waiver of inadmissablity: illegal in japan & trying to get into the USA

[chameli]

i am writing on behalf of an indonesian friend of mine who lives and works in japan. He has overstayed his visa in japan by nearly 6 years. he wants to go to the USA as a student but we fear he will not be able to get in. after consulting with a lawyer, we were told he still has a good chance if he sends in his visa application with a waiver of inadmissablity. (which the laywer will complete for the measly fee of $6,000) Does anyone have any experience with this? what exactly does my friend have to do? what are his chances? has anyone entered the US legally after being illegal in another country? How does the INS treat this kind of matter?

He has never had any problems in japan except his legal status.


thank you for any light you can shed on this problem.

[chameli]

i am writing on behalf of an indonesian friend of mine who lives and works in japan. He has overstayed his visa in japan by nearly 6 years. he wants to go to the USA as a student but we fear he will not be able to get in. after consulting with a lawyer, we were told he still has a good chance if he sends in his visa application with a waiver of inadmissablity. (which the laywer will complete for the measly fee of $6,000) Does anyone have any experience with this? what exactly does my friend have to do? what are his chances? has anyone entered the US legally after being illegal in another country? How does the INS treat this kind of matter?

He has never had any problems in japan except his legal status.


thank you for any light you can shed on this problem.

[Maria]

US is not interested if you overstayed in other countries. Change your passport and apply for a US visa and you will be admitted with no problem unless you overstayed in USA before not in Japan.

[chameli]

thank you, maria. that is encouraging. but i am a little skeptical about it being that easy since he is a muslim from indonesia. will that have any effect on thier decision? i always thought that he would have to prove that although he stayed illegaly in japan, he wouldn't do it in the USA. on one form, i did see that they asked whether you have had another passport before and what other countries you have visited. Can it be that they really won't care?

[Riley]

If he's a Muslim from Indonesia, he's going to be scrutinized with a bright light and a microscope. why not try another country, why U.S.? Especially now?

[Spouse]

Being a Muslim from Indonesia shouldn't really hurt him, because if it did that would be a form of prejudice and he could sue the US government (numerous cases as such have been brough up).

However, I am not so sure that an overstay in Japan might not hurt him. I think that the USA might choose to allow him to enter, but if they have any reason to suspect that he might not respect the terms of his visa (i.e. not respecting former visas to other countries) I believe that could hurt him.

However, the best thing to do in my opinion is simply to apply and see what happens.

I may be wrong, but if the waiver of inadmissability that they are planning to file for him is the I-601 then that would not pertain to his case. The I-601 is only for spouses or children of LPR/USC.

I think that there is another waiver of inadmissability out there for non-immigrant visas , but I really don't know much about it. But before shelling out 6,000 dollars I would make darn sure that the lawyer know what he is talking about!!

[AliBA]

Try proving "discrimination" for someone who's not in this country. There is no "right" for anyone from another country to enter this one. From what I have read, a visa can be refused to anyone without the State Department having to give specifics. It's their discretion. Also, your friend will have to undergo a background check which may well turn up his overstay in Japan, and will probably be extremely thorough if he's a young man from a Muslim country. Though these days, many of the suicide bombers do seem to be women.

[Maria]

He can get a brand new passport and he can apply from Indonesia saying that it is his first passport. US will not investigate if he had overstayed on previous passports.

Canada does not care about your status in USA and approves permanent residence visas for illegal aliens in US and lets them get in directly from US.

[Maria]

I know one friend who was refused an US visitor visa. He changed his passport and two months later he was stamped US student visa saying that he had never applied before. You have really a mess in your consulates abroad.

[Rumi00]

The waiver of inadmissablity is the most common legal problem that many people face. It is a way of surrendering your right to be deported and allowing you to remain in the United States. I prefer visiting https://masterbundles.com/templates/presentations/powerpoint/japanese/ site for premium templates. The person who applies for this waiver must show that his or her presence in the United States is justified by special circumstances, such as humanitarian reasons, family ties or work reasons.