Provisional unlawful presence waiver
Family
The provisional waiver, Form I-601A, is for people who qualify for a green card but must interview abroad after time in the U.S. without status. It asks USCIS to forgive the unlawful presence before you leave, so the trip is planned rather than open-ended.
The forms
The provisional waiver of unlawful presence, filed before leaving for a consular interview.
Why this route
The waiver is approved or denied while you are still in the U.S. with your family — that is the entire point of “provisional.”
With the waiver approved, the consular interview abroad is a scheduled step, not an open-ended separation.
Extreme hardship to your U.S. citizen or resident spouse or parent — a defined legal standard your evidence is built against.
The waiver exists because an approved family petition is already waiting behind it.
Requirements
The steps
The waiver rides on it.
Life continues at home while USCIS decides.
With the waiver approved, the trip is planned — interview, visa, and return as a permanent resident.
How it works
In English, Spanish, or Portuguese. The software puts your answers on the official USCIS forms.
Your evidence is sorted into a numbered exhibit index, and every field, signature, and document is checked for completeness.
Download the assembled packet and file it yourself — or have an independent licensed attorney review and file it for you.
Pricing
Your exact technology fee depends on your petition type and is shown during the free eligibility check, before you pay anything. USCIS filing fees are set by the government and paid by you directly to USCIS.
Questions
If you are married to a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, a marriage green card may be your path — inside or outside the U.S. The free check asks about your situation and shows the exact forms, documents, and government fees for your case.
Spouses, parents, children, and siblings each have their own petition paths, and which ones are open depends on whether the petitioner is a citizen or a permanent resident. Pick the relationship in the chooser, or let the free check identify the right petition from your answers.
The K-1 fiancé visa is the path for bringing your fiancé to marry in the U.S. Its page explains the requirements and documents, and the free check confirms whether it fits your situation.
Go deeper
Provisional unlawful presence waiver