- The new provisional unlawful presence waiver process does not change the immigrant visa process. Even if your provisional unlawful presence waiver is approved, you are still required to depart the United States for your immigrant visa interview with a U.S. consular officer abroad.
- If a provisional unlawful presence waiver is approved, it will only take effect after:
- You depart the United States and appear for your immigrant visa interview, and
- A DOS consular officer determines that you are otherwise admissible to the United States and eligible to receive an immigrant visa. NOTE: Do not depart until the National Visa Center (NVC) notifies you of your scheduled immigrant visa interview date and time at the designated U.S. Embassy or Consulate.
- DOS may cancel your immigrant visa application process if you fail to appear at your interview.
- If you are in removal proceedings, you are ineligible for a provisional unlawful presence waiver unless, at the time you file your Form I-601A, your proceedings are administratively closed and have not been put back on the Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) calendar to continue your removal proceedings.
- While USCIS does not envision placing I-601A applicants in removal proceedings, USCIS will follow current Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and USCIS Notice to Appear (NTA) guidance governing initiation of removal proceedings. For more information on USCIS NTA priorities, see USCIS Policy Memorandum, Revised Guidance for the Referral of Cases and Issuance of Notices to Appear (NTAs) in Cases Involving Inadmissible and Removable Aliens (Nov. 7, 2011).
- Be 17 years of age or older.
- Be an immediate relative of a U.S. citizen (not a preference category immigrant who has a visa available). An immediate relative is an individual who is the spouse, child or parent of a U.S. citizen.
- Have an approved Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, or Form I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant.
- Have a pending immigrant visa case with DOS for the approved immediate relative petition and have paid the DOS immigrant visa processing fee.
- Be able to demonstrate that refusal of your admission to the United States will cause extreme hardship to your U.S. citizen spouse or parent.
- Be physically present in the United States to file your application for a provisional unlawful presence waiver and provide biometrics.
- Not have been scheduled for an immigrant visa interview by DOS before January 3, 2013.
- Meet all other requirements for the provisional unlawful presence waiver, as detailed in 8 CFR 212.7(e) and the Form I-601A and its instructions.
- You are subject to one or more grounds of inadmissibility other than unlawful presence.
- DOS initially acted before January 3, 2013, to schedule your Immigrant Visa (IV) interview for the approved immediate relative petition upon which your provisional unlawful presence waiver application is based, even if your immigrant visa interview has been canceled, you failed to appear for the interview, or your interview was rescheduled on or after Jan. 3, 2013.
Note: The date and time that you are scheduled to appear for your immigrant visa interview at the designated U.S. Embassy or Consulate is not the date USCIS will use to determine if you are eligible to file a Form I-601A. If DOS initially acted before January 3, 2013, to schedule your immigrant visa interview, you are not eligible to file a Form I-601A, even if you failed to appear for your interview or if you or DOS cancelled or rescheduled your interview for a date on or after January 3, 2013.
Instead, you may file a
Form I-601, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility, from outside the United States after you have been interviewed for your immigrant visa, and the consular officer has found that you are inadmissible for a ground that may be waived. - You are in removal proceedings that have not been administratively closed.
- At the time of filing, you are in removal proceedings that have been administratively closedbut have been placed back on the EOIR calendar to continue your removal proceedings.
- You do not meet one or more of the requirements, as outlined in the Form I-601A and its instructions.
Carefully follow the
Form I-601A instructions and fully complete the application. USCIS will reject any application that is not accompanied by the proper filing and biometric fees OR that does not meet the filing criteria specified in 8 CFR 212.7(e)(5). Use the checklist available on the last page of the form instructions to make sure your application is complete before filing.- Complete Form I-601A.
Form name | Fee |
---|---|
I-601A, Application for Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver |
The fee is $585. If you are under 79 years of age, you must also pay the $85 biometric services fee. If you are 79 years of age or older, you do not have to pay the $85 biometrics fee.
The Form I-601A fees cannot be waived.
|
- Use black ink only to complete forms. Do NOT use highlighters or red ink when completing forms because entries written with highlighters or red ink do not show up when the forms are scanned. Be sure to sign all of your form(s).
- Complete the entire Form I-601A application, especially these required fields:
- Family Name
- Home Address
- Date of Birth
- Receipt number for your approved immediate relative petition (i.e. Form I-130 or Form I-360)
- NVC Case Number
- Immigrant Visa Interview Status
- Signature
- Include all required supporting documentation and evidence listed in the form instructions.
- Submit Form I-601A with the correct fees or USCIS will reject your application.
- If you need to change responses on the form, we recommend that you re-start with a new form. Responses that have been “whited out” or erased can lead to scanning errors.
- USCIS prefers that you download forms from our website, fill them out electronically, and then print your forms prior to submission to USCIS.
- Be sure that you mail all pages of the form.
- If you have any attachments, make sure each attached page has your name and either your A-Number (if available) or your I-130 or I-360 receipt number. You may also number the pages and include the total amount of pages being attached (i.e. “Page 1 of 11”).
- If you move after filing your Form I-601A, notify USCIS of your new physical address within 10 days of your move. You should also notify USCIS if your mailing address changes. You may not receive notices from USCIS if you do not notify USCIS that your address has changed.
- You should also include Form G-1145, E-Notification of Application/Petition Acceptance, with your application if you want to receive an email and/or text message notifying you that your form has been accepted by USCIS.
P.O. Box 4599
Chicago, IL 60680
If USPS Express Mail/Courier
Attn: I-601A
131 S. Dearborn, 3rd Floor
Chicago, IL 60603-5517
- Grant you any benefit or protect you from being removed from the United States.
- Allow you to apply for interim immigration benefits such as work authorization or advance parole.
- Guarantee you will be issued an immigrant visa.
- Guarantee your admission into the United States by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
- Give you a legal immigration status.
- Change the requirement that you must depart the United States in order to obtain an immigrant visa. NOTE: Until your approved unlawful presence waiver takes full effect, USCIS may reopen or reconsider its decision on the Form I-601A at any time.
- DOS ends the immigrant visa application process.
- USCIS revokes the underlying approved immigrant visa petition (Form I-130 or Form I-360).
- The consular officer at the U.S. embassy or consulate determines that you are inadmissible on grounds of inadmissibility other than unlawful presence.
- You reenter or attempt to reenter the United States without being inspected and admitted or paroled, before or after your provisional unlawful presence waiver is approved or before your immigrant visa is issued.