The following is a synopsis of replies by USCIS Ciudad Juarez Sub-office (CDJ) Officer-in-Charge Warren Janssen to questions concerning I-601 waiver applications:

1. Question - It is becoming more common for a client to come to an attorney following an I-601 denial from CDJ when they filed the waiver pro se with little or no evidence. These attorneys are asking if they can basically file a new I-601 packet as a Motion to Reopen (MTR). How much new evidence can you submit with an MTR and at what point would you not consider the new evidence and require that they start over?

Response from Mr. Janssen

I would suggest that attorneys refer to Section 103.5 regarding Reopening or Reconsideration. An applicant always has the right to file a Motion to Reconsider with the I-290B Appeal to the AAU and $385 fee. However, the MTR must demonstrate that the decision was based on an incorrect application of law or Service policy and that the decision was incorrect based on the evidence of record at the time of the initial decision.

As for Motions to Reopen, 8 CFR 103.5(a)(2) does require that "new facts" must be provided. It is reasonable to conclude that they must be "new" in the sense that they did not exist or were unknown by the applicant at the time of the denial.

The fact that the applicant did not supply sufficient evidence at the time of the filing or at any time after filing and before a decision is made, will not normally be sufficient to overturn the initial decision. What the applicant would need to show to possibly have a decision reopened, reconsidered, and overturned is something new that occurred after filing the waiver and before a decision is made.

For example, last year two major hurricanes hit the Gulf Coast. An applicant filed a Motion based on the new evidence after the waiver was filed and was able to show that this new development was sufficient evidence to meet the "extreme hardship" standard. The qualifying spouse and applicant's home was completely destroyed.

The regulation at 8 CFR 212.7(a)(1)(i) states that an immigrant visa or K nonimmigrant visa applicant who is inadmissible and seeks a waiver "shall file an application on Form I-601 at the consular office considering the visa application." After receiving an I-601, the Consulate should refer it to the appropriate CIS office for adjudication. I think it would be up to the Consulate to decide whether or not an applicant must submit a new visa packet with the new I-601.

In almost all cases, waiver applicants have clearly been afforded ample time to supply adequate evidence (normally in excess of 30 days). The applicants have also been given a detailed letter in English and Spanish explaining their burden of proof at the time the consular officer requested the I-601.

I hope this helps.
Warren Janssen

2. Question -- It has been my experience in more than one case, that the consular officers in CDJ often refuse to accept all the documents that an applicant presents during the immigrant visa interview, in support of his/her waiver application. The consular officer in several of our cases, disassembled our prepared Waiver Package, selected a few documents and returned all the supporting documents to the applicant. When Mr. Aguirre used to process waivers in CDJ, we could contact his office, by telephone, explain what had happened and request acceptance of the complete waiver application with supporting documents. We would then send complete Waiver Packages directly to Mr. Aguirre, to a PO Box in El Paso, TX.

We also contacted the IV Chief in CDJ to inform him that consular officers were not accepting our complete waiver package. He never had a problem with us sending the additional information directly to Mr. Aguirre.

Mr. Aguirre explained to me that many times, consuls select the documents they accept because they need to make copies for their files and for the waiver officer. Since a large package of documents would require a lot of time to copy, Mr. Aguirre said that it was understandable that the consuls would not want to copy a voluminous package. Since then, I request our clients to submit the package in duplicate, one for the consulate, and one for the Waiver Section. (Still not all the consuls accept a complete package).

Mr. Janssen's request that applicants file a motion to reopen with a filing fee and establish new facts is based on the assumption that the applicants submitted complete waiver applications with supporting documents. This is not the case on many occasions, and it is not because the applicants do not submit the evidence.

Response from Mr. Janssen

I discussed this problem with Mr. Burciaga and he assured me that all I-601 evidence will be accepted. He has instructed his officers not to touch the evidence and it will be accepted at window 13 when filing the I-601.

This issue has been addressed by our office on numerous occasions and my response remains the same. I will also transmit this concern over submission of I-601 evidence to the IV Chief Mr. Burciaga. I recommend that if a Consular Officer does not accept all submitted evidence then the applicant should ask to speak to a Consular supervisor.

We will accept and consider all evidence that is sent directly to our PO Box in El Paso: P. O. Box 9896 El Paso, Texas 79995

This evidence is not opened or in anyway tampered with by the Consulate. We open all mail and include it with the I-601 that is forwarded to us by the Consulate. In all cases, the evidence will make it to the file unless the evidence is untimely filed and a decision was already made on the case. Since many waivers are taking 6-9 months to process, the applicant has sufficient time to submit evidence.

I'm not sure I understand what Mr. Aguirre did, but we cannot accept I-601s directly from applicants or their attorneys. We always accept evidence via our PO Box as explained above. Due to the large volume of waivers we have at this time, we cannot respond to inquiries via the phone. Doing so would slow us down even more. Please remember that we receive between 700-1500 waivers per month.

On another note, we have hired three support staff that will enter on duty in the next few weeks. We also expect to have a GS-9 Overseas Adjudication Specialist on board in the upcoming months. We will see a substantial increase in the movement of waivers once this additional staff is on board. We also hope to have officers from other offices detailed to our office to assist with the backlog.

I hope this helps.
Warren Janssen

3. Question - How may attorneys communicate with your office? The USCIS Ciudad Juarez Sub Office has asked AILA to remind its members that it does not currently respond to I-601 inquiries from the public. Attorney and congressional inquiries can be directed to CDJ.USCIS@dhs.gov. AILA InfoNet Doc. No. 06031660 provides guidance on submitting I-601 inquiries to Ciudad Juarez.

This is the link to more information about the USCIS Cd. Juarez office.