Question about 3 year ban

[teacherlynn]

Hello,

My husband is in Albania right now. He left voluntarily in June of 2007. All of his paperwork has been reviewed at the NVC and we are waiting for an interview date in Albania. I was reading over all of our files and according to our old lawyer, my husband is only eligible for the 3 year ban because he filed for asylum in less than a year of being in the US. Does anyone know if the fact that he entered EWI will mean an automatic denial at his interview in which I would have to file an I601 waiver? Is there a possibility that he won't be denied because of his pending asylum case? Thanks.

[Cynthia]

Not quite sure but the fact that he EWI, he might still be required to file the waiver or maybe not. You might want to check with your current lawyer.

[YRuth]

My hubby EWI, but never accumulated any illegal presence of more than a year. EWI does not mean an automatic denial, I'm 100% sure, otherwise my hubby would of been denied. I don't think that you need a waiver at all. I did not have to turn one in because he never passed over a year. When he had his interview I did one anyways in case if they said that I needed to turn one in. It's better to be prepared than not too.

[Pinkpig]

Simply and generally put these are 3 different things.

1. IF you EWI, it means that you cannot adjust status in the US. You have to do consular filing in your country. If you entered the US legally you may be able to adjust status without leaving the US.

2. When you leave the US to travel to the consulate for your interview generally if you have been illegally present in the US for more than 6 months but less than 1 year you trigger the 3 year bar. If you have been illegally present in the US for more than 1 year you trigger the 10 year bar. Both of these make you eligible for the waiver.

3. Generally if you have been illegally present in the US for more than 1 year in total (in the aggragate) and then you attempt to EWI again then you get the 10 year bar with no chance to file the waiver until you have been outside of the US for 10 years.
There are some exceptions and each case is different. It is imperative IMHO that you put all of your information before a competent, experienced immigration attorney before you start this process. Why go through this before you are certain that you are eligible. It will be the best $100 you ever spend. Immigration and filing waivers are complicated legal processes. Please do not start this until you are 100% sure that you know what you are doing.

Lawyers who are recommeded by this site are linked in my signature. Please consult one of them and have them verify your eligibility first.