Inadmissibility waiver screener

Inadmissibility determinations are highly fact-specific. The specific offense, date, jurisdiction, and disposition all affect whether a ground applies and whether a waiver is available. This screener identifies possible grounds only. An immigration attorney must review your complete record before filing any visa or green card application. See our full disclaimer.

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Filing a visa or green card application without first resolving inadmissibility grounds is one of the most common and costly immigration mistakes. An immigration attorney can review your full record and advise on waiver options before anything is filed.

What makes someone inadmissible to the US?

Inadmissibility means USCIS or a consular officer can legally deny a visa or green card application based on specific grounds listed in the Immigration and Nationality Act. These grounds fall into several categories: health-related, criminal, security-related, prior immigration violations like unlawful presence or prior removal, and others. The exact ground determines whether a waiver exists, which form to use, what standard must be met, and who qualifies as a qualifying relative for hardship-based waivers.

If you're in removal proceedings already and inadmissibility is being used as a basis to remove you, the issue overlaps significantly with relief options covered in our deportation defense screener. For people with a criminal history specifically, inadmissibility often surfaces first when filing a green card application, sometimes years after the underlying offense, making early attorney review before any filing critical.

Unlawful presence and the 3 and 10-year bars

Unlawful presence in the US triggers time-based bars to reentry after departure. Accumulating more than 180 days but less than 1 year of unlawful presence before departing triggers a 3-year bar. More than 1 year of unlawful presence before departing triggers a 10-year bar. Both grounds have waiver options for qualifying applicants with a US citizen or permanent resident spouse or parent who would suffer extreme hardship. The I-601A provisional unlawful presence waiver allows eligible applicants to apply for the waiver while still in the US, reducing the time spent abroad waiting for consular processing.

Criminal inadmissibility grounds

Several categories of criminal conviction trigger inadmissibility, with different waiver availability for each. Crimes involving moral turpitude, controlled substance offenses, prostitution-related offenses, and multiple criminal convictions are among the most common grounds. Aggravated felony convictions are the most serious, creating a permanent bar to many forms of relief with very limited waiver options. The specific offense, state of conviction, date, and whether the conviction occurred before or after any prior admission to the US all affect which ground applies.

Prior removal orders and reentry bars

A prior removal or deportation creates a separate bar to reentry, lasting 10 years for most removals, 20 years for a second removal, and potentially permanent for certain aggravated felony cases. Reentering the US illegally after a removal makes the bar permanent in most circumstances and creates additional criminal exposure. Waivers for prior removal bars are available in some cases but require showing compelling reasons and are not routinely granted.

Frequently asked questions about inadmissibility waivers

Form I-601 is the general Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility, filed at a US consulate abroad or in certain adjustment cases, covering a broad range of grounds including unlawful presence, criminal offenses, and other bars. Form I-601A is a provisional unlawful presence waiver specifically, filed while the applicant is still inside the US before departing for consular processing, which reduces the time spent outside the US waiting for the waiver to be decided.

Extreme hardship is the legal standard required for most inadmissibility waivers, and it's a higher bar than ordinary hardship from family separation. USCIS looks at the cumulative effect of factors affecting a qualifying relative, such as medical conditions, financial dependency, country conditions in the place the family would need to go, impact on US citizen children, and ties to the US. No single factor is determinative, and strong cases combine multiple documented hardship factors.

Generally no. Aggravated felony convictions under immigration law create a permanent bar to most forms of relief with extremely limited waiver options. Importantly, "aggravated felony" in immigration law is a term of art that includes many offenses that aren't felonies in the criminal system, and some misdemeanors can qualify as aggravated felonies depending on how they were charged and sentenced. An attorney should evaluate the exact conviction against immigration law definitions before any application is filed.

In most cases, yes. Federal immigration law has its own definition of conviction that often includes cases where charges were dismissed after probation or a diversion program, even if the state court doesn't treat it as a conviction on the criminal record. Expungements under state law generally don't eliminate a conviction for immigration purposes. This is one of the most frequently misunderstood areas where people assume their record is clean when it isn't under federal immigration standards.

For most inadmissibility waivers, the qualifying relative is limited to a US citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse or parent. Hardship to children, siblings, or the applicant themselves generally doesn't count toward the waiver standard, even when it's severe. This means applicants without a qualifying US citizen or green card holding spouse or parent face a significantly harder path to waiver approval.