Is there a waiver for falsely claiming U.S. citizenship?

QUESTION:  There is a finding of INA § 212(a)(6)(C)(ii) – falsely claiming U.S. citizenship – in my file.  Is there a waiver applicable for K3 visa under nonimmigrant waivers pursuant to INA § 212(d)(3)?  I am married to a U.S. citizen. 

REPLY: Unfortunately, there is no waiver available that will allow you to live permanently in the United States as the spouse of a U.S. citizen.  This is because you are subject to the lifetime bar of INA § 212(a)(6)(C)(ii) for which there is no immigrant waiver (the only exception applies to individuals whose parents are both U.S. citizens and who meet other specific creiteria).  You will not be able to get around this bar by applying for a K3 visa.

A K3 visa is neither an immigrant nor a nonimmigrant visa.  Rather, it is a hybrid of the two that was created in order to reduce the amount of time that spouses had to remain apart due to USCIS backlogs in adjudicating Forms I-130, which is the first step of the immigrant visa process.  A K3 visa is processed like an immigrant visa.  This means that you would require an immigrant waiver in order to overcome any applicable grounds of inadmissibility.  As stated above, there is no immigrant waiver available for individuals who have been charged with falsely claiming U.S. citizenship. 

I cannot say whether there are sufficient facts upon which to base the charge under INA § 212(a)(6)(C)(ii) without reviewing your case in more detail.  If you would like to submit additional information about your case and receive a complete professional analysis, please consider contacting my office to set up a consultation.