The Immigration Act is a series of lists and one of the lists is who cannot come into the U.S.; in other words, people who are “inadmissible.” The list of people who are inadmissible to get E, L, and H Visas, definitely includes people with felony convictions, although they can obtain waivers, as can certain people with prior negative interactions with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), e.g., say, those who have previously committed fraud. Those people also can get waivers in the nonimmigrant categories. The waivers are much more difficult to obtain in the immigrant categories.
That is, when you are applying for an E, H, or L Visa, you may be able to get what’s called a §212(d)(3) waiver for prior problems with DHS or criminal concerns.
Those waivers are very difficult to get for people who are applying for immigrant visas or (green cards). They often require that the applicant have a relative who is a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident, and that some level of hardship be shown to that person if foreign national cannot get the green card and live in the U.S. or continue to live in the U.S.
Learn more about the immigration services provided by Philip Levin & Associates.
