I am currently in the process of applying for my green card through marriage to a US Citizen. I have had several visas over the years, on my last visa it was suggested by my previous employers that i say i am seperated from my wife (wife recently became a US Ctizen through Naturalization) or that my wife was in the US, she was a LPR at the time.

I completely forgot about this incident until my lawyer was looking through past information in an appointment preparing us for our interview on May 22nd. He says we need to file a 601 waiver.

My questions are:
1) I presume he is correct - please inform me if he is not
2) He says we have a 50/50 chance of winning by proving extreme hardship (wife and myself are British with US Citizen children) Harder to prove extreme hardship for UK apparently
3) What do the interviewers have access to during the interview, i.e. complete immigrtaion history, visa applications etc.

Any advice or stories from people in similar situations would be greatly appreciated, especially from the UK.

Misrepresentation for immigration purposes means:

http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/inel...ities_1364.html

C) Misrepresentation.-

(i) In general.-Any alien who, by fraud or willfully misrepresenting a material fact, seeks to procure (or has sought to procure or has procured) a visa, other documentation, or admission into the United States or other benefit provided under this Act is inadmissible.

1) Did you misrepresent yourself in order to obtain a visaadmission to the US? If so, you will need a 601 waiver.
2) A waiver of inadmissibility is dependent first upon a showing that the bar imposes an extreme hardship on a qualifying family member. The key term in the provision is “extreme” and thus only in cases of actual or prospective injury to the United States citizen or lawful permanent resident will the bar be removed.

If your wife is a USC, she will be the one to write the hardship letter and provide evidence of extreme hardship. Apparently London now also requires a letter from the beneficiary (you) so you should also prepare something and verify this with your lawyer.

see: http://london.usembassy.gov/dhs/uscis/extreme_hardship.pdf

3) The CO will have access to your complete immigration file and you will be under oath at the interview.

I'm confused by your comment "I am currently applying for my green card". Do you mean you are going through the spousal visa process or are you currently in the US and adjusting your status? This makes a difference because 601 waivers processed in the US are handled somewhat different than through the consulate in London. Apparently a letter from the beneficiary is not required, but they take a lot longer to process than in London. Then again if you are already in the US, that may not be a big issue for you.

Thanks for your reply. I am in the US and according to my lawyer i need to prepare a hardship letter based on my wife and childrens hardship. Do you know if the success rate is greater in London or the US? How are the 601 waivers handled differently in the UK compared to the US?
We have no family ties in the US but have been here for 10 years and have US Citizen children. Again thanks for your reply.

BDM

You don't write the letter - your wife does. She is the qualifying relative and the law requires HER to prove extreme hardship to HER if your visa is denied and she and your family are forced to relocate permanently to the UK. Your children should be considered part of her hardships.

Filing in the US takes longer than in the UK. It's hard to come by statistics for 601 waiver approval in the US. London and Mexico have the highest overseas approval rates and Manila's approval rate is very low.

Since the UK is English speaking, has good medical care, and has options for employment for your wife and education for your children, it will be harder to prove extreme hardship than if you were from Mexico, for example. While approval rates vary country to country, the rules don't change based on where you file - it's all about the need to prove extreme hardship.

Read the Extreme Hardship statement on the London consulate site -- the law is universal and all countries require the same thing. Hardships are based on Medical, Financial, Educational and Personal Considerations. For example, if your wife has a medical condition and she can prove with evidence and documentation from her doctor that she would be better treated in the US than in the UK, this will be a strong hardship.

You should also read attorney Laurel Scott's memo on 601 waivers here: http://www.visacentral.net/I601Memo.pdf

Lastly, if your lawyer doesn't know that you need to write the waiver yourself and isn't familiar with the procedures, I would consider not using him or at least consulting a lawyer who is very experienced in 601 waivers, especially those for misrepresentation.

Good luck.

[quote name='kitkat1' date='May 5 2007, 10:05 PM' post='887633']
You don't write the letter - your wife does. She is the qualifying relative and the law requires HER to prove extreme hardship to HER if your visa is denied and she and your family are forced to relocate permanently to the UK. Your children should be considered part of her hardships.

Filing in the US takes longer than in the UK. It's hard to come by statistics for 601 waiver approval in the US. London and Mexico have the highest overseas approval rates and Manila's approval rate is very low.

Since the UK is English speaking, has good medical care, and has options for employment for your wife and education for your children, it will be harder to prove extreme hardship than if you were from Mexico, for example. While approval rates vary country to country, the rules don't change based on where you file - it's all about the need to prove extreme hardship.

Read the Extreme Hardship statement on the London consulate site -- the law is universal and all countries require the same thing. Hardships are based on Medical, Financial, Educational and Personal Considerations. For example, if your wife has a medical condition and she can prove with evidence and documentation from her doctor that she would be better treated in the US than in the UK, this will be a strong hardship.

You should also read attorney Laurel Scott's memo on 601 waivers here: http://www.visacentral.net/I601Memo.pdf

Lastly, if your lawyer doesn't know that you need to write the waiver yourself and isn't familiar with the procedures, I would consider not using him or at least consulting a lawyer who is very experienced in 601 waivers, especially those for misrepresentation.

Good luck.



Thanks again for the response and information. OK, i need to apply for a 601 waiver, when do i do this? do i do it prior to the interview or at the interview when it arises? Does anyone know how long it taked to adjudicate a 601 waiver filed in the US?

Thanks

BDM

First you have to interview and be denied at the interview as well as found eligible to file the waiver. Then fingerprints, fingerprint fee, waiver application, waiver fee and and hardship letter/evidence are submitted.

According to lawyer Jill Apa on lawyers.com, 601 waivers in the US take one year. No way to know if this is accurate.

how do they know about it though???

They have all the immigration files, past and present. They know that at a previous interview he indicated that he was separated from his wife and that now he is applying for his green card through marriage to his wife.

You cannot lie during the immigration process. You swear to tell the truth on all of the forms and you are under oath at the interview. Even after a visa is issued, misrepresentation could come up at the AOS interview. It's not worth the risk and almost always causes more serious problems down the road