SUCCESSFUL I-601A FOR APPLICANT WHO WAS THE PRIMARY SOURCE OF FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR FAMILY

• Applicant: Omar Sanchez
• Nationality: Honduras
• Case: I-601A, Application for Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver
• Processing Time: 3.5 Months
• Challenges:
  1. Citizen wife of 11 years and his 4 U.S. Citizen children did not demonstrate extreme hardship.

BACKGROUND

Mr. Sanchez had accrued 18 years of unlawful presence in the United States by entering without inspection from Honduras. Mr. Sanchez had been married to Mrs. Sanchez for 11 years, and they had 4 children together. Both Mr. and Mrs. Sanchez helped take care of Mrs. Sanchez’ sister’s two children, as their mother died of cancer at the age of 27. Mrs. Sanchez was born in the U.S., and was employed as a Medicare Representative.

KEYS TO SUCCESS

Initially, we were concerned that Mr. Sanchez’ case, which clearly demonstrated hardship to his U.S. Citizen wife of 11 years and his 4 U.S. Citizen children, did not demonstrate extreme hardship. However, during our strategy session, we discovered that many of Mrs. Sanchez’ extended family members relied on the couple for financial support. The death of Mrs. Sanchez’ sister left her two children in the care of Mrs. Sanchez’ elderly parents, who required the couple’s assistance in caring for both the children and themselves. By helping Mrs. Sanchez demonstrate that Mr. Sanchez’ earnings were instrumental in keeping her extended family afloat, we were able to prove extreme hardship.

In addition to proving extreme hardship to the family, we were able to help Mrs. Sanchez prove her financial and medical hardship. Additionally, we demonstrated that the Central American drug war would present a real threat to Mr. and Mrs. Sanchez by comparing their situation to an Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) decision for a U.S. citizen married to a Honduran national that was approved due to the fact that U.S. citizens were frequently victimized by drug traffickers and criminal syndicates.

OUTCOME

Our client’s waiver was accepted and approved within 3.5 months and Mr. Sanchez was able to continue to reside in the place he considered home, alongside his family and the people he cherished the most.

*Real name has been changed to protect client identity