Success Story: I-601 Waiver of China Communist Party Member Inadmissibility Approved (Oct 2020)

Oct 27, 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.

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