Success Story: I-601 Waiver of China Communist Party Member Inadmissibility Approved (Oct 2020)
In an October 2020 decision, USCIS’s San Francisco Office approved our client’s I-601 Waiver Application and approved client’s I-485 green card application without issuing any Request for Evidence ("RFE").
Our client was the derivative beneficiary of an approved employment-based petition. At the second I-485 Adjustment of Status interview, our client was heavily questioned by the USCIS officer. Despite raising the Non-Meaningful Association and Involuntary Membership exceptions to Past Membership of Communist Party on the advice of her employment based counsel, USCIS still found our client inadmissible and issued a Request for Evidence requesting an I-601 Waiver to waive her inadmissibility.
Client then sought assistance from our office. Attorney Nguyen D. Luu carefully reviewed the client’s case file and factual circumstances regarding Communist Party membership. Our firm determined that the client qualified for the exceptions enumerated in the Immigration and Nationality Act and worked swiftly to prepare a substantive memorandum of law and extensive supporting documents to establish client’s eligibility, hence client should not have been found inadmissible. Due to the time constraint of the Request for Evidence, we also submitted client's I-601 Waiver application to meet the deadline demanded by the RFE.
Subsequently, USCIS approved our I-601 Waiver and I-485 application without issuing any further RFE. The firm is very pleased that we have obtained favorably resolution for our client within a relatively short time.
Conclusion: If you are applying for adjustment of status and you were a member of the Communist Party, you should be aware that USCIS is applying strict enforcement policy on finding of inadmissibility. Further, it appears that USCIS is increasingly refusing to accept applicants' claims of exceptions to inadmissibility. Specifically, one of our clients submitted a one page declaration based on a template provided by his employment based counsel. USCIS nevertheless still found him inadmissible even though his membership was terminated over 10 years before.
It is highly advisable that you submit a well-drafted persuasive declaration, legal brief, and supporting document to establish your eligibility to the exceptions at the initial filing of your I-485 application. Failure to do so might increase your risk of receiving a Request for Evidence, Notice of Intent to Deny, or even a Denial Decision, which might cause delays and complications to your filing.
See our successes:
- Federal Lawsuit Successfully Forced USCIS to Reverse a Wrongful Denial of an I-485 and I-601 Waiver Application for past CCP member (February 2024)Successfully Reversed Previous Denial of I-485 Green Card Application for past member of Communist Party (January 2024)
- Obtained Immigrant Visa for Past Member of Communist Party Without Filing I-601 Waiver (July 2020)
- I-601 Waiver of Communist Party Member Inadmissibility Approved within 7 weeks (March 2020)
- USCIS Request for an I-601 Waiver of Communist Party Member Inadmissibility Withdrawn Without Filing I-290B form- Client Received Green Card (June 2019)
- Success Story: I-601 Waiver of China Communist Party Member Inadmissibility Approved (Oct 2020)
- Obtained Green Card for Past Member of Communist Party Without Filing an I-601 Waiver Application (March 2021)
- Can I-601 Waiver be Granted on the Basis of "Public Interest" Alone? Yes, it could. (April 2021)
- Success Story: I-601 Waiver of China Communist Party Member Inadmissibility Approved within 3 weeks (November 2021)
- Success Story: I-601 Waiver of China Communist Party Member Inadmissibility Approved within 3 days (May 2022)
Policy Alert: