I-601 Waiver News
The applicant in this case is a native and citizen of China who entered the United States using a photo-substituted passport. The applicant was deemed inadmissible under section 212(a)(6)(C)(i) of the Act for willful misrepresentation of a material fact in order to procure an immigration benefit. The applicant is married to a U.S. citizen and the son of lawful permanent resident parents.
The applicant applied for a waiver of inadmissibility pursuant to Section 212(i) of the Act in order to reside with his wife and his parents in the United States.
Section 212(a)(6)(C)(i) of the Act provides:
In general. – Any alien who, by fraud or willfully misrepresenting a material fact, seeks to procure (or has sought to procure or has procured) a visa, other documentation, or admission into the United States or other benefit provided under this Act is inadmissible.
Section 212(i) provides, in pertinent part:
(1) The Attorney General.[ now Secretary of Homeland Security) may, in the discretion of the Attorney General [now Secretary of Homeland Security], waive the application of clause (i) of subsection (a)(6)(C) in the case of an immigrant who is the spouse, son, or daughter of a United States citizen or of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence, if it is established to the satisfaction of the [Secretary] that the refusal of admission to the United States of such immigrant alien would result in extreme hardship to the citizen or lawfully permanent resident spouse or parent of such an alien ….
The specific take away from this case is that Chinese applicants should always mention the one child policy of the Chinese government, and how this policy is liable to impact the life of the qualifying relative. More generally, the country conditions of any country should discussed if it likely to have a significant and detrimental impact upon the qualifying relative. The Department of State Travel Advisory is often referenced by waiver applicants, but other credible sources can also be used.
Additionally, this case demonstrates the importance of showing extreme hardship to the applicant, when it subsequently causes extreme hardship to the qualifying relative. In this case, the applicant’s father is an asylee from China who runs the risk of being persecuted upon his return to China. Additionally, the applicant himself may be jailed for leaving China without permission and sterilized for violation of China’s one child policy upon his return. Such an event is highly likely to cause extreme psychological, financial, and ultimately physical hardship to the applicant’s father, who is the qualifying relative. Thus, the impact of the Chinese government’s policies can be discussed in the context of both the applicant and the qualifying relative.
The favorable factors that led to approval of the I-601 Extreme Hardship Waiver cited by the AAO in its decision are listed below:
- The lawful permanent resident (LPR) father has lived in the United States since 1989 when he was granted asylum.
- The LPR father is sixty two years old and lives with his son, the applicant, who he describes as his favorite son.
- The LPR father works full-time as a cook at his take-out Chinese restaurant, and often has leg pain and other aches because he is old. He has high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
- The applicant (the LPR father’s son) has always been by his father’s side, taking care of him. The LPR father states he cannot imagine his life without his son, sobbed when his son’s waiver application was denied, and has not been able to eat or sleep.
- The LPR father states that if his son returns to China, he would have to go with him. However, he was granted asylum in the United States and can never go back to live in China because he worries he would be persecuted by the Chinese government if he returned.
- The LPR father fears his son would be jailed on account of leaving China without permission and that his son would be sterilized due to China’s one-child policy.
- The LPR father states that he still remembers the terrible life he had in China and he is no longer familiar with living in China.
- The LPR father would have to sell his restaurant and would risk not having any job in China considering his old age.
- The LPR father lives with his son and his son’s wife and children in the United States.
- The applicant has significant family ties to the United States, including his U.S. citizen wife, two U.S. citizen children, lawful permanent resident parents, and other relatives
- There is demonstrated extreme hardship to the applicant’s entire family if he were refused admission
- Affidavits describe the applicant as a kind and gentle person, hard worker, and good husband
- The applicant has no arrests or criminal convictions of any kind