We received approval of a Form I-212, Applicant for Permission to Reapply for Admission into the United States After Deportation or Removal. The I-212 waiver was required due to our client having been removed from the U.S. upon arrival at a U.S. airport. She had visited the U.S. several times in the past but unknowingly overstayed her authorized period of stay during her previous visit. As a result, her visa was revoked and she was removed from the country when she applied for admission at the port of entry.
Our client returned to her home country of Romania, where she met, fell in love with, and married a U.S. citizen who was on long-term assignment for his company there. The U.S. citizen filed for his wife’s I-130 Petition for Alien Relative, which was approved and sent to the U.S. embassy for consular processing. When she arrived at the interview, she was informed by the consular officer of her need to file the I-212 waiver. Our office was subsequently contacted to prepare and file the I-212 on her behalf.
Section 212(a)(i)(A)(i) and (ii) of the Immigration and National Act, as added by IIRAIRA Section 301, provides that foreign nationals who have been ordered removed may not be readmitted to the United States until they have stayed outside the U.S. for a specified period of time:
- 5 years for individuals removed through summary exclusion or through removal proceedings initiated upon the person’s arrival in the U.S.;
- 10 years for those otherwise ordered removed after a deportation hearing or whodeparted the United States while an order of removal was outstanding; and
- 20 years for a second or subsequent removal.
In support of her I-212 waiver application, I prepared a comprehensive legal brief going over how the facts and circumstances of her situation met the legal standards used to adjudicate an I-212 waiver application. The legal standards discussed included those set forth by the Board of Immigration Appeals in its precedent decision, Matter of Tin. “Extreme hardship” to the U.S. citizen spouse was also discussed in-depth as a favorable factor in this matter. Some of the factors elaborated upon in this brief were:
- Basis for the prior removal;
- Recency of the removal;
- Moral character of the applicant;
- Respect for law and order;
- Evidence of reformation and rehabilitation;
- Family responsibilities;
- Hardship involved to the applicant and others;
- The need for the applicant’s services in the U.S.; and
- Whether the applicant is subject to any other grounds of inadmissibility.
The I-212 waiver package also included supporting exhibits that provided proof of the statements made in the legal brief.
After consideration of the I-212 waiver we submitted to the USCIS Field Office with jurisdiction over her removal, the Field Office Director approved our I-212 waiver application, granting her permission to reapply for admission into the United States. The approved I-212 waiver was sent to the U.S. embassy in Bucharest, which issued her the immigrant visa to enter the U.S. lawfully as a permanent resident.