The current timeframe to get a provisional waiver application processed is roughly nine months. But you get to stay in the United States during the process.
The Provisional Waiver application process is a voluntary process. You are not under any obligation to file it. You are only doing it because you have said, “I want to regularize my status in the U.S., I want to get a green card, but the laws don’t allow me to do it while I’m in the U.S. They require me to go back to the embassy in my home country because, for whatever reason, I don’t have the ability to adjust status in the United States.”
That’s an important benefit of this process; because it’s a voluntary process and you are submitting the application, no one is telling you that you have to leave at any time. If it’s approved, great. If not, you are still with your family.
You then still have a decision to make whether you want to go back to the Embassy. There may be other reasons that you may be denied. This waiver only applies to unlawful presence. For example, if you had a drug conviction plus unlawful presence, you may not want to go to the Embassy (or apply for the provisional waiver).
But, because it is a voluntary application you can also say, “No, I’m not willing to risk it.”
Learn more about the immigration services provided by Philip Levin & Associates.
