Unlawful Presence and Inadmissibility Waivers

An Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility allows a non-citizen alien to immigrate to the United States, while an Application for Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver allows a non-citizen alien to request a provision allowing them to depart the United States to attend a visa application interview.

If you have an approved immigrant petition but are not eligible to adjust status in the United States, you may be eligible to apply for a corresponding waiver to maintain your path to lawful permanent residency.

Undocumented non-citizens who are not eligible to adjust their status in the United States must travel abroad to obtain an immigrant visa. The provisional unlawful presence waiver process allows those individuals who are eligible for an immigrant visa who only need a waiver of inadmissibility for unlawful presence to apply for that waiver in the United States before they depart for their immigrant visa interview.

There are certain grounds that render an alien inadmissible and therefore not eligible to adjust status including health, criminal history, fraud and misrepresentation, membership in a totalitarian party, engaging in alien smuggling, and/or lengthy unlawful presence in the United States.

Although the Waiver for Grounds of Inadmissibility and for Unlawful Presence provide relief for undocumented non-citizens for different grounds, the concept is similar in that an extreme hardship(s) to the Qualifying Relative – a US Citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident spouse or parent – must be established. These hardships typically involve medical grounds, emotional and psychological grounds, or financial grounds.

Application to Reapply for Admission into the US after Deportation or Removal

If you are subject to a temporary bar into the United States, you must remain outside the US for that ordered duration, whether you were removed or were ordered removed and departed on your own. However, if you wish to re-enter the US before the duration has lapsed, you must ask for permission to reapply to be admitted.

If you must apply for permission to reapply for admission into the United States, it is very important to not return to the United States before its approval, as this could result in a permanent bar from entering the United States as well as prosecution in criminal court and the reinstatement of a prior removal order.