabia), or it is in the infant stages of post-war recovery. Level 3 arguments include: (a) Relative is the non-custodial parent of a child from a prior relationship and has an actual relationship with that child and the child's other parent will not allow Relative to take the child out of the country but Alien does not have a relationship with the child at this time, (b) Relative a significant condition that makes it inconvenient to move out of the country (e.g. severe asthma and Alien spouse lives in Mexico City), © Relative been diagnosed by a licensed psychologist/psychiatrist with clinical depression due to Alien's immigration problems – note: even thoughts of suicide do not raise this argument to Level 2, (d) Relative and Alien have young children together or Relative has full custody of Relative's child and can bring him/her abroad and Alien's home country has bad public health conditions and bad public education, (e) Relative's job requires a license in both the US and abroad and it will be very difficult to get licensed abroad (e.g. attorney, medical doctor), Relative has job skills that are very specific to the US (e.g. a tax accountant with extensive familiarity with US tax law), (g) Alien's country has a very bad economy, (h) Relative has a close relative who is partially dependent on Relative financially (e.g. Relative's mom gets social security but needs Relative's extra $500 per month to stay in her present apartment) or physically (e.g. Relative's mother functions well now, but her health has been declining and it is expected she will need more of Relative's help in the near future). Level 4 arguments include: (a) Relative has debts they wouldn't be able to pay if they moved abroad, (b) Alien's country has a high unemployment rate, © Alien's country has a high crime rate, (d) Relative has been despondent due to the situation, but hasn't sought professional help, (e) Relative's parents are aging. I cannot stress enough that it is insufficient to prove that Relative has elderly or sick relatives. You must show the link between the medical condition and the waiver, i.e. you must prove that the elderly or sick person needs the qualifying Relative to remain in the US and, preferably, that the Alien is also needed in the US. Many clients who do their own research are advised by others on the internet to include a psychological self-scoring test, called Holmes-Rahe. In my opinion, this is not worth including. It is also probably not worth including the argument that the couple wants to have children in the future (but are not currently pregnant) and either the wife is getting older or the foreign country has a high infant mortality rate. Whenever a waiver claims a relative is dependent on Relative either for direct care or for money, Counsel must explain why no other relative such as one of Relative's siblings can provide the same care or support. The reality is adjudicators are currently each creating their own guidelines using only the case law for reference. The problem is that the case law is inconsistent, in my humble opinion. The case law generally says that because each case is unique, the adjudicator has broad discretion to decide what constitutes extreme hardship. Statements along these lines appear in many decisions. The statements effectively discourage USCIS from creating the kind of list I just presented. How much supporting documentation is sufficient? A waiver packet should include: forms, brief or attorney letter, and supporting documents. In some locations, the only form you need to file is the I-601. Other locations also require a G-325A for the applicant. Still other offices will require all vital records related to the case and police reports translated into English, even when the applicant has not criminal history. Check with the consulate in advance to see what will be required. The brief or attorney letter should be around 10-15 pages and the supporting documents should number 20-50 pages. That being said, there are attorneys that have repeat success with briefs shorter than 5 pages. If it is absolutely necessary to supply more than 50 pages of supporting documents, then do so, but at some point one will experience the law of diminishing returns where there is the risk of annoying the adjudicator with too much to read, thereby outweighing any or all benefits of including a given document. The catch is that the Administrative Appeals Office prefers to see more evidence than any initial CIS adjudicator wants and prefers for all evidence to have been submitted in the initial filing. Keep in mind that the intent is to convince the adjudicator the first time around, so aim to please the adjudicator, not the AAO. A shorter packet can receive approval if there are a few pieces of very good evidence and a very strong argument. What constitutes sufficient evidence? Any argument presented in the I-601 must be supported with good evidence. There should be non-personal documents, such as country reports, and personal documents such doctors’ letters and psychologist letters. For non-personal documents it’s best to cite US government sources, as the US government adjudicator will have more trouble dismissing them. Common sources are the Consular Information Sheets, the CIA Factsheets, and the National Institutes of Health medical encyclopedia. Bear in mind that for foreign filings, the OIC is most likely quite familiar with country conditions in the countries over which he/she has jurisdiction and really doesn’t need to see a few hundred copies of the same country reports each month. Country reports are much more important for I-601 filings within the US and when filing a case for a national of a country from which the OIC may see fewer waiver applications (see Consulate Shopping below). Use newspaper articles and NGO reports sparingly when information needed cannot be found from a US government source. Certain adjudicators have openly ‘dismissed’ this attorney’s non-US government sources in their denials, even when the reports come from reputable sources such as Amnesty International. For personal documents, confirm all letters are signed and dated. They do not need to be notarized unless it is hard to believe that the person signing the letter would make that statement. Attorney-certified photocopies may be sent, but sending the original and keeping the copy is preferable. Doctors’ letters should describe the medical condition, the patient’s physical limitations (e.g. no driving), the need for assistance, the need for continued medical care, and (if applicable) the physician’s personal knowledge of the alien’s prior role in providing direct assistance to the patient. Psychologist letters should describe the condition, how the psychologist arrived at that diagnosis, the relationship between the waiver process and the condition, the likely psychological effects of waiver denial, the frequency of the patient’s visits, the medications the patient is on (if any), and the plan for future treatment. Some attorneys include the doctor’s or psychologist’s resume. This attorney rarely finds this helpful or necessary. Some lab reports or medical notes may be appropriate depending on the case. Cases are proven with the supporting documents, not with the brief. The purpose of a brief is to make sense out of the supporting documents and place the case into legal context. Good supporting documents are paramount to getting approval. Make the legal section short for foreign filings. Most of what the OIC does is adjudicate I-601s. They are familiar with case law. For in-country filings where the adjudicators process the spectrum of applications, a legal section may be more important. The qualifying relative’s letter is required. This attorney usually includes it as a supporting document. For personal documents in the form of a letter, guide the person in writing the letter, but don’t write it for him/her; it needs to be in their own words. Beware of clients pulling letters off of the internet to use as a model for what they need to write. The OICs frequent the internet, too, and they are aware of the content of letters that have been publicly posted. If the OIC suspects the letter was copied off the internet, rather than authored by the person who signed it, the letter will be given less weight and the credibility of the entire packet may be at risk. What kind of evidence can I provide to prove rehabilitation for a criminal waiver? • time since last conviction, generally more serious convictions and/or repeat offenses require more time since last conviction • statements of the criminal court regarding chances of alien repeating the crime (sometimes the court actually comes out and says the defendant is unlikely to reoffend) • expungements and pardons (don't get you out of ground of inadmissibility, but they're great proof of rehabilitation, 9 FAM 40.21(b) N4:1-3(b)(4) actually refers to them as "rehabilitative" statutes) • letter from parole officer, policeman, judge or other law enforcement official stating that from their experience they 'know' when someone is likely to reoffend and this guy won't reoffend • letter from psychologist stating that crime was result of psychological problem and now the person is better (this is especially useful for history of shoplifting without economic motivation) • evidence of changed life conditions, e.g. alien committed offenses when he/she was young, foolish, unemployed, childless, and/or single, but now person is older, wiser, married, employed and/or has kids • letter from clergy stating this person has changed • evidence that alien is in position of trust with money (if financial crime) or trust with children (if violent or alcohol-related crime) and that the people who placed him in this position of trust KNOW the alien's criminal history • evidence of successful completion of alcohol or drug treatment program if alcohol or drugs were a factor in the crime (BEWARE OF ADDICTION GROUNDS OF INADMISSIBILITY - ALIEN MUST BE CLEAN AND SOBER FOR THREE YEARS) • for recent first-and-only offenses of a less serious nature, if the punishment was light, bring that up How much should I charge the client for this? If you prefer to charge a flat fee as I do, assume that this will take 20-40 attorney hours for most cases and charge accordingly. A well-prepared waiver application is a major undertaking. What can be expected from different Offices? Over the past few years I have been stating that the most important factor in determining the chances of approval is where the case is filed. However, as time passes and I see more and more decisions, patterns become clearer. I now advocate the theory that the primary reason why approval rates are different at different offices is because the most common grounds of inadmissibility vary from office to office. For example, offices in Eastern Europe and the Middle East may see a lot more cases where the alien had a denied asylum claim that lead to an order for Removal that the alien disregarded. Such a scenario would be much less common in Ciudad Juarez where most of the case will involve simple unlawful presence only. If different grounds of inadmissibility are treated differently when it comes to evaluating the waiver application case, then this is the cause of the variation in approval rates, rather than the level of lenience of the adjudicating officers. Mitigating and Aggravating Factors As was described in the preceding section, the ground of inadmissibility can be a major factor in predicting chances of approval. Likewise, there may be other mitigating and aggravating circumstances that effectively change the required level of hardship you would need to show in order to be granted the waiver. Based on my experience and what I’ve seen written in some decisions, I’ve compiled the following list of mitigating and aggravating factors: Mitigating • Applicant voluntarily entered into the foreign-filed waiver process. • Applicant’s only violation is unlawful presence and applicant entered the US as a child, brought by his/her family • Applicant had a bona fide, reasonable belief that he/she was complying with the law • Applicant and Petitioner’s marriage has already been lengthy at the time of the waiver application • Applicant and Petitioner have child(ren) in common • Applicant and Petitioner had prior miscarriage(s) that would have been a child in common Aggravating • Qualifying relative is from the same country as the alien, having immigrated to the US as an adult (immigrating as a child doesn’t seem to be an aggravating factor) • Applicant is only eligible for waiver because violation occurred before Congress eliminated the waiver for that type of violation • Applicant lied in the current immigration process • Applicant has multiple instances of misrepresentation • Applicant violated Voluntary Departure • Applicant ignored an Order for Removal • Applicant has arrests for which he/she was not convicted • Applicant exhausted lengthy deportation defense procedures prior to proceeding abroad • Applicant accused of marriage fraud either now or in the past, even if accusation was flimsy • Applicant previously married to a different USC petitioner • Petitioner spouse or Applicant spouse previously had multiple marriages • Petitioner’s or applicant’s divorce immediately preceded current marriage Whether or not a given aggravating factor should be an aggravating factor is beyond my control. Even if I think it shouldn’t be an aggravating factor, if I’ve seen it used against the applicant in the narrative of a denial, it made it onto my list here. If you have any mitigating factors, be sure to bring them up. If you have an aggravating factors, be sure to explain them thoroughly in an attempt to minimize their impact. Remember that aggravating and mitigating factors are not about hardship; but they do affect how much hardship you will need to show. Waiver Pilot Program in Ciudad Juarez Beginning March 6, 2007, I-601 waiver applicants in Mexico benefit from the Waiver Pilot Program in which they may be able to obtain waiver approval a few days from the time of filing. This is a very exciting program as it makes the process much more practical for many applicants who normally would be unwilling or unable to leave their families, especially small children, for an extended period of time in order to go through the waiver process voluntarily. At the K or immigrant visa interview, once the alien is found inadmissible, he/she will be able to file the I-601 at a waiver appointment at the consulate following the interview. If it is clearly approvable, the alien will be able to get his/her K or immigrant visa relatively quickly. If it is not approved it will neither be denied. Rather, it will be referred and placed into the normal, longer process. Waiver appointments must be made by phone by calling 1-800-919-1754 from the US or 01-477-788-70-70 from Mexico. Have a credit card handy because they will charge you $7 for the call. Currently one must wait until after the consular interview before scheduling the waiver appointment. At the waiver appointment, the waiver must be clearly approvable, which means it is now more important than ever to prepare a quality waiver packet for Mexican cases with plenty of supporting documentation. If the packet is not clearly approvable, it will not be denied, but it will be referred to the normal waiver process, which could take twelve months or more. If your case gets referred, this should be an indication to you that you need to amend the packet to make it stronger. Some cases, no matter how well you prepare, may not be clearly approvable due to the facts of the case. For example, if your client has two DUI convictions then regardless of the hardships and the evidence, it will be referred. Can an I-601 be filed within the US? It is not possible to file the waiver in the US if the alien entered EWI because there is an AOS problem under INA 245(a), which the I-601 will not cure. Also, if the client entered on a K visa and is not adjusting through the K visa petitioner, there is a problem under INA 245(d), which the I-601 will not cure and the alien must file abroad. But if the client doesn’t have any problems adjusting under INA 245, it may be possible to file the I-601 in the US. The adjudication of local filings seems to have no rhyme or reason. It all depends on the individual immigration officer who reviews the case. Make the case as strong as possible. Can Fiance(e)s file as qualifying relative? Yes, fiancé(e)s can file an I-601. See 9 FAM 41.81 N9.3(a) and 8 CFR 212.7(a)(1)(i). How does one file for Deportees? For aliens outside the US, if the alien needs to file an I-212 and an I-601, file them together at the consulate. Don’t file the I-212 at the district office and then file the I-601 at the consulate. 8 CFR 212.2(d). The need to file an I-212 in addition to an I-601 does not mean that a waiver packet will be any different than if a client needs only the I-601. In essence it means another form needs to be completed and another fee paid. However, extreme hardship needs to be proven only once. How does one file with Multiple Grounds of Inadmissibility? If the client needs waivers under INA 212(a)(9)(B)(v), INA 212(h) and INA 212(i), only one I-601 form is needed and one waiver packet, and the fee paid once. An extra fee is needed only if the client has a deportation and a I-212 must be filed as well. Consulate Shopping If filing at an office other than the alien’s home country, it is possible to encounter problems getting the client a visa to enter that third country. If it’s Europe, keep in mind that for European Union (EU) countries, there are certain nonimmigrant visas that if issued by any EU country, are honored by all EU countries, even if another EU country has denied the alien a visa before. Contact the US consulate of that country to make sure the client doesn’t need a visa from that country. Most consulates will not take waiver cases for third country nationals unless the client resides in that country. The major exception is the “homeless” case where the US has no consulate in that country and no one specific consulate has been designated for nationals of that country to go to, OR the alien is stateless. If the client has a credible fear of returning to his/her home country, it is reasonable to contact many consulates to investigate which of them might take the case. Contact the consulates directly to ask, or work with the National Visa Center (NVC) when the case is at that point in the process. If Counsel has an opportunity to inquire at many consulates and the NVC assigns a consulate Counsel doesn’t want to work with, contact NVC and make a request for a specific consulate. Bear in mind that filing in Canada is not necessarily the best option due to administrative problems in Vermont. Also keep in mind that EU nationals can often live and work in another EU country fairly easily. Juarez has a policy to not take waiver cases for third country nationals unless the client has legally resided in Mexico for one year prior to the interview. How can a case be expedited? Every client wants his/her case expedited. Making an expedite request on every case interferes with the efficiency of any office and slows down the procedure for everyone. An attorney wants to be a zealous advocate for their client, but try not to make expedite requests unless there is a truly urgent, serious situation. Let the client know at the outset of the representation that your office will not be making an expedite request. If there is an unusually compelling Level 1 argument and the alien is currently present in the US, reconsider Cancellation of Removal. If the alien is eligible except for the 10-year requirement, explore the possibility of requesting Deferred Action until the 10-year mark. Such an option carries risk, but if its an unusually compelling case, its something to consider. Things to watch out for: INA 212(a)(9)©, INA 212(a)(6)©(ii) and Medical Exam Always, always, always confirm a client won’t be found inadmissible under INA 212(a)(9)© prior to either sending the client out of the country or taking money to prepare a waiver. If the client is not sure whether he/she was formally deported or just refused entry, run an FBI fingerprint check (http://www.fbi.gov/h...d/fprequest.htm). The FBI report will list all deportations, but if the alien was merely refused entry, the incident will not appear on the report. For clarification on when INA 212(a)(9)© applies, see Madeleine Albright’s April 1998 cable regarding unlawful presence, which can be foud as AILA Infonet document 98040490. Review sections 35-41. While there is some debate on the subject, the cable appears to clarify that the exceptions to unlawful presence found in INA 212(a)(9)(B) apply to INA 212(a)(9)© and that (9)© is only triggered upon an entry or attempt to enter without inspection, as opposed to any attempt to enter illegally, following deportation or more than one year unlawful presence in the aggregate. However, while the policy at the US consulate in Juarez formerly appear to comply with this interpretation, recently there has been a change and now unlawful presence accumulated prior to age 18 is being counted toward INA 212(a)(9)©. Always be sure to ask your client if he/she ever claimed to be a US citizen for immigration purposes. This is a permanent ground of inadmissibility for which there is no waiver, INA 212(a)(6)©(ii). The US consulate in Juarez is diligent in finding aliens who have committed this particular violation. There have been some concerns related to the drug history questions asked during the medical exam down in Juarez. Read AILA Practice Alert document 06020110 so you can properly prepare your clients. If the alien reveals virtually any drug experimentation in the past three years, he/she risks a finding of inadmissibility as a drug abuser or addict and will be ineligible to apply for a waiver of that particular ground of inadmissibility. He/she will have to show three years of sobriety. This does not appear to comply with the Foreign Affairs Manual. Direct any complaints to the Centers for Disease Control, Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, Mailstop E-03 Atlanta, GA 30333. If you disagree with the finding, ask the consular officer to file an Advisory Opinion request with CDC. Other than that, there’s nothing the Department of State can do for you, and you do not have the option to file the Advisory Opinion request directly with CDC yourself. How to approach Rehabilitation, Moral Character and Apologies A criminal waiver can be approved on rehabilitation alone in some cases. Look at INA 212(h) and see the section above regarding evidence of rehabilitation. Other than the criminal waivers, I-601 waivers should focus on the extreme hardship to the relative and not the moral character of the alien. Generally speaking, for waivers of unlawful presence, OICs do not need nor want lots of letters saying what a great person the alien is. However, depending on the facts of the case, it is sometimes beneficial include character letters if there is something extraordinary about the alien’s character. Even then, be conscious of the size of the packet and how much the adjudicator is being asked to read. If the applicant clearly and intentionally violated the law, apologizing for the violation may be a good idea. If the alien is contesting the ground of inadmissibility or thinks he/she didn’t do anything wrong (e.g. a ‘notario’ committed the fraud without alien’s knowledge), DO NOT have the alien apologize. An apology is as admission of guilt. In any argument of minimal responsibility for the ground of inadmissibility, apologizing destroys that argument. Contesting Ground of Inadmissibility If contesting the ground of inadmissibility, but with a deadline for I-601 submission and/or the belief the challenge to the finding will be unsuccessful, go forward in filing the I-601, stating in the opening paragraph that there is no concession of inadmissibility. Include the argument against the finding in the brief. This may not win over the consulate, but may win over the CIS officer. There’s nothing in the law that prevents the filing of a Motion to Reconsider or an Advisory Opinion request regarding the finding of inadmissibility, at the same time that the I-601 is filed. Inquiries Contact the various offices via phone or email for administrative concerns only. Don’t attempt to argue the merits of the case over the phone. Discourage the client from attempting to contact the CIS him/herself. Many of the offices don’t appreciate such phone calls as it takes them away from time spent deciding cases. As well, a good relationship with all offices only helps the chances of an adjudication happening quickly and to the clients benefit. Processing times are subject to change without notice. Keep the number of inquiries to a minimum as they tend to slow down the progress of work at the CIS office. If you are concerned about making sure the waiver has been received, contact USCIS no earlier than thirty days after filing. If filing any addendums directly with the CIS office following their receipt of the waiver packet, you may inquire within a few days of when it is expected they received the addendum to confirm its receipt and that it has made it to the correct file. Avoid making another inquiry until the case is outside the normal processing time. Following that, make subsequent inquiries no earlier than 30 days after the most recent prior inquiry. Discourage the client from making inquiries on his/her own without express approval from Counsel. Deadlines An I-601 cannot be filed abroad prior to the immigrant visa or K visa interview. For an AOS include the I-601 packet with the AOS packet, if desired. For consular filings, the interview is the earliest date the I-601 can be filed. It is not the latest date. Some consulates, most notably Rio de Janeiro, have a policy that they will never accept the I-601 on the date of the interview, and the applicant must make a second in-person appointment to come back and file the waiver packet, even though this is a burden for many clients. For consulates that will accept on the day of the interview, if the applicant is not ready to file, they will typically be told they have 30 days to file. By law they actually have one year to file. Rather than waiting to file, you may choose to “fee in” by filing the form and the fee and possibly a bare minimum of supporting documents if the consulate demands it. The consulate will forward the case to the CIS office, getting the client’s case in the ‘queue’ for adjudication. While it’s in the queue, a more solid waiver packet can be compiled and submitted it to the CIS office as an “addendum” or “amendment” up until the time the adjudicator reviews the case, whenever that may be. The advantage to the fee-in-amend-later strategy is that it cuts processing time while preparing a quality packet. The disadvantage is that by submitting things separately there is a greater risk that amendments won’t make it to the right file. Always be sure to include the consular case number on the cover letter when sending amendments directly to the CIS office. If the client doesn’t contact your office until he/she has already been found inadmissible, the fee-in-amend-later strategy is preferable. Be careful of using this strategy for USCIS offices with a rapid turnover rate. You cannot use the fee-in-amend-later strategy for the Waiver Pilot Program in Ciudad Juarez as a decision will be made quickly. For in-country filings, sometimes the client does not know he will be found inadmissible until the adjustment interview. CIS will typically give the client 30 days to file the I-601. In this situation, extensions are not always granted and the fee-in-amend-later strategy is not recommended as a decision on the merits can be made immediately upon filing. Can denials to Applications for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility be appealed? An appeal following an administrative denial to an Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility must be made to the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO). It must be filed within 30 days of the date of the denial. Note that it is possible to fee-in-amend-alter with the appeal. In such a case it is necessary to submit the I-290B and filing fee within 30 days of the denial (33 if mailed), but on the form there’s a box that can be checked indicating that the representing attorney will send the brief directly to the Administrative Appeals Office within 30 days. As the waiver decision is discretionary, it is very difficult to win an appeal. AAO does not like to overturn the discretionary decision on I-601 waivers. AAO discourages new arguments being presented on appeal that were not in the original I-601 packet, but new or ‘updated’ evidence is generally acceptable. Once an appeal is filed, and forwarded to the AAO in Washington, DC, it is out of the hands of the CIS office that denied the case. The OIC does not have more access to information about the appeal than the attorney. Direct inquiries to the AAO, not the office that denied the case. Due to the lengthy processing time for appeals (can be 24 months or more) consider refilling a new I-601 packet instead, especially if the client attempted the first I-601 pro se and it is clear that a better packet can be compiled. Some consulates will tell you that you cannot file a new I-601 without starting over with a new petition. Fight the consulate on this. The DOS Advisory Opinion Office will back you up. For an in-country I-601 denial, the appeal will probably not stop the client from being placed into proceedings as the I-485 would also be denied. There is nothing to lose by attempting to get Deferred Action following the I-601 denial. Other tactics for how to handle immigration proceedings following I-601 denial are beyond the scope of this advisory. The I-290B is normally filed with the consulate, but in a few parts of the world it is filed with the CIS office. Be sure to review the instructions on the denial notice. Any Motion to Reconsider will be automatically converted into an appeal if the CIS office denies the Motion. Normally no notice of the decision on the Motion to Reconsider is given if it is denied. It is only possible to know it has been converted into an appeal by making inquiries. Consider carefully filing a Motion to Reconsider before the OIC if claiming Abuse of Discretion before the AAO. It’s hard to fashion an Abuse of Discretion argument that is not a bit insulting to the OIC who made the decision. If you think you may be able to win a Motion to Reconsider with new evidence, you must explain why the new evidence was not submitted in the first place. OICs will not entertain a de novo I-601 filed as an MTR. Even if you have a good reason for not submitting the new evidence prior to the denial, the new evidence should still be limited. The more it looks like a de novo I-601, the less likely the OIC will be to vacate his original decision. Prepare in Advance or Wait? If there is any question as to whether the client will actually be found inadmissible, Counsel may choose to wait until the finding of admissibility is made at the consulate interview or the AOS interview prior to working on the waiver. If the client is found inadmissible having waited will add at least 30 days to the entire process because it will take at least that long to prepare the waiver. However, if the client is not found inadmissible, the client will have saved thousands of dollars in attorney’s fees. APPENDIX: CASE LAW These are cases in which the definition of Extreme Hardship is discussed. This is not an exhaustive list, but most of these cases are Suspension of Deportation or Cancellation of Removal cases or are about the waiver under INA 212(h). Especially useful is O-J-O. Matter of W, 9 I&N Dec. 1 (BIA 1960) Matter of Shaughnessy, 12 I&N 810 (BIA 1968) Matter of Anderson, 16 I&N Dec. 596 (BIA 1978) Matter of Ngai 19 I&N Dec. 245 (Comm. 1984) Matter of I-G-E, 20 I&N Dec. 880 (BIA 1994) Matter of Pilch, 21 I & N Dec. 627 (BIA 1996) Matter of L-O-G-, 21 I&N Dec. 413 (BIA 1996) In re O-J-O-, 21 I&N Dec. 381 (BIA 1996) Matter of Monreal, 23 I & N Dec. 56 (BIA 2001) In re Kao and Lin, 23 I & N Dec. 45 (BIA 2001) Matter of Recinas, 23 I&N Dec. 467 (BIA 2002) Copyrighted by Laurel Scott and Elizabeth Cannon. All rights reserved.	Traci - Andrew	Male	United Kingdom	2010-06-16 06:02:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	Waiting for I-601 Waivers in London US Embassy	This is a very interesting thread. Is the first time I read it, but I will follow your process. This process is so stressful, and more if u have to apply a waiver. I´m surprised and glad u r usually on good attitude. Good luck to u both, I´m sure lots of people in your situation r learning more. Hope u have good updates next week. So much for the updates... The USCIS have managed to make us wait 19 days so far since the last update of the I-601 Status Update file, it is looking like today will not be the day for an update either, so I can only guess that it will be the 3rd week anniversary on Wednesday 16th June 2010 which just so happens to be my Wifes birthday... So I would be very happy if they were to release an update by then with our case moving to completed for her birthday present, after all it is her big one... (not allowed to tell you how old she is) Anyway lets see what happens this week, Wednesday would be 21 days or 3 weeks, which is a long time to wait between updates. Take care Andrew	Traci - Andrew	Male	United Kingdom	2010-06-14 10:31:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	Waiting for I-601 Waivers in London US Embassy	OK people... Here are the highlights, details & stats of this USCIS I-601 update for 26th May 2010 6 UK & Ireland COMPLETED CASES (5 cases from Under Review to Completed and 1 case from Pending direct to Completed) also 1 x Scandinavian case Completed, The 6 x London cases are: (LND2009 624 005 / LND2009 549 015 / LND2009 529 043 / LND2009 605 022 / LND2009 779 011 / LND2009 633 007) The 1 x Scandinavian case (STK2009 640 003) 1 x London case added to the "Under Review" pile (LND2008 843 014) And 9.. yes 9 cases added to the Pending pile making it 35 UK & Ireland cases Pending and 5 Scandinavian cases Pending, which now totals a whopping 40 cases and only 2 people to deal with them all... This was a very exciting update for the 16 people involved that were being added, moved or completed however it was a very disappointing update for most of us on the Visa Journey website as we were the non movers, in fact one of the oldest cases that had been waiting for 219 days was at last completed, this now makes our case the second oldest at 196 days with the number one spot at 220 days so far. The details of all the changes have been recorded on the spreadsheet which you can download from here: > I-601 Status Spreadsheet 26th May 2010 Well I guess that is it for this week, I hope I am wrong and that they still try and update us one more time on Friday before the Bank Holiday. Anyway congratulations to all those people that managed to get a completed status today and a big welcome to all the 9 new cases that were also added. Take care Andrew	Traci - Andrew	Male	United Kingdom	2010-05-26 12:35:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	Waiting for I-601 Waivers in London US Embassy	Hi everybody... I have emailed some questions to an Immigration Lawyer (Steven D. Heller) whom is based in Brighton in the UK, he is a US Citizen and has previously worked as an adjudicator for the USCIS at the London US Embassy. So this will be as close as we can get to an insiders view of what happens behind the scenes by someone who held an adjudicators position These are the Questions I asked along with his responses: 1. Could you please explain the process behind the scenes for “Pending”, “Under Review” & “Completed”, i.e. what happens from the time the file is recorded on the waiver list until it is completed and what is carried out at what stage in the process? A1. As you probably know, the processing of a 601 waiver application starts with the assembly and review of the application by the Immigrant Visa Unit in the Consular Section. This can take some time. The application is then presented to USCIS. Once it is received by USCIS, it is identified as "pending." If there is an A-file associated with a case USCIS will request to file from the US. Generally, the application will not be adjudicated whilst the A-file request is pending. Cases are not necessarily adjudicated in the order they are received because there may be cause for delay or cause to expedite (see below). Once a case is assigned to an adjudicator, it is listed as "under review." This can take some time as some cases may required legal or factual research or additional information from the applicant. After a final decision is made it is identified as "completed." 2. How many adjudicators work in the US London Embassy and do they do all the work or do they have other staff working for them? A2. Currently, there are two USCIS adjudicating officers (one of whom is also the office director). They handle everything themselves (no small task, really; when I worked there we had 4). 3. Why can there be several weeks without any cases completing and yet at other times lots of cases completing in a short period, why does this occur? A3. As every case is different, the adjudication process can vary. Some cases are easier than others. Staffing obligations, such as performing military naturalisations, addressing other pending applications, liaison activities, or the well-earned holiday can affect processing times. 4. Is there anything an applicant can do to check on the status of their case other than call the £1.50 per/min line in Scotland? A4. Not really. See 1. 5. Is there anything an applicant can do to try to escalate a timescale issue? And if so will it prejudice their case? A5. As with other types of applications, cases can be expedited for good cause (e.g. Health reasons). When requesting an expedite, one should be able to document the cause for special handling. There is no prejudice for requesting an expedite, but if it were based on fraud, that would be a negative discretionary factor (see my article). 6. What is the normal I-601 waiver timescale for a case with a few minor and over 25 years old CIMT’s and a immigration fraud charge for not ticking the yes box on the Visa Waiver form for CIMT’s? A6. There's really no baseline. A simple CIMT that occurred 25 years ago could be handled quite quickly. Once you need to establish extreme hardship, it really depends on the totality of the circumstance--and, most importantly, the hardship. 7. Are there any special dates or holidays when processing speeds up or slows down and why? A7. Unofficially, I think there is always a desire to identify approvable cases for Christmas and Thanksgiving. 8. Is an average of 3.3 to 5 completed cases a month considered a good or bad average, and what should the average be? Is there any targets? A8. I don't recall having any targets. Because of the unique nature of each case, and the various staff responsibilities (see 3) I think it is impossible to suggest an average. 9. Once a case is completed what reasons could there be for it to be put in to AP? A9. AP? 10. What information does the adjudicator have to gather that takes all this time, considering that all original police records, court records and police certificate were handed over with the waiver documentation? A10. See 1. It's really case-by-case. It could be for corroboration of a stated hardship (e.g. Availability of needed medical treatment; child custody order for previous marriage; financial information). Such delays can often be avoided if you have a decent US immigration lawyer working on your behalf. The key is the hardship to the US spouse. I would like to backup what Steven said in his answer to question 10, If you are going to go through this waiver process, then this is probably one of the most important decisions that is life changing, therefore I would highly recommend a immigration lawyer to make sure everything is ticked, crossed and dotted in the right place otherwise it costs you time and maybe a relationship. I can not personally recommend Steven Heller or his Immigration law practice as I have my own Lawyer based in the USA, however from first impressions Steven is someone whom communicates quickly, which is more than my lawyer does, I have to send several emails before I get an answer, he has also been a USCIS adjudicator at the London US Embassy, so whom better to represent you than someone whom knows how the USCIS adjudicators tick? anyway that is my opinion, and if you find yourself requiring a waiver then you could do a lot lot worse than use Steven Heller.. here is his details for contacting him about waivers or visa work, please do not abuse the email address for asking a whole lot of questions as his time is money and he will get fed up very quickly if everyone starts to bombard him with questions. Steven D. Heller US Immigration Lawyer in the UK The Brighton Forum 95 Ditchling Road Brighton BN1 4ST Tel. 01273 409550 Fax. 01273 371063 Email. sheller@us-visa.co.uk US-Visa Website Anyway I hope the above helps answer some of your questions, these were the points that come to mind and I even tried an AP one just in case he knew.. but he did not have an answer for that. Here is a link to the email that I sent: Questions Email And here is the reply I received: Answers Email Take Care Andrew	Traci - Andrew	Male	United Kingdom	2010-05-20 08:48:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	Waiting for I-601 Waivers in London US Embassy	OK here are the highlights, details & stats of this USCIS I-601 update for 19th May 2010 NO COMPLETED CASES 1 x London case (LND2009 691 006) and 1 x Scandinavian case (STK2009 650 003) moved from Pending to Under Review 4 x London cases added to the Pending pile (LND2010 036 001 - LND2009 621 008 - LND2009 577 023 - LND2009 563 019) 1 x Scandinavian case Removed from the Pending pile (STK2009 640 003) So this is a very disappointing update for everyone, except for the cases that were added and moved above The details of all the changes have been recorded on the spreadsheet which you can download from here: > I-601 Status Spreadsheet 19th May 2010 Ok here are some stats for those of you who like to know how uncle Sam's USCIS are performing with your hard earned tax dollars... Number of cases completed since October 2009 = 35 Number of cases on average completed per week = 1.2 Number of cases on average completed per month = 5 Number of days since last completed case = 27 days Number of cases completed this last quarter (Last 3 months) = 10 The above figures show a slowdown of cases being completed, as the average over the last 7 months is 5 cases per month, however the average over the last 3 months has only been 3.33 cases per month, showing that they have slowed down the completion rate by 1.7 cases per month. I noticed that we have our first 2010 case now showing up so I certainly hope that they will start to pickup speed again as this slowdown is very upsetting for all involved, yes there are people in AP and this is also very bad indeed, however if you look at some of the entire timescales that some people have been waiting, including their K1/K3/Waiver applications this is many years of waiting not just the average waiver time period. We are all hurting both in the I-601 waiver and AP sections of this site, I do not think it is in anyones interest to compare waiting times or hardship, as every case is different and we never know all the facts behind each cases, we only know what people are prepared to disclose on VJ, I do not think anyone will want to say that their partner to be was a former junkie or rapist etc etc.. so I think we should just focus on our own cases, and moan to each other as needed... but the one we all have in common is that the good old USCIS and the US government are the ones to blame for keeping us apart from our loved ones. Anyway sermon over... I hope everyone looks forward to the next update which may be Friday but is looking like the following Friday 28th May 2010. Take care everyone Andrew	Traci - Andrew	Male	United Kingdom	2010-05-19 05:38:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	Waiting for I-601 Waivers in London US Embassy	Hi Everyone Just a quick hello from me to let you all know that I am still alive and waiting for my software application to tell me when the next USCIS update happens... It has been 12 days so far since our last update (Friday May 7th), it looks like the USCIS may be falling back in to their bad old ways of updating us sometimes on a 2 weekly cycle, I hope I am wrong about this, but the lack of an update so far has indicated that they may only update us this Friday which will be 14 days since the last one. Considering that the last update on the 7th May only added one new case, and the one previous to that on the 30th April only added 2 new cases, this would indicate that they should have a Sh!t load of movements and completions to post on this next update.. after all they have only completed 2 cases over the last 50 days !!! So no completions since the 22nd April which by Friday will be one month with NO completed cases? what the hell are they doing? My poor wife is getting rather tired of this whole process now, as you can see by her last post.. So to try and cheer her up I explained that this waiver process is like traveling in a car and needing to go to the toilet, whilst you know you have a long way to go you can put up with the discomfort and manage to hold it in, but the closer you get to the end of your journey the body realizes this and you suffer pain and may lose control at the last few moments because your brain knows you are within minutes of a toilet.. This is similar to the whole Waiver process, whilst you know that you have weeks or months ahead of you, you can cope with the stress of waiting, but as soon as you pass what is considered the normal timescale, your body tells you it must be in the next update and each time you get disappointed you know you have to wait a week or two for the next update and surely you will be on this one... I hate this process, I think that it can destroy the weaker relationships amongst us, lucky for me that my wife Traci is strong enough to get through this with my help, but I am sure that many other relationships fail after such a long wait, I do not know if it is what the USCIS hope for or not, but I am sure it does the USCIS some good when applicants fall apart and pull out as it will be another immigrant less in the USA. "So much for trying to reunite families" I wish they knew how much this whole process impacted all our lives and the lives of our partners, children and relatives.. maybe then they would find a better way on dealing with these matters and offer faster processing or more information regarding the whole process with lots of updates along the way. Anyway folks, I will let you know when the I-601 Status PDF gets updated, my software is checking every 5 minutes between the hours of 8am to 8pm every working day, this will then update me and Traci and I will update everyone on here with my usual stats and comments. Well take care everyone and keep your chins up.. hopefully the USCIS will have to get around to completing all of our cases soon if not in this next update.. which I predict will be Friday 21st May. Take Care Andrew	Traci - Andrew	Male	United Kingdom	2010-05-18 19:05:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	Waiting for I-601 Waivers in London US Embassy	Hi Andrew, Thanks so much for compiling and updating that spreadsheet. It provides exactly the sort of info that my husband & I have been craving but were (possibly) too lazy and (certainly) too inept at Excel programming to produce ourselves! Many mysteries remain re: USCIS and the whole I-601 process, but we now know the mean and variance of waiting times, thanks to you. Here's hoping your long wait is soon over, and with a very happy outcome! All best wishes, Andrea Thanks Andrea It is nice to be appreciated my wife (Traci ) and I feel good by helping other by our experiences that we have gained during our journey and my I.T skills for the spreadsheet and other statistical information. I wish we could have found someone like us to have produced this as it gives a far clearer view from the outset what you are in for. Thanks again for the comment and welcome.. I hope you post many more comments and become one of the VJ family. Take Care Andrew	Traci - Andrew	Male	United Kingdom	2010-05-07 07:19:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	Waiting for I-601 Waivers in London US Embassy	Hi Guys OK here is the latest after digesting the update today (Friday 7th May 2010) USCIS have added 1 case to the "Pending" pile, this is case number LND2008 301 001 That is it... They have done absolutley nothing else, no more movement from Pending to Under Review or any cases to completed.. in fact they have only completed 2 cases over the last 36 days on the 21st April 2010. Even with the Bank Holiday you would have thought that they could have completed some more of the 9 London cases that are still Under Review or even if they were waiting on paperwork or other information then why not bring forward some more Pending cases to work on in the meantime? Well I have written to the USCIS Ombudsman but have not yet received any response to my email, they do have however now have access to my spreadsheet, which hopefully will open their eyes to the long periods of time that we are all having to wait whilst appantently USCIS sit on their backsides doing nothing. Do I sound a bit negative or pissed off... yes I am.. I am sorry but we will have been waiting for 26 weeks for our case to go to completed when we were told 15-16 weeks, add the extra 2 years that we have also been going through the other K1/K3 processes and you can see why this delay is not welcome and gets us upset. I am going to contact a lawyer that used to work for the USCIS adjudication dept in the London US Embassy to see if he can enlighten us as to why there are periods of time when nothing happens to any cases for months? also I will be asking him about the best way to get someone to investigate the slow service of these cases. Anyway my rant is over for this week, I hope you all have a good one and will be in touch soon. As always my updated spreadsheet can be found here > I-601 Update Spreadsheet 7th May 2010 Regards Andrew	Traci - Andrew	Male	United Kingdom	2010-05-07 06:25:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	Waiting for I-601 Waivers in London US Embassy	I-601 UPDATED TODAY (FRIDAY 7TH MAY 2010) I will update you all with the latest changes shortly. Only one new addition to Pending, no other movements	Traci - Andrew	Male	United Kingdom	2010-05-07 05:51:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	Waiting for I-601 Waivers in London US Embassy	Hi everyone My wife Traci came across this interesting article published by an Immigration Lawyer who used to work as as USCIS Adjudicator in the London US Embassy !! He has an email address and link to his website in the article, he may be able to answer some of the burning question you may have, however I don't know how busy he is, but he is based in Brighton in the UK, If I had known this information before submitting my I-601, I would have engaged him for our case, as not only does he know all about I-601 cases being a former Adjudicator but he knows all about the process and the people who work in the I-601 section. The document can be downloaded here > UK Based Lawer/USCIS Adjudicator Document	Traci - Andrew	Male	United Kingdom	2010-04-22 05:49:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	Waiting for I-601 Waivers in London US Embassy	Hi Everyone The USCIS has decided that we have been good and furnished us with an update today 19th April 2010 So the highlights of todays update is: 4 Cases added to the "Pending" pile making a total of 19 UK cases in total now !! 6 Cases added to the "Under Review" pile from the Pending pile, this brings the total UK based Under Review cases to a massive total of 11 1 Case was removed from the list, this may be completed but they failed to tell us or it was cancelled, anyway the case was Under Review and then disappeared Well this was a mixed bag update, many people will have enjoyed being added and moved from Pending to Under Review at last, however there was NONE COMPLETED but as they now have so many Under Review they must start to complete some soon... hopefully by this Friday (23/04/2010) I hope, this is my prediction anyway. As usual you can see these changes in my updated spreadsheet here > I-601 Status Update Spreadsheet 19th April 2010 Well done and congratulations to JustJ who was one of those cases that went from Pending to Under Review Well my Website monitoring software worked well, it enabled me to be the first to announce the update and work on the spreadsheet far earlier with my Wife Traci. Wishing you all the best on the next update. Take care all.. Andrew	Traci - Andrew	Male	United Kingdom	2010-04-19 06:13:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	Waiting for I-601 Waivers in London US Embassy	Hi Everybody My wife Traci came across a very imformative PDF file whilst searching the web for more I-601 information. This is the official PDF file from the USCIS sent out to Adjudication Officers in remote offices like the London US embassy You can find this form here > I-601 Adjudication Officer Guide PDF This handbook enables you to see exactly what they are looking out for as well as all the paperwork processes they have to follow, it is long but rather interesting and my guess would be that after reading this you would have a greater idea of what the adjudicator does his his/her time. If it manages to help anyone then great, it will have been worthwhile posting. Take care Andrew	Traci - Andrew	Male	United Kingdom	2010-04-16 05:07:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	Waiting for I-601 Waivers in London US Embassy	Hi everyone I thought I would share some facts and figures with you calculated from my spreadsheet, USCIS give out a timescale of 15 Weeks or 105 days from start to finish. USCIS at the London Embassy have completed an average of 1.3 Cases per week since I started collecting data back in October 2009 until today 12th April 2010. 40 cases go to under review in this timeframe with an average timescale from under review to complete in 22 days. 40 Cases go from Pending/Under review to Completed in this same timeframe which averages 52 days from start to finish.	Traci - Andrew	Male	United Kingdom	2010-04-12 19:44:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	Waiting for I-601 Waivers in London US Embassy	Thanks for all your updates Andrew I do read all your posts and im sure theres plenty of us out here who keep an eye and are totally interested.sorry for not replying earlier. Thanks jnurse68 I appreciate the comment... I have had enough people contact me now so I will keep this going, even if I manage to help one more person through this process I will feel good that I have helped someone else in my position. I just wish I had someone furnish me with a spreadsheet and updates & info when we started we may not have spent so long making some wrong decisions. Anyway thanks and I hope all goes well with your case. Regards Andrew	Traci - Andrew	Male	United Kingdom	2010-04-12 05:57:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	Waiting for I-601 Waivers in London US Embassy	Hi Everybody USCIS has furnished us with another update today 12th April 2010, this time instead of just a date change they have added 1 more case to the Pending pile I hope they continue on with this new trend of updating the I-601 Status PDF file when changes actually occur as it makes it better for everyone involved in this long winded and emotional process, as we all like to see changes occur when they happen so it shows some movement at the adjudicators end and therefore we can hope that our case will be the next one updated or moved. I have also found some software that cost $49 for personal use that can tell you exactly when this page gets updated and send you an email with 3 attachments, before, current and one with the changes highlighted. anyway if you are interested in this software they do a 30 day evaluation from : Website Watcher Software Link This should help me stay on top of the updates before anyone else Anyway I have updated the spreadsheet > I-601 Status Spreadsheet I hope you are all OK and hanging on in there... Regards Andrew AKA The Spreadsheet King (Thanks JustJ)	Traci - Andrew	Male	United Kingdom	2010-04-12 05:52:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	Waiting for I-601 Waivers in London US Embassy	OK as predicted the USCIS have done another update for us this Friday 9th April 2010... However they made NO CHANGES? No not even a tiny one, no cases added, moved or removed. They must have done it just to please us with an update on the Friday as we expect, lets just hope they are going to update the list again soon with some changes this time, maybe it was too much to expect when only 4 working days had past since the last one So other than they updated the I-601 Status PDF file with todays date, that is all I have to report... Sorry guys, I guess we will have to wait yet another week until next Friday. Here is the link to my updated spreadsheet containing the addition of a new date > I-601 Status Spreadsheet Regards Andrew	Traci - Andrew	Male	United Kingdom	2010-04-09 11:01:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	Waiting for I-601 Waivers in London US Embassy	No update today (Thursday 8th April 2010) after 1 week, however we have had the Easter bank holiday in between but I hope they will update us as they used to every Friday. So lets hope tomorrow (Friday 9th April 2010) sees an update with lots of movement If you do find any of these posts useful, reply as it will let others know that maybe just browse. Many thanks Andrew	Traci - Andrew	Male	United Kingdom	2010-04-08 15:00:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	Waiting for I-601 Waivers in London US Embassy	Hi everyone I was doing a bit of research and came across a very good document prepared by an immigration attorney based in Texas for other immigration attorneys, it gives a very good insight to the whole I-601 process as well as what USCIS considers good or bad grounds... it is worth the read as it even tells you the process if the I-601 fails also how many hours an attorney should charge for, to put together a good I-601 case. You can look at the PDF file directly here > I-601 Waiver Memo	Traci - Andrew	Male	United Kingdom	2010-04-08 14:54:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	Waiting for I-601 Waivers in London US Embassy	Hi Andrew, Thanks for your posts and for the spreadsheet. If we are to continue with the Visa process, in all likelihood, we will need to apply for a Waiver. So, I am interested in how the process works. It's all quite disheartening, isn't it? I can't understand why it takes such a long time. Wouldn't you like to be a fly on the wall in their offices to see what goes on day to day? I know I would. Hi Mintchip (Interesting name?) Thanks for the reply, I have just posted a new post on this subject as I came across a very good document written by an immigration attorney for other attorneys... it gives a very good insight as to how to prepare a very good waiver and the sort of things that the USCIS look out for. I have added the link here, but it is also available via Visa Jouney under my post. Hope to speak to you soon and if you need any advice just ask we have been through quite a bit so I may be able to help in some way. Direct Link > I-601 Memo Document Regards Andrew I read your posts, and they certainly are interesting, but as I'm in AP and not on the waiver list, there's little that I can add, sorry! Thanks for the reply anyway Treehugger Regards Andrew	Traci - Andrew	Male	United Kingdom	2010-04-08 14:51:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	Waiting for I-601 Waivers in London US Embassy	I have 121 Views but no replies? Hey if you find this information of interest drop a reply, as I seem to be the only one posting on this subject. Anyway if no one shows any interest in this subject then I will have to stop updating it and remove it, as I do not want to waste my time on trying to help others if nop one either reads my posts or comments on them. Andrew	Traci - Andrew	Male	United Kingdom	2010-03-29 07:12:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	Waiting for I-601 Waivers in London US Embassy	OK here we are on Monday 29th March 2010 and the USCIS have decided to update the I-601 Status PDF file (I-601 Status PDF) however unlike what we were hoping for, they released a pretty ####### update again. 1 New person joining the waiting list 1 New person going straight to under review 1 Person going from pending to under review 1 Person going from under review to completed 1 Person removed from the list altogether It takes no work at all to add to the list, it takes no work to remove someone from the list, so what have they really done this last 10 days.. take two files from the pending pile and put it on their desk and work on one of the under review files on their desk and complete it... well done USCIS at last some progress. However some of the longer pending cases like say my one is still being passed over for newer cases, 2 cases jumped in front of us again this update, so we are still the longest pending case out there. I have updated my spreadsheet so you can see all this activity ;o) I-601 Status Timescale Spreadsheet Anyway I doubt if they will update us again this week as Easter is upon us in a few days and they will have the Friday & Monday off so my guess will be another update on Friday 9th April 2010. Sorry guys... but this is my way of venting frustration, I know we are all in the same boat and that this will end eventually, however I thank everyone for their comments and support. Take care Andrew	Traci - Andrew	Male	United Kingdom	2010-03-29 07:06:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	Waiting for I-601 Waivers in London US Embassy	I-601 Waivers - CIS Ombudsman Teleconference, August 26, 2009 I just found this article on the USCIS website, it tells you a bit more about the process for waivers and timescales. I-601 Waivers - CIS Ombudsman Teleconference, August 26, 2009 Let me know if this helps or not? Andrew	Traci - Andrew	Male	United Kingdom	2010-03-25 19:32:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	Waiting for I-601 Waivers in London US Embassy	Hi All 18 March 2010 Update Well the USCIS/DHS decided to update us all with a Thursday release of the I_601 Status PDF file , I thought it would have been tomorrow, however I guess they were rushing to tell us all that they had actually completed one easy case and has added one more to the Pending list... . Not bad when you consider they have not updated us for the last 10 days? They must of been so pleased with the progress they made to announce it one day earlier than the normal Friday release. This was far from what we were all expecting, seeing as they have not completed any cases since the 12th Feb 2010 other than City2CountryGirl's easy admin error case, I thought that after 5 weeks they would have released a status update that would have cleared some of the ones under review and let some more pending cases move up to under review to be worked on. Anyway rant nearly over now, I am just very dismayed at the progress that they are making, after me compiling a spreadsheet to monitor this, it just highlights how bad the service actually is, I guess I should have stayed in ignorant bliss and just hope and pray like everyone else, anyway if anyone wants to see the past performance and the status of all cases since October then just click on this link. I-601 Status Spreadsheet Well I guess we will have to wait another 8 days until next Friday for them to release the next update, let’s hope they can please us all on the next one and show that they have done some work and moved a lot of us forward. Good luck to all. Andrew	Traci - Andrew	Male	United Kingdom	2010-03-18 18:06:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	Waiting for I-601 Waivers in London US Embassy	Hi Both Traci & I have had our fair share of waiting, first the K1 process, then the K3/CR1 process and now the I-601 Waiver process, and so far this has taken 2 1/2 Years !! So I thought to help other VJ users that our in our position as well as the other VJ users that will be in our position in the near future, I would produce this sub-topic to give some helpful information as I have been keeping movement activity on a spreadsheet Since October 2009 to date, this makes for some very interesting reading, with this info at your fingertips it will be as helpful as knowing there are 49 balls in the lottery ;o) Seriously the info shows some patterns, but holidays have got in the way of making the data show any true trends, the only thing I can say for certain is that they try to update the online Status form every Friday, sometimes they miss the deadline and update it on a Monday instead, however they can also skip an update and produce an update which falls on the on the Friday two weeks later. I have also found a fault on the website and communicated it to them as the I-601 Status Web form was not linked correctly and was bringing up an older status form from a couple of weeks prior to the last update, the webmaseter was very helpful and fixed the problem within a couple of days and thanked me for my help, but he also communicated to me that they try to update every Friday if possible, so this should take a lot of the guesswork out of knowing when to check the site. I-601 Status I have made a spreadsheet which I update regularly and I will put the link here for you to look at, it may not be the worlds best and I may have been able to do it better, but I am doing this for everyone to get an idea about the time lag between applying and getting completed and am not too concerned about the look and feel. I-601 Waiver Timescale Spreadsheet Anyway enjoy posting questions or helpful comments on here about LONDON US EMBASSY I-601 cases both past and present and lets try and get through this difficult time together. And for a bit of a Laugh, check out my wife in this YouTube video of a slight mishap ;o) Laugh Regards Andrew McJannett-Smith Edited by Traci - Andrew, 15 March 2010 - 10:20 PM.	Traci - Andrew	Male	United Kingdom	2010-03-15 22:16:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Help with bad past	Andrew - I'm saying that reporting of crimes in the UK is different than in the US and that yes, Dodi and others should be cautious when advising what to expect on a UK police report. Also, due to the concept of "spent crimes" many UK citizens are unaware that a crime wiped from their UK record could create problems when filing for a US visa. Dodi, you're a bit rude, aren't you? I'm certainly no troll. And if you want others to "get something out of the forum" then accept learning the process to be part of your benefit as well. Hi JohnnyQuest I agree with most of what you wrote about how people are unaware of the spent crimes rule in the UK is not applicable to US laws, however it was just an observation that you did not post what your objection was to Dodi's post. Regards Andrew Yeah... I thought it might be necessary! It will certainly stop me from thinking your a guy... (sorry i forgot i was married for a second) Sorry Traci xx	Traci - Andrew	Male	United Kingdom	2010-07-27 16:44:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Help with bad past	Andrew... I'm a SHE. Sorry Dodi... did you just add your picture	Traci - Andrew	Male	United Kingdom	2010-07-27 16:39:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Help with bad past	You do understand that the legal system in Great Britain is different from over here in the US, correct? Hi JohnnyQuest I am sure Dodi is aware of the difference in the laws between here and the UK, but what point exactly were you getting at? Did Dodi offer the wrong advice or did you disagree with something he said? Regards Andrew	Traci - Andrew	Male	United Kingdom	2010-07-27 15:51:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Help with bad past	Spoiler Thanks Andrew, It helps a lot although it isn't great news. Further research has suggested that the guidelines suggest assault with intent to cause serious bodily harm is tantamount to a CIMT. Not sure where that leaves ABH. Under English law serious assault is more comparable with GBH. In fact the language is now used to describe the the equivalent to GBH as it forms part of the definition of Murder under the Homicide Act. I'm going to research US definitions of the offense. Will it at any point help me if i can show reasonable grounds for believing that my arrest was not for a CIMT? I'm more concerned about the Immigration fraud aspect. As mentioned the ABH was arrest only and i was cleared so i feel in the long run that aspect can be resolved more easily even if requiring a waiver. When determining whether an offense had SITCBI would the person reviewing the application have any guidelines as to what that might be defined as? Also is there a way of getting a copy of my police record without using the links you provided (even if it isn't official). Although i was told i was under arrest for ABH i was part of a group. I don't know how this might have been recorded. I don't want to fill in that form saying as much, for my record to have a lesser offense on it and this to raise a question with the OB. Likewise the D&D was on an New Years Eve. My local police force had a very busy night, i don't know to what extent they will have recorded the details but i don't want to surrender more info than necessary. (Long shot i know) Also if i was able to get a K-1 would i be likely to face further issues once i applied for an AOS post wedding? Are you able to apply for dispensation to work whilst this is pending (as i believe you can whilst on a K-1) Sorry for the barrage of questions, I'm finding this tough to get started with and that is from someone who holds a law degree in the Uk and who's partner is currently studying for one in the US. Cheers, Ex Hi Ex Basically a CIMT is an offense that is committed against a person or property (This is a very rough rule of thumb) so I think ABH would be considered a CIMT but of a lesser degree, for instance one of my early CIMT's was for stealing £1.43 worth of Petrol from another car when our car ran out of fuel miles away from a petrol station, we thought it would be OK to do this, however we were seen the police called all 4 of us arrested and charged.. so what can be considered a real petty crime with no real intention to harm or hurt anyone else can be seen very differently to the USCIS and their law book. I think that this USCIS Adjudicator guide may be what you are looking for to give you some answers: USCIS Adjudicator Guide As for your records (Subject Access) just send in the paperwork as requested but if they ask you to list previous crimes then leave it blank as I am sure your memory will not stretch back that far as to remember details, they will then send you a copy of what they have on the Police National Computer system (PNC Check), then check this to see what is or is not recorded and then decide if you want to volunteer the extra info if not recorded, not a choice that I would make personally as if this was important they would have recorded it and the court records or other paper trail would be available, unlike volunteered info that has no paper trail or court records for you to back it up as the USCIS want. I believe that you can ask the immigration officer at the Point Of Entry (POE or place where you land first in the USA) for a work permit to allow you to work up to your AOS, this will take more time and you may have to wait longer at the POE to get it, but it is down to the Immigration Officer, most will some won't. I hope this helps. Regards Andrew	Traci - Andrew	Male	United Kingdom	2010-07-27 15:31:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Help with bad past	Hi New to the site. Andrew, do you know if either Drunk and Disorderly or ABH would be considered as MT. The former is a caution and the latter is an arrest with bail then no further action. I assume both would be present on a police record unless there has been an admin error. Hi Exile ABH will be considered a very serious CIMT (Crime Involving Moral Turpitude), however the Drunk & Disorderly charge on it's own should not be a CIMT unless you committed an illegal act or damage to a person or property at the time of the offense, ie if you were charged for Drunk and Disorderly for smashing a pub window then this would be a CIMT, but if you were just falling over and making a pest of yourself to other people then this may not be a CIMT. My advice would be to obtain your "Subject Access" report from the ACPO website, after you have this you will need your Police Certificate, you can apply for both at the same time. Check through your record and see what appears, if any of the crimes are considered CIMT's then it depends on how old they are, for the USCIS to consider you rehabilitated they should be older than 15 years otherwise a I-601 waiver will need to be completed as you will be denied due to the CIMT's at the interview. However if you have traveled to the USA on the Visa Waiver Program in the past and on the landing card you have ticked NO to the question that asks if you have ever committed a CIMT, then at the interview the officer dealing with your case will tell you you have committed immigration fraud and you will then be denied for 2 reasons, one of having CIMT's and the second more harder charge to overcome Misrepresentation (Mis-Rep) Then you will be advised at the interview if a waiver is available to overturn the denial, if so then an I-601 waiver for extreme hardship will be required, but if you know this is going to happen before the denial, you can get your waiver prepared so you can hand it over at the interview to save time, but you may need the services of a good immigration lawyer to put a convincing package together. I hope this helps. Regards Andrew	Traci - Andrew	Male	United Kingdom	2010-07-26 02:01:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Help with bad past	Hi Gemmie I very much doubt your statement is correct, maybe you mis-read the actual phrase and instead of "No Trace" you thought is said "No Live Trace".. anyway to prove my point and to educate others that may also be confused, I have added a link to open up a copy of the official letter that you get with the Police certificate: Police Certificate Letter Regards Andrew Link Broken... Try this one: Police Certificate Letter	Traci - Andrew	Male	United Kingdom	2010-07-25 03:32:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Help with bad past	I have a related question: what if the UK citizen was arrested for petty larceny in the past decade, but then after being brought into the police station, was questioned and then released without charges pressed, no conviction, and a caution issued? I believe a standard caution is only on someone's record for five years, but I realize this will probably still show up on the police certificate as No Live Trace, which means there will be an issue with the crimes of moral turpitude question on the VWP landing card over the past few years. What should we expect at this point (we've only just sent away for the police certificate), how should we prepare to handle this? Hi You should send off not just for the police certificate, but for the SUBJECT ACCESS REPORT from the ACPO website, this report requires you to prove your ID and then they will send you a report on your entire Police National Computer (PNC) record, this lists everything since the age of 15 on-wards, regardless of the crime or step-down periods. Once you read this report, you will know what you have to report to the USCIS along with your police certificate and any court records that match up with any crimes listed on the Subject Access Report. If your "Petty Larceny" incident does not show up, then the police have not considered it worthy of recording, therefore I would not muddy the waters by volunteering this particular information, as you can not back it up with any written documentation if it was not recorded. This is an ideal example of what I was trying to say before in this thread. So go get the Subject Access Report ASAP, and then check on that, the police report will only tell you if you have never been in trouble with the police "No Trace" or you have something on your record but not current and has been stepped down due to time limitations "No Live Trace" or you have some current/recent convictions and some stepped down "Further Information Stepped Down" or just recent convictions which will just be listed direct on the certificate. I hope this helps. Regards Andrew	Traci - Andrew	Male	United Kingdom	2010-07-24 20:44:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Help with bad past	Kathryn, Nobody here was trying to tell anyone to lie or falsify. Again, it's not to volunteer information you don't have any documentation to back up. If it's not on the reports and you have no way of obtaining documentation about it, such as VERY OLD infractions in smaller towns where records aren't the greatest, it might cause more harm than good, because you'll be required to get information where it doesn't exist anymore. I personally don't have this problem, as my fiance has NO criminal history whatsoever. All we wanted was for Boiler to calm it down and stop attacking people. That's all he did by coming here. His posts were not helpful in any way. Thank you for stepping in, but you seem to have misunderstood the entire problem here. Thanks for understanding my point Dodi, that is all I was trying to get across. Kind Regards Andrew	Traci - Andrew	Male	United Kingdom	2010-07-24 20:13:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Help with bad past	Moderator hat on: First, please do not make personal attacks or comments insulting others - they add nothing to the discussion and detract from the usefulness of the thread. Second, be very cautious about advising anyone not to disclose fully information about any run-ins that they have had in the past with the law - it is a violation of TOS to advise someone to lie or in any other way falsify information submitted to USCIS and you could also be causing them serious problems in the future if they take your advice. ****************************************************************************************** Moderator Hat off: - with regards to not fully disclosing all of your activities even if they don't officially show up in records, you need to be aware that there are further applications in the future that my well 'trip you up' and require you either to 'lie' on the application because you failed to disclose the information now - or disclose the information belatedly and face a possible charge of misrepresentation and whatever consequences go with it. You would be well advised to read over the I-485 Adjustment of Status application - specifically Section C.1. a) and b ) http://www.uscis.gov.../form/i-485.pdf ; also I-751 "Removal of Conditions" specifically part 3, 7. http://www.uscis.gov.../form/i-751.pdf and be sure to read over the instructions about 'criminal history' http://www.uscis.gov.../i-751instr.pdf . Also, the N-400 'Naturalization" application - specifically part 10. Section D "Good Moral Character" questions 15 to 21 http://www.uscis.gov.../form/n-400.pdf . This isn't 'fill out this form/get this visa and things are over and done with' - the K-1/K-3 process asks for the least details of your encounters with the law of any of the other immigration forms you will face on this journey. Start now with the approach you intend to follow all the way through because you will be asked more specific and less open to interpretation questions the deeper you get in the process and you may later be wishing you had been more 'up front' with your answers earlier on while you still had the chance. Hi Kathryn41 First of all I would like to clear my reputation that has just been sullyed on this thread by responding to your accusations. 1 - I have never told anyone to lie or to falsify information. ( I stated not to volunteer any information that was not on the Police Records, because if it does not show up on the records, then it is of no consequence as there is no history or backup paperwork - This was advised by Lawyers in the past as they said that the USCIS will use anything you give them against you, so the advice given was not to disclose anything that was not listed on the Police report, if it was important it would be recorded ). 2 - Read my posts before warning me about "personal attacks or comments insulting others", most of my posts are informative and helpful, the odd few are in defence of someone else starting to be insulting or starting a personal attack on me or someone else. 3 - I am not telling anyone to be a liar or to cheat, but only to just be aware of the concequences of volunteering certain information to an organisation/government department that will turn this information around and use it against you at any chance possible. So please read my other threads, look at the I-601 Spreadsheet I produce on every update for all VJ users, and then comment on my posts, however the user Boiler on the other hand, has to remove comments from his profile that other users have left, like "Get a life", so I can see who seems to mix it up on these forums. Link to the I-601 Spreadsheet: I-601 Spreadsheet Regards Andrew	Traci - Andrew	Male	United Kingdom	2010-07-24 20:02:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Help with bad past	I would just like to add that my police report came back as saying 'No Live Trace' and I have NEVER been in trouble with the police. No tickets, no arrests, no official warnings, nothing. And when I got to the interview, they asked if I had ever had any problems with police and I said none, and that was all that was asked. It wasn't until people on this forum told me what the statement meant that I started to wonder what the heck happened with my police check. Thankfully it didn't set me back at all. If you're asked at the interview if you've been in trouble, tell the truth! The last thing you need is a misrep charge. Hi Gemmie I very much doubt your statement is correct, maybe you mis-read the actual phrase and instead of "No Trace" you thought is said "No Live Trace".. anyway to prove my point and to educate others that may also be confused, I have added a link to open up a copy of the official letter that you get with the Police certificate: Police Certificate Letter Regards Andrew	Traci - Andrew	Male	United Kingdom	2010-07-24 19:37:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Help with bad past	Can I just add that I started this thread and now wish I hadn't. I didn't want all this arguing, just the simple facts. Can I publicly thank Andrew for all his help both on here and behind the scenes. Sir, you are a gentleman. We have used all your advice to put ourselves in a better frame of mind for the interview. Once again, many thanks Andrew. Hi Derek Thank you for you nice comment, all I ever try and do on here is help others less experienced than myself so that they do not fall foul of any pitfalls that they will encounter on the journey. I am no expert, but I have studied everything we have been through since we started out journey some 2.5 years ago, we have been through the K1 route (Denied) Tried a K3 (Denied) it was changed to a CR-1 and a I-601 waiver submitted and only just recently has it been approved, so we have had quite a varied journey. We fired our first lot of lawyers due to the lack of knowledge that they had in immigration matters, even though they called themselves Immigration Lawyers? they took our money and caused so many mistakes that it cost us time (about 1 year) and money ($2000).. We then found a better Lawyer whom has turned out OK, produced a very good I-601 Extreme Hardship Package, but ####### support and after care/customer service. So we have had to learn everything about K1's, K3's CR-1's, IR-1's, I-601's, Extreme Hardship Waivers, Criminal Waivers etc etc.. over the last 2.5 years by finding answers on official websites, blogs, forums and of course asking our Lawyers so I think we have a good understanding of most of the spouse/fiancé visa systems now. Anyway if we can be of any further help to you or your wife, just ask by private message or via the forum. As for this thread, I am glad that you started it as others will have seen this and will have learnt from it, it is just a shame that some people are to easy to pick you up on small things and confuse the bigger picture of helping others, instead it turns in to a battle to see who has the most knowledge and to see who is right and who is wrong, personally I don't care about what others write, but I do have to reply when bad advice is being given that can create a major problem for the new people amongst us. Technically I am wrong, just like anyone would be wrong if they broke the rules, lets take tax for instance.. if you stick to the official rules you must declare every bit of income including cash to the tax man and if you do not you could be imprisoned or have a large fine imposed.. but in reality both poor and rich alike bend the rules if they know they can get away with it and the tax man will not be able to find out. Well this is the same as that, I am wrong because I am stating that if a crime of some sort that you know of does not appear on your detailed police computer report "Subject Access" then why would you volunteer this information, as it could potentially make the total number of offenses enough to require you to obtain a waiver or may make you inadmissible all together.. if it not listed on your Subject Access report then it is not on the police database and can not come back to bite you later.. So you offer the USCIS all the listed crimes complete with court records and nothing more. I hope this puts it to bed now, as I think your last post said it all. Take care Andrew	Traci - Andrew	Male	United Kingdom	2010-07-22 17:20:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Help with bad past	http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=677461 http://britishexpats...ad.php?t=677482 All this shows is that people on the British Ex Pat website are just as clueless as they did not even pickup the fact that he only applied for a police certificate and not the full subject access report, if he committed any crime at all it should show up on this and if not, then he need not say anything, however nobody on that forum even suggested that he get a subject access report, they just advised like you did here to tell the USCIS everything or get a lawyer.. but that will result in tears, if he took that advice because he had previously obtained a J1 visa, now they would say that he obtained this by fraud and deception and hit him with a Mis-Rep charge as well as blemish his apparent clean record, so the advice is not correct.. he should have been advised to get the "Subject Access Records" and then go from there.. I would suggest that the person that left the comment on your profile 2 years ago has a point, however I see that you have now removed it from your profile page... But i believe it said "Get a Life !!" - I wonder what she meant by that?. Regards Andrew Edited by Traci - Andrew, 22 July 2010 - 01:46 AM.	Traci - Andrew	Male	United Kingdom	2010-07-22 01:45:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Help with bad past	That is exactly my point. Boiler you stated the following: "Lets get it clear: YOU HAVE TO DECLARE ALL YOUR PAST MISDEEDS, not just the ones that come up on a Police Report" However I stated that you only need to tell the USCIS whatever shows up on the Police Report and NOTHING MORE !! See the point now? Regards Andrew	Traci - Andrew	Male	United Kingdom	2010-07-21 19:11:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Help with bad past	You might want to clarify that statement. For the USC you don't declare arrests unless they fall under the IMBRA requirements. For the Immigrant Fiance, you show documentation for what's on the police certificate. The USCIS want all information regarding you entire criminal background, Police Certificate (if "No Trace" then that is all), but if it states "No Live Trace" or lists crimes directly on the certificate then you have to supply the "Subject Access Report" from ACPO and then you have to submit the Court records for each crime committed regardless of how long ago it was committed. The USCIS do not use the same step down system that is used in the UK, in fact they do not step down at all for immigration purposes, therefore a crime dating back 25 years for shoplifting will be a CIMT and if you have traveled to the USA since this time and you have not declared the CIMT on the old landing card then you will also be found guilty of Immigration Fraud and a denial will be issued for the Misrepresentation. But the USCIS will determine in most cases that if your last crime is over 15 years old that you are considered as rehabilitated. Then a waiver will be required. I hope this clears up your argument Regards Andrew	Traci - Andrew	Male	United Kingdom	2010-07-21 16:55:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Help with bad past	Lets get it clear: YOU HAVE TO DECLARE ALL YOUR PAST MISDEEDS, not just the ones that come up on a Police Report To suggest otherwise will get someone in a whole pile of hurt. Hi Boiler I do understand your point of view, but in the real world you should take the advice of the professionals like experienced immigration lawyers whom have told me that when dealing with the USCIS or any other legal agency, you only declare what is known to them and what is documented, if you have something else that is not on the police report "YOU MUST NOT VOLUNTEER INFORMATION" as this information is not available to them and it will give them more ammunition to use against you, also how on earth are you supposed to give them supporting information that they require when it does not show up on a full police records search "Subject Access Report". As my lawyer said, tell them everything that is documented, if it is not documented and available to you, then it is not available to them, this is why you have to supply the police records to the USCIS as this is the way they can see what you have done in your past, and then if they did a search of their own it will still only give them what was printed on the Police report. So please do not advise people to volunteer information that is not documented as this will complicate their case and will be used against them, as the USCIS will require the backup documents before proceeding with your case or it will end in a denial. So either way you can get hurt, but this way is the least painful under normal circumstances. Regards Andrew	Traci - Andrew	Male	United Kingdom	2010-07-21 16:45:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Help with bad past	My fiance got a "No Trace" on his form that he received yesterday, but he has NO criminal history. The only thing close was a failure to pay poll tax notice back when EVERYONE in the UK was protesting the poll tax, and a bankruptcy he filed a few years ago. (I say bankruptcy with criminal because he said it's nearly criminal to file bankruptcy in the UK.) So how is this a signal of criminal history with nothing in the recent past if he has none? That seems a bit misleading and inaccurate. "No Trace" is not the same as "No LIVE Trace", No Trace = No Criminal past on Record, No LIVE Trace = You have a criminal past but they are all deemed as spent in UK law. ie outside the statute of limitations for the types of offences committed. I hope this clears up your mis-understanding Regards Andrew	Traci - Andrew	Male	United Kingdom	2010-07-21 16:29:00