Case: I-130/I-485
Issue: Visa Waiver Entry
Applicant/Beneficiary – Italian
Location: Weston, CT
Our client entered the United States in December 2019 from Italy under the visa waiver program. As a Visa Waiver Entrant, she was only authorized to remain in the United States for 90 days.
She married to U.S. Citizen in September 2011 in Italy. One main issue in her green card application through marriage was the fact that she came to the United States under the visa waiver program. As our office wrote in our previous success story with a similar issue, under the visa waiver program, citizens of certain countries can enter the U.S. for 90 days without a visa with the condition that the visitor waives his or her right to contest removal (other than on the basis of asylum). The “no-contest” provision of the Visa Waiver Program is fundamental; if someone could enter under the VWP and then contest removability; it would defeat the whole purpose of the Program which is to make it easy for certain nationals to come to the United States to visit and then leave without all the red-tape involved in visa issuance.
Our client contacted our office for consultation and retained our office on January 13, 2020 for her adjustment of status application. Our office filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on February 11, 2020. Our office requested the CIS to exercise favorable discretion in granting adjustment of status despite her visa waiver entry. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permit all came on time. There was no Request for Evidence. Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients. On February 16, 2021, our client was interviewed at the Hartford, Connecticut USCIS Field Office. Despite the visa waiver entry and subsequent adjustment of status issue, the USCIS officer approved her green card application on the same day.