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AAO Approves Extreme Hardship Waiver

An appeal of an extreme hardship waiver application was approved by the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) after it was initially denied by the Field Office Director due to the applicant’s failure to demonstrate that his spouse would experience extreme hardship given his inadmissibility. The applicant, a citizen of the Gambia, was found to be inadmissable to the U.S. for having obtained a non-immigrant tourist visa through misrepresentation. On his nonimmigrant visa application, the applicant indicated that he was currently married and living with his spouse. Later, however, he admitted that though he was married, he and his wife had been legally separated for nearly 3 years with his wife living in Great Britain. By stating that he was married and living with his wife, the applicant led the embassy to believe that he had close family ties to his home country, showing that he had intentions to return once his visa expired, which resulted in the issuance of a tourist visa.

Because the applicant was found to be inadmissable, the burden fell on him to establish that a grant of a waiver of inadmissability was warranted. To do so, the applicant was required to show substantial evidence that his U.S. citizen spouse would suffer extreme hardship if the applicant’s waiver request was denied and he was deported. Such evidence included claims that the U.S. citizen spouse would experience medical, psychological, and financial difficulties without the applicant present. The applicant provided a record that contained consistent evidence indicating the spouse has suffered from traumatic events in her childhood, such as sexual abuse, physical injuries, neglect, and emotional abuse as well as evidence of the spouse’s abusive first marriage, which resulted in her psychological reliance on the applicant. The spouse also explained that she had two surgeries and that additional complications may occur in the future. Due to her medical condition, she had hard time paying for her treatment and infusions and relies on the applicant for financial assistance. The applicant additionally demonstrated that the spouse would experience extreme hardship upon relocation to the Gambia as that would entail severing her family ties with her children and parents, relinquishing her employment in the U.S., communication issues as English is not widely spoken in the applicant’s village, no knowledge of the Gambian culture, and insufficient educational facilities as well as clinics for her treatments and infusions in Gambia.

Due to the evidence provided, the AAO established that the extreme hardship that the applicant’s U.S. citizen spouse would suffer outweigh the negative factors, including the applicant’ misrepresentation as well as his period of unlawful status in the U.S. To read more about the AAO approval of this waiver, please [click here].

Extension and Re-designation of Syria for Temporary Protected Status

On March 5, 2018, The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it has extended the designation of Syria for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months. DHS initially designated Syria for TPS on March 29, 2012 due to conditions within the country that prevented Syrian nationals from returning in safety. The most recent re-designation was set to expire March 31, 2018; however, the recent extension means the designation will continue through September 30, 2019, at which time DHS will review conditions in Syria to determine whether its TPS designation should be extended again or terminated.

Individuals who have already been granted TPS under the original designation are allowed to re-register within a 60-day re-registration period that runs from March 5, 2018 through May 4, 2018.

USCIS has automatically extended the validity of employment authorization documents (EAD) issued under the last extension of TPS Syria for an additional 180 days, through Sept. 27, 2018. If an EAD is based on a TPS status with an original expiration date of March 31, 2018, the EAD is covered by this automatic extension.

Hardship Waiver Eases Residency Process for Illegal Immigrants

In 2013, the Department of Homeland Security announced that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin a new process that will allow certain immediate relatives (spouses, children, and parents) of a U.S. citizen to apply for a Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver, or hardship waiver, without departing the United States.

In the past, certain immediate relatives had to travel and remain abroad, separated from their spouses, parents, and children, while USCIS processes their waiver applications. In some cases, the waiver application processing can be lengthy, prolonging the family's separation. Since March 4, 2013, however, USCIS allows the unlawful immigrant to file their hardship waiver while still in the United States before leaving the country to obtain their immigrant visa. If the waiver is approved, applicants will be required to depart the United States and attend the immigrant visa interview at a U.S. consulate abroad.

In order to qualify for a hardship waiver, you must be physically present in the U.S., be at least 17 years of age at the time of filing, be the beneficiary of an approved immigrant visa petition classifying you as the immediate relative of a U.S. citizen, have an immigrant visa case pending with the U.S. Department of State, believe you are inadmissible based on having accrued a certain period of unlawful presence in the U.S., establish that the refusal of your admission to the U.S. would result in extreme hardship to your U.S. citizen family member, and meet all other requirements of the provisional unlawful presence waiver.

USCIS anticipates that this new process will significantly reduce the time that U.S. citizens are separated from their immediate relatives. [Read more on the new Hardship Waiver process].

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