Poohbie10

Thanks Canadian in GA, I hope and pray yours goes through as quickly as mine did and without an Attorney to, I honestly thought we had no hope without an attorney!

Merry Christmas

Many congratulations on your approval!

Thank you Sachinky! Happy Holidays

Thank you! I submitted my I-601 to the Tokyo US Consulate on the 19th October then they reviewed the p/work to see if I had everything, proof of Extreme Hardship, G-32a x 2, then they forwarded it to the USCIS dept in Seoul Korea on the 22nd of November, they recieved this on the 10th of December and it was approved the 20th December, 10 days!

I just recieved an email today, my Visa Waiver was approved so now I can leave Japan with my husband and start 2011 in America, thanks to everyone who guided me and helped me through this process, I honestly did not think it would take the USCIS Dept 2 weeks to approve my case!

Good luck to those who are going through the same process as I did, never give up!

I am nopt even depending on our case getting approved just because my husband is Military, I know they have to treat cases where the petitioner is Military slightly different, I get that, but I feel I just fall under the same waiting times and deciding factors along with everyone else.

So we continue to wait, we have requested a cancellation of orders and a extension of 12 months where we are so we do not have to live apart for the processing stage of my I-601, we will see any day now if thats approved, it will certainly take alot of pressure off our shoulders.

I want to send out a Christmas message to everyone who is separated over the holidays from thier loved ones, keep praying and keep your hope alive that you all will be together soon.

The paid phone line is worthless, but expensive. The operators are local nationals and they don't know anything about I601 or anything other than the normal tourist / business visa process and scheduling.

Not sure where you got the idea an I601 is taking 26 months stateside, that sounds more like APPEAL process if denied.

Most overseas consulates are taking less than 6 months, if you go to I2us.net you might be able to find a couple people with cases that are moving through and that will give you an idea of processing times. If there is no "A-file" previous immigration history that they have to send to the states for your processing time might be less.

If they have to send for the A-file it adds a few weeks. Depending on how the consulate deals with it, puts it in the back of the line or suspense's it and starts working on it next in line when the a-file shows up effects processing time too.

Oh, and don't forget its Christmas and New year is coming, depending on local country customs and Embassy Holidays, you could be adding quite a bit of waiting this time of year. Lots of adjudicators offices only have one or two employees, if they both go back to US for holidays, no one works on I601 files. You can get an idea of how many days they will be off by looking at the Embassy website.

I see much discussion on expedites on this board, just so you know this is not very common and unless imminent financial, physical damage is involved or a military DEPLOYMENT to a war zone, there is not much chance of getting one. After all its a "hardship waiver" everyone who is waiting in line is suffering a hardship.

good luck

The 26 month waiting time information was a PDF file that the USCIS released and it has ALL of the type of timelines for Immigrant and Non Immigrant timelines and on this is said I-601 - 26 months nothing about an appeal. I dont have a A-File thats already been established with the officer i spoke with, all the information I have put in my previous post was ALL factual from this Officer now if he is not doing his job and telling me BS I find that hard to believe, in his words quote "Most cases will me expidited for a shorter processing time if the petitioner is Military" I have never have said we as a Military couple should hold any special treatment over and above everybody who is trying to provide proof of severe hardship, I am merely quoting what the actual USCIS Officer has told me about military petitioners,I am offended that anyone would think I am saying we are more important than anyone else because we are Military because that is a false accusation, I am too assume that he is giving me correct information. We dont expect our case to be touched until January 2011 because of holidays coming up anywways.

I hope that everyone is treated fairly with their I-601.

Hi mmjm,

Thanks for sharing your post. I in fact called the USCIS dept today in Seoul to ask if they had received my I-601 sent from Tokyo 19th Nov 2010 and of course they had not recieved it and said that it can take up to 3 weeks to recieve. But I will say my phone call was worth my while for a change.

I had become so frustrated with the lack of answers the US Consulate in Japan gave me on a pay as you go service (I still cannot believe we spent over $200USD on phone calls and emails to this embassy in less than one month!) But it was wonderful to talk to someone who actually answered and assisted me in 30 mins than the entire 2 months I have been dealing with Tokyo. I found out today the timeline for Seoul currently is 6 months for i-601 with an approval if expedited from Seoul to the US estimated 90 days. This was a big relief to me as the I-601 waiting time within the US is around 26 months. They also told me that what will help my husbands proof of Hardship is if he can get letters of Proof of Hardship from Doctors, Chaplian and Counsellors who can support my husbands claims of severe Hardship. We will be making appointments with the above people this coming week that is for sure.

In our case we have to make a decision if my husband leaves on new orders next month and I go back to my country for 3-6 months or he can try to extend here for 12 months if the Military allows this.

I too wish you and your family all the luck in the world for you to be approved and YES please continue to let me know how you progess and I will post on here as well for mine.

? This makes no sense. Attorneys listed with AILA can work anywhere, even overseas, there is a US Attorney working in London on I601's. The Immigration Law is Federal any licensed and practicing Immigration attorney can work on your case regardless of where you live. Most of the Immigration attorneys who handle I601 cases work long distance cases, if you have the means and a check or credit card to pay the retainer you have representation no matter where you live.

Brokenfamily

I realise what your saying, we have in fact inquired about this and were advised the timeframe of when we would actually assisted by an attorney in the US was too long to wait, I only had 2 weeks to supply my I-601 and with my partners Military orders about to expire we had to do what we could on our own, we seeked an Attorney in Japan but it was a case of "Lost in Translation" so now we have done what we can to prove Hardship and frankly if the USCIS dept see's that our case was not strong enough there is nothing more we could do, we will appeal and in my own country I will be getting an Immigration Attorney, there should be no reason to why our waiver should not be approved if they can approved people who have been convicted of assualt within the past 5 years then there should be no reason to why they wont approve my case which there was NO conviction and was over 12 years ago. If you dont mind me asking Brokenfamily can you explain your waiver case? Was it anything like Canadian in GA's or mine? I have appreciated your insight and knowledge about all of this.

I am wondering how I can go by trying the "petty crime exception," how do i go by trying this? i believe i fall into this category

Your in the same boat as I am, we can afford an Attorney but where we live we cant get one, you say its an affordability situation, seek your information as best as you can, I know having an attorney will in the end be beneficial but for the people who dont have that luxury provide your proof of Hardship as best as you can, think of everything, reading on this website there have been past cases who have been approved of a I-601 without a Attorney so try and stay focused and positive, thats all any of us can do.

Good Luck Canadian in GA

I get the impresssion there is a "multiple step review" on applications and often after the initial interview the issue is probed further by a supervisor for the legal "opinion" if a matter of law is involved. It gets sticky if you will where Canadian Law and US Law are not matching up exactly. You did not go into the crime and I understand not wishing to put it out there on a public forum, but I think knowledge is power and the resolution will lie with the technicality of the legal issue. For example if the crime was one involving "moral turpitude" or CIMT or the potential sentence whether imposed or not was a year or more in jail, its bad news. It sounds on the surface it might be a petty theft exception they are mishandling. Also the meaning of the legal method in which they disposed of the case, dismissed, withdrawn etc, are legal issues.

If it were me, I would hire Carl Shusterman or an attorney who deals with weird deals like this to evaluate the underlying case law. If they gave the the I601 it seems clear they have preliminarily decided you need it, so you must prepare and submit one which is a major undertaking and carries lots of case law and precindent not to mention approval is discretionary. Its tricky stuff and requires lots of boning up on how to prepare a well documented case.

Like I said before coming from a country that is not third world deflates the underlying argument you and your family cannot live there, so its a pretty steep hill to climb. Not to say it cannot be done, but my hope for you is they made a mistake in interpreting it and some creative communication and help from a sharky and knowledgeable attorney can turn this around. Its going to take a long time too, which sucks.

You can certainly PM me if you want, but the forum is not substitute for an attorney in a matter like this.

As for the question of just trying to talk to someone. If the metaphor "brick wall" conveys any meaning to you, then be my guest. Don't put to much energy or hope in this, but certainly if someone will talk to you then by all means you might get a better understanding of the situation. I think once you get a firm handle on the things I previously discussed from the USCIS law point of view, it might be more clear what direction to take. My guess is by now they have sent it to the wait pile and you will not hear anything until after you file the I601 and depending on processing times at your location it could be 2 months to a year wait.

BrokenFamily,

Do you know where I can find that information out on the processing times for US Embassy's (outside of the US)? Its a very tricky situation, I did commit a crime of moral turpitude but after speaking to an "Officer" in the USCIS Dept stateside she said mine would be approved as I was not convicted and my case is closed and over 10 years ago, still I am not taking her word as gospel, I am still awaiting the decision of the USCIS in Seoul Korea.

Thanks

Did you get help with your hardship letter and evidence? Did you hire an attorney? You may have to stay behind while they process the application unless the hardship is one they could expedite for, or the job your husband has could have some potential for national security implications if you stay behind in Japan. Does he have a high level security clearance?

No we did it all ourselves, there was not an Immigration attorney here on our base or any other nearby for us to utilize and we could not get a translator to get a Japanese attorney. We did however have a 6 page Proof of Hardship and to be honest with you we gave then EVERY point of Hardship that any attorney could have offered us. He does not have special Clearance, all we know is the that US Embassy in Tokyo Japan has expedited our case to Seoul Korea, if his 30 day delay goes through we are hoping this would have given the Seoul Embassy 8 weeks to process my I-601. If its not here by then, then he will go onto the States and I will return to my country and transfer my file from Japan to my home country and wait I guess.

There is some cases where deployment orders helped with an expedite. Are you both in Japan now? If his orders are for the US it might be a little different than if he was getting deployed to Afghanistan or Middle East. Are there children involved?

Yes we both are in Japan right now, I sent in a copy of my husbands orders with my I-601 and my partner explained in the proof of Hardship the urgency of this waiver being approved in a timely manner, we were due to leave 2nd week of Dec 2010 but there is no way the approval would be processed by then so we have requested a 30 day delay reporting to his new duty station. There are no children involved. Our orders are to the US not IA. I hope this can help our situation.

I think your situation is similiar to mine but its always good to post all of your information as some is different to mine, I hope in both of our cases people on thi site will be able to offer some insight to the process or offer information. It seems it is common nowadays to come across cases where there have been applicants who made wrong choices a long time ago and have moved on with thier lives, have families and been married for many years then hit a major road block when we do the immigration process, what was left in our distant past is now here in our present, is it fair NO, but in saying that I understand why the US refuses standard Family based Visa's, again is it fair I dont think so. I will post my timeline on here once I hear something, my concern is this process will take over 12 months, looking at being separated from my family for that long is devastating.

Good luck with you!

I didnt apply for a I-160 the Visa Waiver due to inadmissibility is the I-601, thats the application I submitted on the 22nd of October. I still have not heard anything and have no idea how my chances are, I hope its good as I have read on this site that people have been approved for the Visa Waiver and those people were convicted less than 5 years ago, but who knows, its a case by case scenario I feel. Good Luck

I know your sad, Canadian. I am going through almost the same thing. I was arrested over 12 years ago and charged but I was not convicted. My questions were the same "I dont have a criminal record" "I was never convicted" so why am I being told I am inadmissible? The reasons I was told is:

If you have been "Arrested or convicted of a crime of moral turpitdude that you have admitted to being a part of, under those grounds you have been found Inadmissible. Which is true I did the crime and although no conviction was recorded I still have a record with the Federal Police of my country and this showed in my Police Fingerprint Check. Were you ever arrested or charged? At first I fought them saying wait a minute yes I did the crime but there was no conviction, no jail time so why am I being convicted now by the US Immigration System and it was so long ago. It did not matter they stick by what they said, even if your just arrested you fall into the inadmissible pool.

I am assuming you mean you were sent a I-601 letter for a Visa Waiver under the grounds of Inadmissibility? I have done that and provided proof of severe Hardship (6 pages) and provided letters of reference from friends and family members. Now I am just waiting for approval from the USCIS dept. I hope I helped you out? and good luck with your I-601.

Hi I need some advice, help or opinions on my I-601 Case.

Brief History - I was arrested and charged with a crime under Moral inturpitude in my country of birth (outside US) over 12 years ago, no Conviction was recorded or Jail time served. My I-130 Petition (last Interview) I was found ineligible under the grounds of Inadmissibility. Since then I have filed a I-601 Kit with the US Embassy Tokyo, Japan and provided proof of Hardship, letters of reference and paid the processing fee. We have been advised by the US Embassy in Japan that my case has been sent to the closest USCIS Dept which is Seoul, Sth Korea. I have been advised by the USCIS Customer Service line in the US that my waiver should be approved as I was not convicted (proof provided) and it was over 10 years ago and the case is closed.

My partner is a Active Duty Service Member in the US Military and his orders if approved will expire on the 15th January 2010 then he will have to leave for the US on new orders.

My question is, has anyone had any experience with expidited I-601 waiver application to Seoul, Korea? Or does anyone know once they recieve my I-601 what time frame I am to expect for a response of approved or denied?

Thanks for any help or assistance