Today the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a proposed rule change in the Federal Register to streamline and expand the provisional stateside waiver process.  This is part of a multi-step immigration process for eligible individuals to become permanent residents of the United States.

The current provisional waiver process is only available to intending immigrants, now living in the United States, with a six month or longer period of unlawful presence in the US, who have spouses or parents that are United States citizens. Until three years ago, all intending immigrants had to have an interview in their own country first before applying for waivers based on prior violations of the immigration laws.  This caused very long delays and lengthy separations from family members in the United States while the intending immigrant waited outside the US.  The change three years ago allowed some eligible people to file a waiver only for the unlawful presence provisions prior to departing from the United States for consular processing rather than applying for a waiver abroad after the immigrant visa interview. That change enabled a more streamlined and family friendly process – thus significantly shortening the period of separation while completing the process to becoming a resident of the United States.

DHS now proposes to expand the current provisional waiver process in two ways.

First, DHS will eliminate current limitations on the provisional waiver process that restrict eligibility to certain immediate relatives of U.S. citizens. With the proposed changes, the provisional waiver process will be made available to family-sponsored immigrants, employment-based immigrants, certain special immigrants, and Diversity Visa program selectees, together with their derivative spouses and children.

Second, DHS proposes to expand the provisional waiver process by eliminating the current restriction that limits “extreme hardship” to U.S. citizen spouses or parents. Under this proposed rule, an applicant for a provisional waiver would be permitted to establish the eligibility requirement of showing extreme hardship to lawful permanent resident spouses or parents as well.

For further details on this proposed rule change go to: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-07-22/html/2015-17794.htm

Murphy Law Firm will publish more information such as the date the changes will take effect as soon as the details are announced.