What is the I-601 and I-601A Waiver and how are they different?

 

If you stay in the United States as an undocumented person, it is almost impossible to apply for permanent residency in the United States. Of course, if you have lost your status after entering the United States legally, you can get permanent residency through a citizen's spouse or adult children. However, if you are applying for permanent residency for past immigration violations or criminal acts, you must apply for a waiver.

 

For example, if you crossed the border at the time of entering the United States, but you have a citizenship or permanent resident spouse in the United States, in this case, you must apply for a waiver to receive permanent residency. This is called a 601A waiver (I-601A, Provisional Waivers of unlawful presence). Another case is when a citizen or permanent resident parent applies for a green card for an undocumented child in the United States. Again, a 601A waver is required.

 

Unlike 601A, which is a waiver application for only illegal stay, 601 waiver is a waiver that applies to cases where there has been immigration fraud or criminal activity, such as having entered the country with a fake passport in the past or filing false documents with the immigration office. In this case, you can obtain permanent residency through the 601 waiver (I-601, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility Waiver).

 

Generally, 601 waivers are interviewed at the immigration office or embassy, and if the officer decides that you need to apply for a 601 waiver, you can file at that time. However, 601A waivers must first apply for 601A waivers to the Immigration Service before being interviewed at the embassy. This is because the applicant already knows that he or she has crossed the border or is undocumented. When you apply, you will receive a fingerprint notice, and if approved, your immigration documents will be sent to the National Visa Center (NVC). After that, you will be interviewed at the US Embassy after leaving Korea.

 

2. What are the conditions for waiver approval?

 

The condition for waiver approval is that if the undocumented person does not receive permanent residency and returns to Korea, the remaining citizenship, permanent resident spouse or parents (including citizen/permanent resident children in the case of a waiver application due to a crime) may suffer. The mental and physical pain must be proven.

 

Proving extreme hardship may not sound easy to common sense. But it's not impossible. If there is a citizenship, permanent resident spouse or parent with a physical illness, and the undocumented person has played a role in caring for this person, these parts can be very important evidence and meet the waiver's approval conditions.

 

However, if your spouse or parents with citizenship or permanent residency are healthy, you can talk about ‘mental pain’ at this time. Citizenship (permanent residency) Spouses or parents are suffering from severe depression, so the shock that can occur when an undocumented person fails to receive a permanent residency and leads to deportation, and whether the mental and physical condition deteriorates due to the shock can be very important data. .

 

If you focus more on the mental and physical pain that will be experienced by your citizenship, permanent resident spouse or parents who will remain in the United States, it will serve as a powerful resource. At this time, it is important to document how severe the situation can change if you return to Korea and submit it as evidence. Documentation of the evidence required for this is evaluation through consultation with a psychiatrist along with citizenship, permanent resident parents or spouse's hospital examination records.

 

If there are other things that will determine approval or not, it is the number of family members and relatives in the United States of the undocumented person, the length of stay in the United States, the economic pain that will arise when returning to Korea, proof that there is a closer relationship with the United States than Korea, and taxes. There are factors such as reporting records, evidence that can show that you were the owner of a good personality, and the presence or absence of a past criminal record. It is to look at all these evidences and decide whether to approve or not.