I 601A Waiver Revocation Based On Public Charge
Author: I 601A Waiver Attorney Alena Shautsova
I 601A waiver allows an individual to return to the US when otherwise inadmissible due to unlawful presence. The good thing about this waiver that a person can stay in the US while waiting for the decision to be made on the waiver, and the person does not have to leave the US if the waiver is not approved. Of course, when the waiver is approved, a person’s expectations are that he/she will be able to travel to their home country for a short period of time and return with an Immigrant visa (sufficiently a green card).
Many immigrants express a concern: what if they will not be able to return? What if something will hold them in their home country? This “something” can be only bars to admissibility. Typically those would be a person admission at the time of the interview that he/she committed a crime that makes him/her inadmissible; that he/she claimed to be a US citizen; and, recently, a finding by a consular officer that a person will be a public charge.
Only recently, this “public charge” allegation became a real problem. A person who is being sponsored by family members in the US has to produce evidence that he/she will have a sponsor in the US (usually the petitioner, but not necessarily). The sponsor has to be a US citizen or lawful permanent resident and must show that he/she has sufficient current income to sponsor someone into the country. Here is where the problem arises: at times, the income was sufficient at the time the person submitted the documents for the visa, but the income changed, or a consular officer made a determination that the evidence in support of the current income is not sufficient. In the past, a person would be given an opportunity to sure this “defect” and come for another immigrant visa interview. Now, this “defect” leads to a straight denial of the immigrant visa, and even worse, to the revocation of the waiver.
A person, as a rule, can cure the defect fast, but due to the denials, he/she will have to go through necessary steps and will have to wait overseas for the denials to be reversed.
There is only one way to address the situation: to make sure that before the person leaves the US, he/she has all necessary evidence and more not to become a subject of the “public charge” determination. This would include the sponsor’s/joint sponsor’s tax returns, pay stubs, and letters of employment; evidence of assets in certain situations, and … properly filled out forms.
If you need a consultation regarding I 601A waiver or affidavit of support I 864, please call us at 917-885-2261 or email at office@shautsova.com