H4 dependent has received '212a: illegally present in the United States for one year or more' by mistake

[Sachin Gowda]

Hello,

My dependent wife was given '212a:  illegally present in the United States for one year or more' by mistake by the Chennai Consulate visa officer in June 2024. My wife's last visa was ended in 2022. The officer seems to be looking for the legal stay document for the period between 2022 and 2024. My wife had the I-797 for this period but she didn't realize that was the document the officer was looking for. She didn't give him the right document and she was denied the visa. The officer has requested a temporary waiver of ineligibility on her behalf. We are not sure how long this will take to come through. Even if it does, for how long the permission will be for. So, we booked another appointment at the Hyderabad Consulate as we couldn't find a sooner appointment at the Chennai Consulate. The new officer said there is nothing they can do at this point until the waiver comes through and asked her to check with the Chennai Consulate. We sent an email to the Chennai Consulate about all of this (to support-india@ustraveldocs.com, ChennaiAdmin@state.gov) and sent the right documents to them. As well as we faxed the documents to them. Also, explained to them what happened in both email and fax.

We are not sure at this point what to do. Like, just wait for them a review the email/fax, should we book another appointment at the Chennai Consulate, or if there is some kind of a system to ask the consulate to reconsider this application. We are also checking with my employer's immigration attorney. As you can imagine, we are in kind of distress at the moment, as our school going children are stuck in India as well. Any guidance on this is greatly appreciated. 

Thanks,

Sachin

 

 

[pontevecchio]

Discuss the matter with the firm of Murthy. Something does not add up. Hopefully, you were always in H1 status.?

[Attorney_20]

You should speak with an immigration attorney about this. We have a Murthy India affiliate that helps with consular issues in Chennai. Go to www.murthyindia.com