Banned From US, Seeking a Way In

[jagota_j]

Hi there,

This inquiry is regarding a friend of mine. She came to Canada in 2001 and got her citizenship in 2011.

In 2002, she tried to illegally cross from Canada to US without a US visit visa and was consequently banned for 5 years (from 2002-2007). She did this to meet her husband who was working in US at the time.

Then in 2009, after the 5 year ban was uplifted she again tried to cross the US border without a US visa, again got a ban but this time for 10 years. She did this because she had to get the immigration landing process done for her daughter and had to drive her through there to the US border.

Sometime back she had also applied for a visit visa which was refused by the US embassy on the grounds that she might not leave US and return back to Canada.

Now her father-in-law is in extremely bad health in US and she deeply desires to visit him but the current US ban prevents her from doing so.

Is there any work around by which she can visit her father-in-law in US? Is there any kind of pardon she can apply for?

I know she screwed-up twice but trying to see if there's anything that can be done for her.

I appreciate you taking the time to read this and share your perspectives.

Thank you

Cheers

 

[Leon]

She should apply through the US embassy showing ties to Canada like a steady job, property, family ties etc. and she should show proof of the medical situation of her father in law.

If she gets a letter from her employer stating that she has worked for them since date x and that she is a reliable employee and that they know about her wanting to visit her father in law and have given her vacation for y days and fully expect to see her back at her job on date z, that would help.

She can also write a letter to explain the situation of her prior attempts to enter the US.

 

[scylla]

She she post her question to a US immigration forum. Here's a good one:

http://forums.immigration.com/forum.php

To the best of my knowledge, a waiver is only available if she has a US citizen spouse who has sponsored her for a Green Card and that spouse can show that he would suffer extreme hardship if she is not allowed to return to the US. This process works best for illegal spouses who are still in the US. Assuming she has a US citizen spouse, extreme hardship is going to be practically impossible to prove in her case since she has been out of the us for over 10 years.

The US is extremely unforgiving when it comes to illegal entries and bans. She's most likely out of luck. But go ahead and post this question to the US immigration forum. They may have other ideas.

 

[jagota_j]

@scylla, Leon: I appreciate you sharing your perspectives, thank you