USCIS Announces Its Intent to Implement Stateside Processing of Unlawful Presence Waivers
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) intends to change its current
process for filing and adjudication of certain applications for waivers of inadmissibility filed in
connection with an immediate relative immigrant visa application. Specifically, USCIS is
considering regulatory changes that will allow certain immediate relatives of U.S. citizens to
request provisional waivers under section 212(a)(9)(B)(v) of the Immigration and Nationality
Act of 1952, as amended (INA or Act), 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(9)(B)(v), prior to departing the United
States for consular processing of their immigrant visa applications. An alien would be able to
obtain such a waiver only if a Petition for Alien Relative, Form I-130, is filed by a U.S. citizen
on his or her behalf and that petition has been approved, thereby classifying the alien as an
“immediate relative” for purposes of the immigration laws, and he or she demonstrates that the
denial of the waiver would result in extreme hardship to the alien’s U.S. citizen spouse or parent
“qualifying relative.” The qualifying relative for purposes of the waiver is not necessarily the immediate relative who filed the immigrant visa petition on the alien relative’s behalf.