Successful I-601 Based on Extreme Hardship to Spouse Despite only Being Married for 2 Years

• Applicant: Mr. Mendez
• Nationality: Mexican
• Case Type: I-601, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility
• Special Factors:
  1. Applicant sends money to family in home country, which makes it difficult to prove that the applicant would endure extreme hardship if forced to return to home country.
  2. Applicant’s U.S. Citizen spouse was studying to become a registered nurse and was not working, therefore relying entirely on applicant’s financial support.
  3. Applicant’s U.S. citizen spouse was pregnant a second-time after having had a prior miscarriage.

BACKGROUND

Mr. Mendez had accrued 6 years of unlawful presence by entering the United States without inspection from Mexico. Mr. Mendez had been married to his U.S. citizen spouse for 2 years, and though they had no children together yet, at the time of filing Mrs. Mendez was pregnant with his child. Furthermore, Mr. Mendez had strong family ties in Mexico, as his family there was largely dependent on him for financial support. In addition, Mrs. Mendez did not work, as she was pursuing licensure as a registered nurse, such that Mr. Mendez was the sole and primary breadwinner of the family.

KEYS TO SUCCESS

Initially, we were concerned that this case may be challenging to prove, as Mr. and Mrs. Mendez had only been married 2 years, had no children together, and Mr. Mendez had strong family ties in his home country of Mexico. However, during our strategy session, we discovered that Mrs. Mendez had been pursuing her dream to be a Registered Nurse, which would be completely derailed if Mr. Mendez was deported. We proved that since Mr. Mendez was the sole breadwinner of the family, if the waiver was not approved, Mrs. Mendez would have to give up her dream in order to seek employment to cover the costs of living, despite all of her work thus far. Furthermore, it would be extremely difficult for Mrs. Mendez to find employment as a Registered Nurse in Mexico, as a result of the poor economy.

Furthermore, we were able to assist Mrs. Mendez in proving her family and psychological distress, as well as the hardship to their future child. On top of this, we demonstrated that the Mexican drug wars presented a real threat to Mr. and Mrs. Mendez if they were forced to relocate.

OUTCOME

Mr. Mendez’s waiver was accepted and approved within a few months, and he was able to return with his family prior to the birth of their newborn.

*Name has been changed to protect client identity