Was told to file Form I-601. Need help!!

[srm]

I was GC holder when I got to my husband in Dec 2001 who was on H1-b visa. We went to India to get married and was back in Jan 2002. I got my Citizenship in June 2003. I applied for AOS for him and had our Interview on Oct 30th 2003.

The Immigration office asked my husband to file I-601, Application for Waiver of Ground of Excludability and a strong statement from me mentioning the hardship that I will have to go through if they remove him from US.

The reason the Immigration officer gave us was that since my husband was on a H1-B and left the country to get married. And since he got married to a Resident, he was supposed to declare at the port of entry that he was married to a Permanent Resident, as he had become an intended PR.
He's was still on HI-B when he entered the US after marriage & his H1-B is a "dual intent" visa. Moreover nobody at the port of entry asked us if we were married & there was no provision for us to declare it anywhere. And since we did not do that, my husband needs file this form I-601, asking for a Waiver. The Officer said they will review the form & the statements and if they are convinced by the application they will grant him GC.

His H1-B is valid till July 2004. We are confused. We did not violate any laws at anytime. He has no criminal background. We still can't figure out why we are asked to fill this Form I-601 and for what reason.

Is there any one who can help. Please..!!!

[rpc]

I can't offer any help, but do keep us posted, as many of us here are going through this 601 hell.

[Lost!]

Hi,
I am sorry to hear about your case! But there are many of us out there filing the I601.
There are a few very helpful posts on this website. Do a search on I601. There is a post by Spouse that is very helpful and one from Mohan about the gidelines for hardship. Mohan's was posted sometime in November last year.
Good luck.

[Spouse]

Hi. There are definitely some good postings out there, and if you want to give us some details we can probably all give you advice on how we think would be the best way to phrase things, or what your strongest arguments are etc.

However, I do have one question, are you a citizen? If not, if you are still a GC holder, before you do anything, double check and make sure that the I-601 is applicable to GC holders (and don't just trust your lawyer on this!), for some reason I was under the impression that it was only available for citizens... but I have been known to be wrong, and I am not 100% on this!

Good luck and keep us posted!

[srm]

I got my citizenship in July 2003 & only then did i apply for AOS for my husband.

[Spouse]

The I-601 is a catch all waiver from what I understand. It is applicable for those who have commited crimes in their own countries, people who have certain disease, and people who hve overstayed visas. From what you are telling me it is also for people who have "misused" a visa... (double intent).

This is a serious problem to the US gov´t. However, to verify the reasons for the necesiity of the I-601 (lawyers have been known to be wrong) I would call the BCIS office nearest you (call until you get two-three answers that are approximately the same!)

[srm]

The visa not misused, my husband has got his H-1B in 1998 & is valid till July 2004. A H-1B is the only one with the dual intent visa. So it dosen't matter whether is married to a LRP or not. We have spoken to 4 different lawyers & everyone say that the interviewing officer is totally wrong & doesn't know the Immigration Law.
This is posted on the BCIS website
"Can an H-1B alien intend to immigrate permanently to the U.S.?"

Yes. An H-1B alien can be the beneficiary of an immigrant visa petition, apply for adjustment of status, or take other steps toward Lawful Permanent Resident status without affecting H-1B status. This is known as "dual intent" and has been recognized in the immigration law since passage of the Immigration Act of 1990. During the time that the application for LPR status is pending, an alien may travel on his or her H-1B visa rather than obtaining advance parole or requesting other advance permission from Immigration to return to the U.S.