Waivers

This waiver is used when applying for a green card, immigrant visa, TPS or fiance visa. It waives certain areas of inadmissibility, such as health, criminal, immigration and other grounds. Not everyone is eligible and the processing times are long and frustrating. However, once your ground of inadmissibility is waived, you are able to return to the United States with valid status.

This waiver is used when applying for an immigrant visa. If you are inadmissible to the United States (i.e., unable to obtain a green card or visa) only because you overstayed your status or came into the country without a status, you may file this application and wait for its approval before leaving for your Consular interview. This lessens the time you will be apart from your family while waiting for the waiver to be approved.

This waiver is used for people who have prior orders of removal. If you were ever removed from the United States (in immigration court), you are barred from returning for a certain period of time (5, 10 or 20 years). If you want to return before this period of time, you must obtain permission. This includes not only nonimmigrants, but also immigrants seeking to return permanently to the United States. 

This waiver is used for U (crime victim) and T (trafficking victim) applicants who are inadmissible for certain reasons (for example, entering without inspection or criminal convictions). 

This waiver is used for refugees and asylees. Once a person is granted asylum in the United States, he or she must wait one year to apply for a green card. During the green card application process, a person may be found inadmissible due to criminal, misrepresentation or health reasons. Certain grounds of inadmissibility may be waived. 

This waiver is used to waive the filing fee for certain applications. There are dozens of applications where the filing fee can be waived. Every few years, USCIS filing fees go up , so the use of this waiver may save an applicant hundreds – if not thousands – of dollars.