Integrity Legal

A Legal Ground of Inadmissibility is a provision created by Congress that bars certain immigrants from entering the United States of America. If a prospective immigrant is found to have certain types of communicable disease then they will be barred from entering the United States without first obtaining a Waiver of Inadmissibility.

Waivers of inadmissibility for those infected with Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are different than some other legal grounds of inadmissibility because the burden of proof is not the same. In order to obtain a normal I-601 waiver of inadmissibility in most cases the US Citizen or lawful permanent resident petitioner must show that failure to grant the waiver would result in an “extreme hardship,” for him or her. In the case of an HIV waiver, a showing of “extreme hardship” is unnecessary. Instead, one must show that the immigrant with HIV will not become a ward of the United States. Much like the I-864 affidavit of support for Immigrant visas or the I-134 affidavit of support for a fiance visa, the petitioner must show that the beneficiary will not become a “public charge.”

Recently, President Obama has made it clear that he intends to put the wheels in motion to have legislation passed that would repeal the provisions making those with HIV inadmissible to the United States. Obama was recently quoted as saying,

“The rationale for maintaining HIV infection as an excludable condition is no longer valid based on current medical and scientific knowledge and public health practice, and experience which has informed us on the characteristics of the virus, the modes of transmission of HIV, and the effective interventions to prevent further spread of the virus… My administration is committed to rescinding the discriminatory ban on entry to the United States based on HIV status. The Office of Management and Budget just concluded a review of a proposal to repeal this entry ban, which is a first and very big step towards ending this policy.”

Obama has made many recent statements regarding Comprehensive Immigration Reform and the Defense of Marriage Act. If Obama fulfills his campaign promises regarding these issues it will have tremendous ramifications on United States Immigration law. The push to have HIV taken off of the list of communicable disease has its opponents, but it is probable that legislation that would allow those with HIV to enter the USA, without a waiver, will be passed sometime in the next one to two years.

For more information about US Family Visas from Thailand Please see: US Immigration lawyer Thailand or K-1 visa

(Nothing contined herein should be mistaken for legal advice as it is intended for the purpose of education only. No lawyer-client relationship is to be implied to exist between the author and any reader of this posting.)

Tags: American Visa Thailand, HIV Waiver, I-601 Waiver, legal grounds of inadmissibility, US Immigration, US Immigration HIV, US Visa Thailand, visa denial, visa denial Thailand, Visa Refusal, waiver of inadmissibility
Posted in US Visa Thailand, US Visa and Immigration, Visa Waiver | No Comments »

For general information about problems with a Us visa application please see: US Visa Denial Thailand.

The process of obtaining a visa for a loved one to the United States can be long and complicated.  At the end of the process, the last thing a prospective applicant wants to receive is a rejection and denial of the visa application. However, this can occur and in situations in which it does occur there are remedies. In other posts on this blog, the topic of waivers of inadmissibility has been discussed. This post will briefly recap the topic and add some new information about where a waiver application can filed and clear up confusion about what types of waivers exist under current legislation.

IMBRA Waiver with USCIS

One point of confusion that I have heard from prospective visa petitioners involves the IMBRA (International Marriage Broker Regulation Act). Pursuant to the IMBRA,  one must obtain a waiver in order to file multiple K1 petitions within a two year period. Although this provision denotes a waiver requirement for a multiple filer of K1 visas, this type of waiver is contemporaneously with the I-129f application for Fiance Visa. (It would be prudent to consult with an Immigration attorney if you believe you may be subject to multiple filer restrictions under IMBRA).

US Waivers of Visa Denial at the US Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand

Should the visa be denied at the US Embassy in Bangkok, then one must first decipher the type of denial. Technically a 221 g refusal is a visa denial, but from a practical standpoint it is merely a visa denial pending further documentation or information. Therefore, it is possible to cure whatever deficiencies exist and ultimately obtain the visa.

Sham Relationship or Marriage

If the consular officer makes a decision that a marriage of fiance relationship is not genuine, then the visa could be denied and that decision is not subject to waiver or appeal. This is why proving up the legitimacy of a relationship or marriage at the US Embassy in Bangkok is so important.

Consular Finding of Legal Inadmissibility

If the consular officer finds that the applicant for a visa is legally inadmissible then the visa will be denied, but the finding of inadmissibility may be remedied through the approval of a waiver of inadmissibility (most likely an I-601 waiver application).

Where is the Waiver Application Filed

It is possible to file a waiver application with the consular officer at the US Embassy. However, this method may be inefficient as the Embassy will send the I-601 waiver application to USCIS for adjudication. It may be faster to simply file an I-601 application with USCIS directly.

On another related note USCIS Bangkok has administrative jurisdiction over USCIS filed offices in  New Delhi, India; Seoul, Republic of Korea; Beijing and Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China; Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China; Manila, Philippines; and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. In its capacity as Bangkok’s District Office it has jurisdiction over Australia, Burma, Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Laos PDR, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and New Zealand. Therefore an I-601 waiver application for a US visa to be obtained from an Embassy in any of these countries can be filed at USCIS Bangkok.

Thanks for reading and for more on US Immigration from Thailand please see:

K1 visa application

Fiance visa application

US Visa Thailand

(Please note: this writing should not be used in lieu of legal advice from a licensed attorney with experience in US Immigration matters. No relationship (attorney-client or otherwise) should be implied from reading this article.)

Tags: 221 (g), Inadmissibility, K1 Visa Thailand, US Visa Thailand, visa denial, Visa Refusal, Visa Waiver
Posted in Fiance Visa Thailand, K1 Visa Thailand, US Embassy Thailand, US Visa Thailand, US Visa and Immigration, Visa Waiver, us embassy bangkok | 5 Comments »

There is some confusion about 221 (g) refusals for US Visas from Thailand. A 221 (g) request is a refusal to grant a US Visa without further evidence. When the Consular Officers are deciding whether to issue a US Visa (for our purposes we will look at it from the context of K1 Fiance Visas, K3, or CR1 Marriage Visas) they are essentially performing a due diligence search in order to ensure that the applicant is who they say they are and are traveling to the USA for a valid purpose (in this case the reason for traveling is a family relationship to the US petitioner).

Some couples become quite distraght when a 221 (g) is issued and it can be quite inconvenient particularly in instances where the applicant is originally from a distant area of Thailand. This can be especially troublesome if the applicant’s household registration (tabien baan) is in a distant locale and it is difficult for them to travel there. Often documents are required from the local amphur office in th disrict where the applicant’s household registration exists. Although it may be a routine matter for the Embassy to issue these type of requests, it can be a major endeavor for the Thai applicant to obtain the necessary documentation.

221 (g) refusals generally allow the applicant one year to obtain the requested documentation before the Embassy will destroy the file. Failure to respond to the request for evidence could result in the underlying petition being cancelled and the process to begin anew.

Us Visa

To avoid 221 (g) refusals it may be wise to enlist assistance of an immigration attorney in an effort to forestall a 221 (g) denial. It should be noted that even with assistance of counsel a 221 (g) refusal may still be issued and further documentation needed. Consular Officers have wide discretion as per the doctrine of consular absolutism and therefore requests for further documentation should be taken seriously and responded to in a timely manner.

Tags: 221 (g), us embassy bangkok, us embassy thailand, US Visa Thailand, visa denial
Posted in General Legal Information, Thailand Visa, US Visa Thailand, us embassy bangkok | 8 Comments »