Gee

Does anyone here know anything about INA 212 (h) (1) waivers. Is the granting of such a waiver rare or not? I have been waiting several weeks now here in the UK for a decision and am very anxious. We are talking about petty crimes from over 15 years ago but I am still worried even though they said the misdemeanours were waiverable at the Embassy. Any reply would be welcome.

Rick

Gee <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
    > Does anyone here know anything about INA 212 (h) (1) waivers. Is the granting of
    > such a waiver rare or not? I have been waiting several weeks now here in the UK for
    > a decision and am very anxious. We are talking about petty crimes from over 15
    > years ago but I am still worried even though they said the misdemeanours were
    > waiverable at the Embassy. Any reply would be welcome.

They are waiverable, but will they be waived, especially post 9/11..? The granting of
a 212(h) waiver is a rare occurrence indeed. I have convictions too, though mine are
from 25 years ago. I have now waited 5 months for a decision on I-129F (am still
waiting), then have to attend an interview where the visa will be formally refused
then have to apply for a 212(h) waiver on an I-601 form, which step alone can now
take many months to adjudicate. Oh, and I have a US attorney..!

Rick

Gee

I was told the decision would be in about 6 weeks. That is about now. Also, they were basically small fines with no question of a custodial or other kind of punishment. My wife's new job in the US rests on this. She was granted, with my 2 kids their visas. Could I ask you what seriousness the misdemeanours were of 25 years ago and is that the only reason you are being held up? How do you know the granting of such waivers are rare?

Rick

Gee <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
    > Originally posted by Rick:
    > > Gee wrote in message news:...
    > > > Does anyone here know anything about INA 212 (h) (1) waivers. Is the granting
    > > > of such a waiver rare or not? I have been waiting several weeks now here in the
    > > > UK for a decision and am very anxious. We are talking about petty crimes from
    > > > over 15 years ago but I am still worried even though they said the
    > > > misdemeanours were waiverable at the Embassy. Any reply would be welcome.
    > >
    > > They are waiverable, but will they be waived, especially post 9/11..? The
    > > granting of a 212(h) waiver is a rare occurrence indeed. I have convictions too,
    > > though mine are from 25 years ago. I have now waited 5 months for a decision on
    > > I-129F (am still waiting), then have to attend an interview where the visa will
    > > be formally refused then have to apply for a 212(h) waiver on an I-601 form,
    > > which step alone can now take many months to adjudicate. Oh, and I have a US
    > > attorney..!
    > >
    > > Rick
    > >
    > I was told the decision would be in about 6 weeks. That is about now. Also, they
    > were basically small fines with no question of a custodial or other kind of
    > punishment. My wife's new job in the US rests on this. She was granted, with my 2
    > kids their visas. Could I ask you what seriousness the misdemeanours were of 25
    > years ago and is that the only reason you are being held up? How do you know the
    > granting of such waivers are rare?

Hi again

I was told my I-129F would take 15-21 days - am now on day 141. I was also told
the I-601 waiver can take 6-12 months to adjudicate post-9/11. In all my
researches (which have been many and detailed) I can find mention of only one
212(h) waiver being granted. Your convictions sound less serious than mine, yes,
but mine were longer ago. And yes, that is the ONLY reason for the delay. I have
been advised that if I do not have a decision on the I-129F petition in a year, I
can sue INS by lodging a Writ of Mandamus in Federal Court - but only after that
'unconscionable' delay.

Rick

Gee

I am not so sure about the time limit for I-601. I am sure it is about the 6 weeks mark. My question is what sort of thing would still keep you excludable after 15 years. I do not know how you have stuff on your certificate going back 25 years. I thought it only went back 20.
Thousands of waivers are issued every year. I just hope I am one of them.
thanks

Rick

Gee <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
    > Originally posted by Rick:
    > > Gee wrote in message news:...
    > > > Originally posted by Rick:
    > > > > Gee wrote in message news:news:...
    > > > > > Does anyone here know anything about INA 212 (h) (1) waivers. Is the
    > > > > > granting of such a waiver rare or not? I have been waiting several weeks
    > > > > > now here in the UK for a decision and am very anxious. We are talking about
    > > > > > petty crimes from over 15 years ago but I am still worried even though they
    > > > > > said the misdemeanours were waiverable at the Embassy. Any reply would be
    > > > > > welcome.
    > > > >
    > > > > They are waiverable, but will they be waived, especially post





    > > > > 9/11..? The granting of a 212(h) waiver is a rare occurrence indeed. I have
    > > > > convictions too, though mine are from 25 years ago. I have now waited 5
    > > > > months for a decision on I-129F (am still waiting), then have to attend
    > > > > an interview where the visa will be formally refused then have to apply
    > > > > for a 212(h) waiver on an I-601 form, which step alone can now take many
    > > > > months to adjudicate. Oh, and I have a US attorney..!
    > > > >
    > > > > Rick
    > > > >
    > > > I was told the decision would be in about 6 weeks. That is about now. Also,
    > > > they were basically small fines with no question of a custodial or other kind
    > > > of punishment. My wife's new job in the US rests on this. She was granted, with
    > > > my 2 kids their visas. Could I ask you what seriousness the misdemeanours were
    > > > of 25 years ago and is that the only reason you are being held up? How do you
    > > > know the granting of such waivers are rare?
    > >
    > > Hi again
    > >
    > > I was told my I-129F would take 15-21 days - am now on day 141. I was also told
    > > the I-601 waiver can take 6-12 months to adjudicate post-9/11. In all my
    > > researches (which have been many and detailed) I can find mention of only one
    > > 212(h) waiver being granted. Your convictions sound less serious than mine, yes,
    > > but mine were longer ago. And yes, that is the ONLY reason for the delay.
    > > I have been advised that if I do not have a decision on the I-129F
    > > petition in a year, I can sue INS by lodging a Writ of Mandamus in Federal
    > > Court - but only after that 'unconscionable' delay.
    > >
    > > Rick
    > >
    > I am not so sure about the time limit for I-601. I am sure it is about the 6 weeks
    > mark. My question is what sort of thing would still keep you excludable after 15
    > years. I do not know how you have stuff on your certificate going back 25 years. I
    > thought it only went back 20. Thousands of waivers are issued every year. I just
    > hope I am one of them. thanks

If you think you'll get a decision on a waiver in 6 weeks, fine, I hope you do. If
you understand that thousands of waivers are issued every year, fine. I assume that
that was every year prior to 9/11? Whatever happened pre-9/11, you can now throw away
the rule book.

The 'stuff' remains on one's record for life. The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act
does NOT apply to US Immigration Law. Previous convictions can be considered 'spent'
after a certain amount of time depending on the sentence imposed, but they are not
expunged. Whatever offences one commits are on one's record; if they are not, then it
is because police records are considered to be only 95% accurate.

I too hope you get your waiver. But are you the same Gee who entered the US without
declaring previous convictions on your I-94 and are currently seeking advice from the
NG on that too?

Rick

Gee

I receiveda letter from the Embassy this morning. they have granted me the Visa and I have to go down to London shortly to pick it up.
I hope this gives you some encouragement. This Tuesday, it would be six weeks so it was just under.
Hang on in there. I was more optimistic than pessimistic. Thankfully.
Gee

Reggaeky

Gee <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
    > Does anyone here know anything about INA 212 (h) (1) waivers. Is the
    > granting of such a waiver rare or not? I have been waiting several weeks
    > now here in the UK for a decision and am very anxious. We are talking
    > about petty crimes from over 15 years ago but I am still worried even
    > though they said the misdemeanours were waiverable at the Embassy. Any
    > reply would be welcome.

My husband's "petty crime", we were also told, was a "waiverable
misdemeanour". That's the factor right there, what the petty crime
was. His was unknowingly overstaying his visa by 6 months, too long of
a story to explain here. However, after waiting 3-1/2 years for the
I-601 decision, we were told by INS that I failed to show extreme
hardship, therefore he will not be granted a visa so that he can live
with his wife in the States. I am his wife, American born U.S.
citizen. We are filing again for the waiver, trying it again. He was
deported in 1996 for 5 years, so we were told. (We weren't married at
that time. I went where he lives and we married there in Jan 1999.)
The letter I received telling me that I failed to show extreme
hardship also informed me that the law changed, he's deported for 10
years. Oops, as they seem to say, you all have to wait 5 more years
even though you've already waited 5 years for paperwork to be filed,
re-filed due to INS "misplacing" it, having to do fingerprints over
again because they seemed to be "lost" or "misfiled" or "a new person
is on your case". They don't care. We just hang in there and try to
smile and hope we can be together in 5 years no matter what. If we
make it that long. Who knows what plans are in store for us. Good luck
to you.