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I-601 Waiver After Denial of a K-1 Visa Application

Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing I-601 Waivers. That is a Waiver of Inadmissibility to the United States and we are discussing this specifically in the context of the K-1 Visa. For purposes of this video, I am going to discuss this in the context of dealing with it here at the US Embassy in Bangkok but this could be viewed as a general information video on I-601 Waivers in the context of the K-1 Fiancée Visa. 

So what are we talking about here specifically? First of all, for those are unaware, there other videos on this channel where we discuss the K-1 Fiancée visa at length. Suffice it to say, for this video, it is a Visa that is for the fiancée of an American citizen to come to the United States in order to get married and subsequently adjust status to permanent residence therein. 

An I-601 Waiver is a waiver of a finding of inadmissibility and in the context of a K-1 being sought for example here at the US Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, this would occur after a finding of inadmissibility by a Consular Officer at this post. So a Consular Officer at the US Embassy here in Bangkok or anywhere around the world the Consular officer who is adjudicated a visa application and makes a finding of inadmissibility. What is a finding of admissibility? Well there are multiple grounds of inadmissibility that are laid out in the Immigration and Nationality Act of the United States, the INA, and basically some of the big ones we see over here are findings of inadmissibility for things like crimes involving moral turpitude, prior criminal activity. We have had findings of inadmissibility in the context of prostitution, findings of inadmissibility in the context of certain types of drug offenses may be waiveable; all of these types of things basically your Visa is denied. The visa application would be denied based on one of these findings of inadmissibility; another one being something like fraud and misrepresentation.

After the application is denied, it may be possible to get that denial waived pursuant to an I-601 waiver or a Waiver of Inadmissibility that is then adjudicated by the Department of Homeland Security. Now depending on the legal ground of inadmissibility, depending on the specific factual circumstances of the case, a waiver may be approved for various reasons, legal or factual or otherwise. That being stated, that is going to be an issue to deal with with your legal professional and it is going to be factually based so it is going to be case specific. I am not really going to use this video to go in any great detail about the specifics of how an inadmissibility waiver would be adjudicated because there are so many facts and circumstances that have to be taken into account. It is very difficult to basically summarize that without understanding the specifics of a case.

To sum this video up, if one is denied for a K-1 visa, either here in Thailand or somewhere else, that may not be the end of the road. It may be possible to go ahead and be approved for an I-601 waiver. Another example that is coming in on the top of my head is over stay. Over stay in the United States can be a legal ground of inadmissibility and there is a waiver remedy for that ground of inadmissibility if that waiver is approved.

The thing to take away from this video, again, if the K-1 visa is denied, that denial may not be the end of the road. It may be possible to get that denial waived and ultimately get the visa issued so that that loved one can come into the country and folks can get on with their lives.