Waiver of Inadmissibility
On April 1, 2012, one of our clients finally entered the United States as a Permanent Resident. In 2011, the client received a Voluntary Departure in Immigration Court for entering the United States without documentation. He is the spouse of U.S. citizen with serious medical problems. Based on this, we prepared an I-601 waiver of inadmissibility for him. He left the United States to consular process and apply for a waiver in June 2011. After applying for his waiver, he returned to his hometown in Mexico to await the decision. His waiver was approved in March 2012, and he was finally able to return to his wife in the United States in April.
Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)
In March and April 2012, two VAWA clients both received approved I-765 employment authorizations after their I-485's had been denied but were on review. The Immigration Service initially denied both of their application for employment authorization, based on the argument that their cases closed upon denial of their I-485's. However, we argued that because the I-485's were still on review, they were pending for purposes of I-765 employment authorization, and the employment authorization should be granted until the case was final. The Immigration Service agreed with our argument and granted employment authorization in both cases.
Child Citizenship Act
In late March 2012, a naturalized U.S. citizen's under-18 daughter, who entered without inspection, left the United States to consular process in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. After attending her consular interview and submitting some additional documentation, she received her immigrant visa on April 10, 2012. That same day she re-entered the United States as a U.S. citizen under the Child Citizenship Act.