I-192 Waiver Approved

Our office recently received notice of approval of an I-192 waiver on behalf of a Canadian client.  Our client required this nonimmigrant waiver based upon her inadmissibility for fraud under section 212(a)(6)(C)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”).  This was our client’s first I-192 waiver application.  The waiver was issued for a validity period of one year.  

Prior to needing a waiver, our client worked in the U.S. for several years as a nurse under TN status.  At one point during her career, however, she was offered a job overseas that she could not pass up.  Upon her return to Canada several years later, she again sought to apply for TN status.  The requirements for U.S. nurses, however, had changed during her absence from the U.S. and she was now required to take and pass an examination before she could be granted TN status again as a nurse. 

In order to take the exam, our client entered the U.S. as a Canadian visitor.  She stayed with a relative in the U.S. while she studied for the nursing exam.  After taking the required exam, our client departed the U.S. and returned to Canada where she learned that she had passed the nursing examination.  She then obtained an offer of employment from a hospital in the U.S., which agreed to sponsor her for new TN status.  She made plans to travel to the U.S. as a visitor in order to obtain her credentials from her relative’s home, which she needed in order to make a proper TN application at the U.S. port of entry. 

When she appeared in person and applied for admission in TN status, however, our client was issued an order of expedited removal and charged with fraud.  A charge of fraud creates a lifetime bar from the U.S. unless the individual obtains a waiver of inadmissibility. 

A Form I-192, Application for Advance Permission to Enter the United States as a Nonimmigrant, if approved, will waive a charge of fraud and allow an individual to enter the U.S. in TN status.  In support of our client’s I-192 waiver application, we prepared a comprehensive legal brief, which discussed each of the factors to be considered at great length.  Those factors to be considered were set forth by the Board of Immigration Appeals in its landmark decision, Matter of Hranka.  Those factors are: 

1. The risk of harm to society if the applicant is admitted;
2. The seriousness of the applicant’s immigration or criminal law violations; and
3. The nature of the applicant’s reasons for wishing to enter the United States. 

In this particular case, our client posed absolutely no risk of harm if admitted, as she has no criminal record anywhere in the world.  While the U.S. considers fraud to be an extremely serious offense, we pointed out in our brief that our client’s conduct in this particular case was not egregious.  Specifically, she did not attempt to enter the U.S. with false documents or attempt to conceal her identity.  Rather, the finding of fraud resulted from her inability to explain her true intentions when making her application for admission.  With respect to the nature of her reasons for seeking entry, we pointed out our client’s desire to return to working in the U.S. as a nurse and the documented nursing shortage currently facing the U.S.  Our client also has several family members and friends that she would like to visit in the U.S.

After balancing these factors, the CBP Admissibility Review Office issued our client a nonimmigrant waiver for a period of one (1) year.  She may now apply for admission to the U.S. as a visitor or as a TN nurse.  She will have to renew her I-192 waiver for life due to the fraud charge, however, she will most likely begin to receive nonimmigrant waivers that are valid for longer periods of time as she establishes a record of lawful entries into the U.S.