Harlan York & Associates

Ten year bar waivers available without leaving US?

January 6th, 2012

President Obama moved to repair relations with a crucial voting bloc and opened another battle with Republican lawmakers by easing rules on the politically volatile issue of illegal immigration. His proposal will probably affect tens of thousands — perhaps more than 100,000 — illegal residents. It would end a requirement that undocumented immigrants with parents or spouses in the US leave the country first if they wish to file paperwork that would forestall deportation on the grounds of family hardship. Without the so-called hardship waiver, illegal immigrants are barred from reentering the US for up to 10 years. The existing rule often means that people seeking waivers must separate from their families for months or in some cases years while their applications are processed. Under the new rule, which does not require congressional approval, immigrants would be allowed to stay in the US and apply for a waiver, which can be granted if deporting an immigrant would cause extreme hardship to his US family. Once waivers are granted, immigrants may apply for green cards. They would still have to leave the US to make those applications, but because they would have hardship waivers in hand, they would be very likely to gain readmission to the country. Disquiet over Obama’s immigration policies has jeopardized his support among Latino voters. Under Obama, the government has deported a record number, 1.2 million immigrants. And the President failed to persuade Congress to overhaul the immigration system and provide a path to legal status for the estimated 11 million living in the US illegally, despite a promise that he would address the issue in his first year in office. (LA Times excerpts)