USCIS Policy Memo – Requests to Expedite Application Form I-601 Waiver for applicants (May 9, 2011)

Requests to Expedite Adjudication of Form I-601, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility, filed by individuals outside the United States; Adjudicator’s Field Manual(AFM) Update AD11-10

Purpose

This Policy Memorandum (PM) provides guidelines on how U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) processes requests to expedite the adjudication of Forms I-601 filed by individuals outside the United States.  These guidelines will be included in the AFM Chapter 41.7 and in the revised version of International Operations Division Field Guidance for Form I-601 adjudications.

Scope

Unless specifically exempted herein, this memorandum applies to and is binding on all USCIS employees adjudicating Forms I-601 filed by individuals outside the United States.

Authority

8 CFR 212.7 governs USCIS adjudication of Form I-601.

Background

It has been USCIS’s longstanding policy to accept requests to expedite processing of petitions or applications where the applicant or the petitioner demonstrates reasons that merit expedited processing of a petition or application.  Consistent with this policy, an applicant may request that the adjudication of a Form I-601 be expedited.  Requests to expedite in the Form I-601 adjudication context present unique challenges.  Almost all Form I-601 applicants outside the United States have an interest in expeditious processing given that most are required to establish extreme hardship to a qualifying family member in order for USCIS to consider whether to exercise its discretion to waive the bar to an applicant’s entry into the United States.  However, some applicants may be experiencing extraordinary circumstances that present the kind of compelling and urgent, time-sensitive reasons that merit expedited processing of a Form I-601.  This memorandum provides guidelines on responding to requests to expedite Forms I-601 filed by applicants overseas.

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