Form I-601 - Application for a Waiver of Ground of Inadmissibility

If you are outside of the United States and otherwise approved to immigrate to the United States, but a Department of State Consular Officer found you ineligible to enter because of one or more grounds of inadmissibility for which a waiver may be available, you may apply for a waiver by filing Form I-601, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility.

If you left the U.S. voluntarily after being issued an order of deportation or removal, were deported or removed, or reentered the United States unlawfully after having cumulatively accrued more than one year of unlawful presence, you may apply for readmission the U.S. by filing Form I-212, Application for Permission to Reapply for Admission Into the United States After Deportation or Removal.

Where to File

USCIS has changed where waiver applications are filed. This may provide you with faster and more efficient application processing and will enable you to track your case status online. You may also request an email or text message confirming receipt of your waiver by completing and attaching Form G-1145, E-Notification of Application/Petition Acceptance to your application.

Beginning June 4, 2012, waiver applications and supporting evidence are mailed directly to the USCIS Lockbox.  You may find the address for the appropriate USCIS Lockbox in the form instructions and at the links, Direct Filing Addresses for Form I-601, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility, and I-212, Application for Permission to Reapply for Admission into the United States After Deportation or Removal. 

Exceptions for Permitting the Filing of Form I-601, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility, and any associated Form I-212, Application for Permission to Reapply for Admission into the United States after Deportation or Removal, at an International USCIS Office may be found here

I-601 Expedited Adjudication Requests

If you filed your case with USCIS Amman field office by June 4, 2012, applicants for Waivers of Inadmissibility, Form I-601, may request that the USCIS office expedite adjudication of the Form I-601 waiver application when there are extraordinary circumstances that are time-sensitive, compelling, and necessitate the applicant’s presence in the United States sooner than would be possible if the application were processed under normal processing times. The strong desire to immigrate to the United States as soon as possible is not by itself “extraordinary.”

A request to expedite adjudication must be made in writing and delivered to the USCIS Field Office Director. The applicant must provide evidence of the extraordinary and compelling circumstance. If the request to expedite the adjudication of an I-601 waiver is approved, the USCIS office will notify the applicant within 15 days of receipt of the request. If no response is received with 15 days, the applicant must presume the request for the expeditious adjudication has been denied.

Please be aware that approval to expedite adjudication of an I-601 waiver application does not guarantee approval of the I-601 waiver application, but only that consideration and adjudication of the I-601 waiver application will be expeditiously handled. If the request for expedited processing is denied, the waiver will be adjudicated within normal processing times.

Translations

A full English translation must be submitted with a document in a language other than English that is submitted in support of the waiver application.  In addition, there must be a certification from the translator attesting to his or her competence as a translator and certifying that the translation is complete and accurate.