Do I need an I-192 waiver?

QUESTION: Recently I was going to travel to the US to visit friends. I have a girlfriend who lives in the US who had come up to Canada, where I live, to visit me until we went back. My stay in the US was to be no more than one month.  For our trip we had no return tickets, as the people who purchased our tickets for us were to purchase our return tickets at a later date.  I had recently quit my job and had no other ties to Canada save my Canadian bank account. 

So my girlfriend and I decided we would try to play it safe. Many of our friends had told us about times they had tried to go through the border with or to visit their significant other and were denied due to suspicion of immigration.  When asked, I told the officer I was travelling alone. They sent me to secondary inspection where my bag and one of my girlfriend's bags (which we were not aware was checked my name) were brought out and searched. Needless to say they found material belonging to her. I proceeded, knowing if I told them now that I was indeed NOT travelling alone, and travelling with my partner, that I would be denied entrance based on the aforementioned suspicion. I proceeded to tell them, foolishly, that the items of female usage were gifts and items I was bringing for her. 

These were the only two things untrue in my statements: who I was travelling with, and who the items in the bag belonged to.  Everything else, intent to visit, length of stay, was all true. 

I was deemed inadmissible and given an I-192 waiver application.  As far as I have searched this application is intended for immigrants who tried to immigrate without the proper visa. I was not doing so. I also re-read over my statements after I had calmed down and noted that a portion of the statements was incorrect.  Is there anything I can do to get around this waiver and its expensive filing fee, as well as the lengthy processing time? 

I have no criminal record and I'm assuming that my case is a very minor one. Do I need an I-192 to enter? I was not told how long or if I was even barred from entering the US. 

REPLY:  While I cannot properly advise you without reviewing your case in more detail, I hope to shed some light on what happened for you.  Since you failed to disclose material information about your travel to the U.S. (the fact that you were traveling with your U.S. citizen girlfriend), and since you were provided with a Form I-192, I think it is safe to say that you have been charged with violating Section 212(a)(6)(C) of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”) for committing a fraud/misrepresentation in connection with an application for admission to the U.S.  If this is in fact the case, you are facing a lifetime bar from the U.S. for which you will definitely require a waiver – Form I-192 to visit and Form I-601 to immigrate.  Unfortunately, yours does not appear to be a very minor case at all.  Fraud is one of the most serious offenses under the INA. 

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.