To be issued a visa and enter the United States, a foreign national must generally not be ineligible for admission (also known as “inadmissible”). Even after a foreign national has been determined to be ineligible, it may be possible to apply for a waiver (akin to a pardon). The requirements for a waiver depend on the type of ineligibility. Common requirements for waivers include one or more of the following:
The applicant has a “qualifying relative”
That relative would suffer extreme hardship if the applicant were denied the visa
The applicant deserves the waiver as a matter of discretion
Common ineligibilities and corresponding waivers can be divided into the following categories :
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