Reforming I-601 / Hardship Waivers and Allowing Waivers for Permanent Bars

When a US citizen's spouse faces a bar of inadmissibility, the family's cruel choice is to be exiled – or outlawed. Many tens of thousands at least, and possibly millions, of US citizens are suffering this extreme hardship.

In some cases, US citizen spouses can overcome inadmissibilities through a waiver. However, current waiver provisions vary widely in standards and applicability. Most create bright lines between eligibility and ineligibility which fail to account for our national interest in protecting US citizens.

This needs to change. US citizens deserve the right to due process.

American Families United is asking to allow immigration judges to review cases within a consistent and fair framework. The change would create a balancing test of positive and negative factors to be applied in each case. Central to these factors are the strength of family and community ties compared to the seriousness of the misconduct involved.

Proposed positive and negative factors follows:

Positive Factors

The amount of time that has passed since the events or conduct that is the basis of the inadmissibility
The extent of rehabilitation and remorse
The duration of legal residence in the United States
Presence of American family members
Property owned in the US
Economic and social support of American family members
Social, economic or cultural contributions to the community
Honorable military service
Hardship
Any specific benefit to the US government or US citizens

Negative Factors

The seriousness of the conduct that is the basis of the inadmissibility
Additional crimes or immigration violations
Specific harm caused to the national interest of the United States
Any specific detriment to the US government or US citizens

We are asking for the balancing test to apply to the following sections of immigration law: 212(a)(2), 212(a)(4), 212(a)(6), 212(a)(7), 212(a)(8), 212(a)(9), and 212(a)(10) (with the exception of 212(a)(10)(A).