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US Visa Thailand: Visa Denial and I-601 Waiver of Inadmissibility

Transcript of the above video:

Briefly on this video I'm going to give a brief overview of what an I-601 Waiver, what it's used for, the reasons it may or may not exist in a given case and how said waivers are processed.

An I-601 Waiver or the issue involving an I-601 Waiver will come up when there is a finding by a Consular Officer at the United States Embassy in Bangkok, Consular Section specifically, when a Consular Officer makes a legal finding of inadmissibility, or finding of a legal ground of inadmissibility. Legal grounds of inadmissibility are codified under the Immigration and Nationality Act and certain remedies are specified under the Immigration and Nationality Act based upon the specific finding of inadmissibility which pertains to a given case. So basically what we are saying here is this. Pursuant to interview in some cases a case will simply be approved at interview. In other cases perhaps further documentation is necessary and what will happen is a 221-g refusal will be issued. In a previous or in another video on these matters on this website you can look up the 221-g. Denial for 221-g matters is basically similar to a request for evidence in that the Consular Officer is simply asking for further documentation and is refusing the Visa until such time as such documentation is presented. Finally we have the issue of finding of legal inadmissibility. This occurs when the Consular Officer finds that something in the interviewee, in the applicant’s past is a ground for legally denying that person's application for a US Visa. If a legal ground of inadmissibility is found, there may or may not be a way to move forward. There may be a remedy for that finding; there may not be a remedy for that finding. Under the Immigration Nationality Act there are certain grounds of inadmissibility that are simply unwaivable.  However there are some grounds of inadmissibility that are waivable and an I-601 Waiver is generally the remedy by which one overcomes a finding of legal inadmissibility. So how does this work? Well basically once the Consular Officer makes their decision that the applicant in question is legally inadmissible and shall be denied a visa to the United States, a document similar to the 221-g will be issued subsequent to interview and the applicant will be told that they are found legally inadmissible. From this point, one may then seek an I-601 Waiver and that I 601 waiver, the filing for which is lodged with the United States Citizenship  and Immigration Service, and depending upon  the legal ground of inadmissibility, the procedures and the evidentiary requirements for proving  a legal ground of inadmissibility may vary. So in certain cases,  a finding of inadmissibility for say something like an overstay, the way to overcome that finding of inadmissibility may be relatively straightforward whereas for other more complex reasons for inadmissibility, a very lengthy and very documented intensive filing may be necessary in order to get an I-601 Waiver. Generally speaking, the processing time on an I-601 Waiver in my experience is between 180 and 270 days; that's from application filing until final notice as to the decision on the case. As with virtually anything at USCIS, an RFE may be issued, a Request for Evidence may be issued during the adjudication of an I-601 Waiver. Should an RFE be issued the evidence requested if remitted to USCIS within a given period of time, if that evidence is remitted to them within a given period of time, the officer will go ahead and recommence adjudication of that petition. Upon approval of an I-601 Waiver, the approval must then be resubmitted back to the Consular Section which denied the case and further documentation may be necessary in order to get that Visa ultimately issued, notwithstanding a finding of a legal grounds of inadmissibility.