Is visa ineligibility impeding your immigration goals?

On Behalf of | Mar 23, 2021 | US Immigration Law |

Regardless of what visa you may be applying for, the process probably involves several steps and lots of waiting. It can be difficult to go through the entire application process only to learn that you are not even eligible for a visa. Visa ineligibility is not necessarily the end to your immigration goals, though.

Depending on your situation, you might want to consider applying for a waiver of ineligibility. This waiver would allow you to get your visa even if you are otherwise ineligible. To successfully obtain this waiver, you should have a solid understanding of why you are currently ineligible.

Health-related ineligibility

You do not need to be in perfect health to travel to the United States. However, an immigration official might deny your visa application for health-based reasons. You could face denial if:

  • You have a communicable disease
  • You do not have proof of your vaccinations against certain diseases
  • You have a mental or physical disorder that might pose a safety threat to others

Although having a communicable disease may render you ineligible, being positive for HIV or AIDS is an important exception to the rule. It also does not matter if you received vaccinations for dangerous diseases, such as mumps or hepatitis B, if you cannot prove it. You might also be ineligible if an immigration official believes that you are addicted to or abuse illegal drugs.

Ineligibility for criminal activity

You could also be ineligible due to involvement in a variety of criminal activities. For example, officials can turn visa applicants away if they have convictions for crimes of moral turpitude. There is no hard definition for what crimes make up moral turpitude, which can make it confusing for applicants. However, crimes like fraud are often part of this category.

Another reason you might be ineligible is if you have two or more prior convictions and spent five or more years behind bars. There is an exception to this, though. You might still qualify if your crimes were purely political.

Securing a waiver

Learning that you are ineligible for a visa does not have to be the end of your immigration journey. A waiver of ineligibility might be the key to your dream of moving to Florida. The process to get that waiver can be difficult, though.

Immigration law can be complicated, and it is understandable that you might feel confused by what to do next. Maybe you never anticipated any problems with your visa application and were not even aware that visa ineligibility was a potential problem. Although this is frustrating, you may find it helpful to learn as much as possible about ineligibility and the waiver application before moving forward with the process.

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