In its recent decision in Matter of Khan, 26 I&N Dec. 797 (BIA 2016), the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) held that an Immigration Judge does not have jurisdiction to consider a waiver of inadmissibility under section 212(d)(14) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) for an applicant for U nonimmigrant status. The BIA held that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) holds exclusive jurisdiction over both the application for U...

After months of anticipation, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced on July 29, 2016 a final rule to expand the I-601A Provisional Waiver process. The I-601A Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver was created in 2013 in an effort to reduce the time that family members are separated during immigrant visa processing. Prior to the current expansion, only spouses, parents, and children of U.S. citizens who could demonstrate extreme hardship to a U.S....

We do a fair number of hardship waivers in our office each year, and I am frequently asked by my clients how to write a good hardship letter. While many attorneys have different styles for putting together a hardship waiver application, most attorneys will agree that the letter is one of the most important pieces of the case. The difficult part about a hardship letter is that the attorney shouldn’t write...

As a part of President Obama’s executive actions announced on November 20, 2014, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) announced that it will allow the spouses and children of lawful permanent residents and the adult children of U.S. citizens to apply for the Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver, also known as the I-601A Waiver. The Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver is a powerful tool that helps reduce the amount of time...

Early last week, the President addressed immigration reform from the Rose Garden of the White House. Clearly frustrated by Congressional inaction, the President indicated that he would move forward using his existing legal authorities, to “fix as much of our immigration system” as possible. The White House was informed in late-June that the Speaker of the House of Representatives would not move immigration reform legislation to the floor of the House...

The Department of State has announced to immigration attorneys, through the liaison efforts of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), that some GLBT immigrants may seek to process their immigrant visas in safer third-countries. Last year, when the Supreme Court struck the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in Windsor v. United States, federal government agencies began recognizing same-sex marriages for federal benefits, including immigration. United States citizens may now seek immigrant...

On March 18, 2014, USCIS announced that, on its own motion, it would reopen and review I-601A waivers that were denied prior to January 24, 2014 and review the reasons for denial. This affects spouses of United States citizens who have had their provisional waivers denied. The I-601A provisional waiver went into effect in early 2013, allowing those who required a waiver for unlawful presence only to have their inadmissibility waiver...

Kolko & Associates, P.C. is pleased to announce an important change in the immigration law with regard to the processing of waivers for the Unlawful Presence ground of inadmissibility. This new process is only available for spouses, children and certain parents of U.S. citizens (immediate relatives). Applicants applying for an Immigrant Visa to the United States are required to demonstrate that they are “admissible” to the United States. The Immigration and...