Recently, in January 2012, USCIS has issued a Notice of Intent in the Federal Register to streamline the process for an I-601 Waiver of Unlawful Presence for certain immediate relatives of US citizens (Spouses and Parents) who need to consular process.
Who benefits?
Spouses and Parents of US Citizens who have accrued over a year of unlawful presence in the United States, and especially those who entered without documents. Entries with fraudulent documents are not covered in this new change, and will have to follow normal procedure.
What’s the change?
While no new change is finalized yet, the proposed change will streamline procedure for I-601 Waiver filing and REDUCE the time the applicant spends overseas and apart from their US families, provided that they can prove extreme hardship to the US qualifying relative.
Specific details are covered here.
To Summarize:
This proposal, if accepted, will be a sigh of relief for families who have concerns about going overseas to file their I-601 waivers and face long wait times apart from their US family members. The streamlined process should hopefully also ease concerns about facing denials and long wait times for adjudications, but that is yet to be seen. The proposal is not yet final but it is a change that should be on the radar for anyone who is considering applying for a waiver of unlawful presence (I-601).