What will happen to the kids and me if my spouse gets deported? What if my spouse has to hide forever? Can we survive if my spouse can’t ever get a decent job? Questions like these can be a relentless source of stress, weighing on your family and driving a wedge between you and the American dream you came to achieve.
The good news is there’s hope. A 601A Waiver may be your saving grace, as a successful application will spare your family from a long separation and allow your spouse to return to the United States after his or her consulate visa interview. After years of working in immigration law, our Phoenix immigration law firm has worked with countless families who expressed fear or wondered if they should really apply for a 601A Waiver. Here, we will clarify three reasons why it’s essential to apply for a 601A Waiver if your spouse is planning on leaving the country for a consulate interview.
A person, who stays in the United States unlawfully for 180 days but less than a year, who then leaves the United States triggers a three -year bar to readmission. A person who remains in the United States for a year or more, who then leaves the United States triggers a ten-year bar to readmission.
A 601A Waiver is available to certain undocumented immigrants who are qualifying relatives to a U.S. citizen, and whose only basis for inadmissibility is unlawful presence in the U.S. In other words, a 601A Waiver will allow your undocumented spouse to exit the U.S., and attend his or her consulate interview without triggering the three- or ten Year bar for unlawful presence. Without the Waiver, your spouse may be denied re-entry to the United States for up to ten years if the bar is enforced. This could have a devastating impact on your family and future.
At Nunez & Associates, we take extra steps to ensure, to the best of our ability, that your spouse is not subjected to the bar while you wait in the United States. Other firms often send their clients back to their home country to wait for the waiver, but we realize the risk and the hardships in taking that step. So, we do our best not to send anyone back to their home country to meet with the Consulate until the waiver is approved and he or she can re-enter the United States legally.
One of the most common questions we get is, ‘Can we really afford to file this waiver?’ Our answer is always, ‘Can you really afford not to?’
If you fail to file the 601A Waiver and receive approval from USCIS before your spouse leaves the country, your family is at risk of losing your spouse’s income and support until the visa process is complete. Whether your spouse’s job is your family’s sole source of income or is a supplement to yours, chances are, you can’t live without it.
Remember, by filing the waiver with Nunez & Associates, we will do our best to make sure your spouse does not leave the country until the Waiver is approved. This drastically reduces your spouse’s chances of triggering the bars to reentry and gives your family more time to work and save for the future.
As for the fees, we can help you with that, as well. Before your spouse applies for a 601A waiver, he or she must have an approved I-130 petition. The first part of the process only costs $420. Then, you have seven months to come up with the remaining USCIS fees. For our firm fees, we require a low $1,000 security deposit, and the rest is put on a payment plan. While those numbers may seem overwhelming at first glance, they are feasible when viewed and paid for in pieces.
The other way to look at it is to consider what it will cost to not file the waiver. Can your family survive weeks, months, or even years without your spouse’s income? Chances are you can’t. Filing the 601A Waiver is the most financially responsible step you can take to secure your family’s future. Our firm is here to help. Contact us today to schedule an initial consultation.
While it’s not required to have an attorney for file a 601A Waiver, it is most definitely recommended. For one thing, immigration law is among the most complicated areas of law in the United States. Making one mistake on one form could potentially delay your spouse’s waiver for weeks, if not months, and in extreme cases, indefinitely. Working with an attorney who knows these forms, rules, and regulations inside-and-out is the only way to ensure that your application process will go smoothly.
Our firm goes the extra mile by sending each and every one of our clients to a psychologist to establish the hardships that he or she will suffer if forced to live apart from his or her spouse. Most firms don’t take this step, but we know how critical it can be for approval.
The bottom line with 601A Waivers is that failing to file can be disastrous; filing without the help of an attorney can be just as bad. This waiver can mean the difference between your spouse’s legal status in the U.S. and the separation of your family, as well as financial ruin. Our advice? Don’t take it lightly, and don’t cut corners.
We take these waivers seriously because we know first-hand the hardships caused when a waiver is denied. Our compassionate attorneys go above and beyond to ensure that families stay together and move on with their lives. Give us a call today to get started.
