Provisional Waivers, I-601, Warning from USCIS: how to avoid scam.

On March 30, 2012, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) posted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register outlining its plan to reduce the time U.S. citizens are separated from their immediate relatives (spouses, children, parents) while those family members are in the process of obtaining an immigrant visa to become lawful permanent residents of the United States.

Since the announcement, USCIS has become aware of public misperceptions about the rule-making process and when the provisional unlawful presence waiver process will take effect. To address these issues, USCIS advises:
                       
(1) The Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver is NOT in effect. The provisional unlawful presence waiver will not be available to potential applicants until an effective date is specified in the final rule USCIS will publish later this year in the Federal Register. USCIS has published a notice of proposed rulemaking and will consider all comments received as part of that process before publishing a final rule.

                       
(2) Do not send an application requesting a provisional waiver at this time. USCIS will reject any application requesting a provisional waiver and return the application and any related fees to the applicant. USCIS cannot accept requests for a provisional waiver until the process change takes effect.

                       
(3) Beware of notarios, or other individuals who are not authorized to practice immigration law, who claim they can help you get a provisional waiver. These individuals also may ask you to pay them money upfront to file an application for a provisional waiver. Avoid such scams. Learn to protect yourself and your family against unauthorized practitioners and immigration scams by visiting www.uscis.gov/avoidscams.

                       
(4) If you have been scheduled for your immigrant visa interview with the U.S. Department of State, attend the interview. The Department of State may cancel your immigrant visa registration if you fail to appear for your interview.

A detailed Web page addressing the proposed rule is currently posted to www.uscis.gov/provisionalwaiver.

Prosecutorial discretion stats as of end of March 2012: less than 1 percent of pending cases closed.

A special Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) program announced last August to reduce the massive backlog of pending cases in Immigration Courts by identifying those that could be dismissed, closed or put on hold has resulted in the closure of only 2,609 cases, according to government data covering the period up to the end of March 2012.

The backlog reduction is less than one percent (<1%) of the 298,173 cases pending before the Immigration Courts as of the end of last September.

See detailed stats at http://trac.syr.edu/immigration/prosdiscretion/activecourts.html