So, you have been found inadmissible to the US. Does this mean you will never get a green card or visa? As any reputable immigration attorney will tell you, many grounds of inadmissibility will allow you to apply for a waiver. Of course, there will be various requirements that you have to meet for your waiver or forgiveness but in order to make sure you meet those, you need to work with a specialized lawyer who will have all the tools to put together a carefully documented application.

Here are a few tips that will explain how this waiver application process works and what type of relief you can obtain.

The three or ten year time bar provisional waiver

If you are an immediate relative of an US citizen, you can have your inadmissible presence waived, and reapply for a green card.

Also, if you are a green card applicant and you are afraid to leave the US for a consular visa interview because you might be blocked from return, know that there is a chance for you. Starting March 2013, you are allowed to apply for a provisional waiver or stateside waiver. This means that the US Citizenship and Immigration Services can either answer Yes or No to your application before departing for your interview. If you get a Yes, you can feel secure and make sure your consular interview will be successful and you will be allowed to return to the US as a permanent resident.

If you get a negative answer, know that you can reapply or you can take a chance and leave the country for your consular interview, where your waiver application can be again denied or accepted.

If you think that this waiver applies to anyone, you are wrong. There are eligibility limitations that you need to keep count of.

People who can apply for waiver are:

–          Immediate US citizens’ relatives- including same or opposite sex spouse provided the marriage is valid from a legal standpoint, parent or unmarried child under the age of 21.

–          People who are at least 17 and have been physically present on US grounds at the time of applying

–          People who are able to prove that, if not granted the waiver, their qualifying U.S. relatives will suffer extreme hardship as a result. In this case, the list of qualifying relatives is actually shorter and it only includes parents or spouses.

–          People whose removal proceedings were closed and have not been scheduled for another removal are eligible. If you are in this category, you should know that after the USCIS approval of your waiver application, you will need an immigration attorney’s help to obtain dismissal of your case in front of an immigration court. This has to happen before you actually leave US territory for your consular interview.