F1 Student out of status in VA. waiver of 10 year ban

[hokies2007]

Hi, I am new to this site. I am so glad I discovered this place! Everyone is so helpful and I hope someone can give me more info on my situation.

I am currently residing in Virginia. I came to Virginia Tech as an F-1 student in 2002 and due to academic suspension I was unable to enroll for the 2006-2007 academic year. Due to that my Sevis was terminated and I have now been here out of status for over a year.
ICE paid me a visit in March and took me to their office where they presented me with a notice to appear for removal proceedings. I am still waiting on the court date.

I know that I am subject to the 10 year ban but I just graduated this May and I would like to continue school to get my Masters.

From reading the posts, I believe I will have to seek voluntary departure and ask for a waiver of the 10 year ban. I guess I will have to do all this in court in front of an immigration judge.

Does anyone know about my situation and if I stand any chance of having the 10 year ban waived? I am a student, I'm not married to a USC, my sister lives here with a green card. My hardship is that I have grown up in so many different countries that I dont really have a set home. My citizenship is from Ghana but I have never lived there and dont know anyone there. Additionally I have invested a lot of money into my education and still have student loans here in the U.S. of over $40,000.

I would appreciate any feedback. Thanks!!

[Laura]

Welcome Hokies.

"Seek voluntary departure and ask for a waiver of the 10-year ban. I guess I will have to do this in front of an immigration judge."

There are two different things going on here. The ban doesn't actually come into play until you leave the U.S. Right now you are out of status, but you don't have the ban. The I-601 waiver is a way for a spouse, fiance or child of a U.S. citizen to waiver the bar for a CIMT or unlawful presence after they have already left the U.S. In your case though, if you leave the U.S., you are stuck, because you don't have a USC relative.

Another method is called cancellation of removal. This is where a person would argue in front of an immigration judge during their removal proceedings to give them permanent residency. For this you need to have been in the U.S. for ten years, demonstrate good moral character, and show that a U.S. citizen spouse, parent or child would suffer extremely unusual and exceptional hardship.

Unfortunately, for both scenarios, you need a relative. Or you could look into asylum, but again, you'll have to talk to an attorney, because there really isn't much experience with asylum on this forum. Or, you could ask for voluntary departure (to avoid a deportation bar) and then re-apply for a student visa with a non-immigrant waiver. There isn't much discussion of those here either, so I have no idea how feasible that is. There is an attorney who is also a member of this site (Daniel Green) who has experience with non-immigrant waivers.

I hope this helps a little, although I know it's not too promising. Best of luck!

[hokies2007]

Thanks Laura. I will see what I can do and hope for the best.