filing in the future

[Neenzy]

my i130 was approved and i had intentions on filing an i601 and 212 for my husband thru vienna, since my husband has many criminal convictions(2 misdemeanors and 4 violations) i had a consultation with an attorney and was told we would be denied because the convictions are fairly recent and that we should wait till at least 10 years have passed since the last conviction, my question is, if i were to go ahead and file anyway and was denied, would i be able to file in the future or do you get one chance? and if i was able to file in the future would the fact that we were denied once affect our waiver in the future?

[princesa]

I think it is going to depend on the denial. You may have to wait 10 years to file the waiver. I'm not positive, but I'm sure someone else will be giving you more information

[MistyB]

I think the main thing is to show rehabilitation. How has he been rehabilitated? Who's to say he wont do these things again?

[Lulu]

Like Misty said, the major thing is to show rehabilitation. It may be difficult to show rehabilitation (though not impossible) if not enough time has passed for it to be convincing.

To answer your question though, yes, you can file now, and if you are denied, file again in the future. You would have to start over with the visa application (not the I-130, just the DS-230). You would, in a few years I suppose, send a request to the consulate to re-open your case in light of new evidence (which you will have by then). When you are filing your waivers now, ask them about that, and what the procedure will be for them to keep your file active. You will have to pay for the visa fees and waiver fees all over again of course.