Form I-601A is a form that allows certain immigrants to apply for a waiver of inadmissibility due to unlawful presence in the United States and have immediate relatives who are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents, such as parents or spouses. Using this form, you can apply for a waiver of inadmissibility to avoid a three- to ten-year ban on entry.

The waiver application, Form I-601A, must be filed with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) before you return to your home country. If USCIS approves your application, you may attend a consular interview in your home country at a U.S. embassy or consulate. This form must be filed with USCIS along with the required supporting documentation.

BASIC ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

You may be eligible for a provisional unlawful presence waiver if:

• It is physically present in the United States;
• You must be over 17 years old on the date the application (Form I-601A) is filed;
• You are the beneficiary of an immigrant visa petition (Form I-130) approved in the classification of immediate relative of a U.S. citizen (Spouse, Parent, or unmarried Child under 21 years of age);
• The petition has already been transferred to the Department of State (DOS) for consular processing;
• You have already paid to the National Visa Center (NVC) the immigrant visa processing fee (Forms NVC-DS230 and I-864);
• Does NOT have a pending Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, with USCIS;
• DO NOT has been ordered removed, excluded, or deported from the United States;
• DO NOT is subject to reinstatement of a prior removal order;
• DO NOT is in removal proceedings unless the removal proceedings are administratively closed and have not been re-scheduled as of the date of filing the I-601A;
• DO NOT has no other reasons for being inadmissible at the time of your immigrant visa interview for reasons other than unlawful presence.
• Meets all other requirements for the provisional unlawful presence waiver as listed in the regulations, Form I-601A, and its instructions.
• You may establish that denial of your admission to the United States would result in extreme hardship to your SPOUSE OR PARENT CITIZEN OR PERMANENT RESIDENT., or that its application should be approved as a matter of discretion.

The applicant must show that his or her qualifying relative (U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident Spouse or Parent) would suffer extreme hardship if they could not be joined. Hardship to the applicant is only considered to the extent that it is a source of hardship to the qualifying relative.

USCIS officers generally consider the following factors to determine whether extreme hardship has occurred:

• The Qualifying Relative's health: Medical letter, medical record, and treatment requirements for a physical or mental condition; the availability and quality of such treatment in the applicant's country; the anticipated duration of treatment; whether a condition is chronic or acute, or long- or short-term.
• Financial considerations: Establish extreme financial hardship, tax proof, employment proof. How it would affect your standard of living; ability to recoup short-term losses; cost of extraordinary needs, such as education or special training for children; cost of caring for family members.
• Education: loss of opportunities for higher education; lower quality or limited scope of educational options; interruption of current program; requirement to be educated in a foreign language or culture with loss of time in degree; availability of special requirements such as training programs or internships in specific fields.
• Personal considerations: close relatives in the United States; separation from spouse/children; ages of parties involved; length of residence and community ties in the United States.
• Special considerations: Cultural, language, religious and ethnic barriers; fear of persecution, physical harm or injury; social ostracism or stigma; access to social or structural institutions; and country status.
• Any other information that explains how your personal circumstances may qualify the qualifying relative as having extreme hardship.

The provisional I-601A waiver is at the discretion of the Immigration Officer. It is important to send evidence and establish the extreme suffering of your qualifying relative.