Warren Janssen, the USCIS Waiver Review Officer at the USCIS office in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, announced a major policy change at a March 1^st American Immigration Lawyers Association continuing legal education program in Portland, Oregon affecting green card applicants processing in Ciudad Juarez.  

First time I-601 waivers will now be processed almost instantly by USCIS in Mexico . These waivers, often necessary because of reentry bars tied to visa overstays or unlawful entries, have typically taken six to twelve months. Under the new initiative, however, applicants who are denied their immigrant visa at the consulate on admissibility grounds will then go to USCIS in Ciudad Juarez and make an INFO Pass appointment for the next day in order to file the I-601 waiver application. The USCIS waiver officer will be at the consulate daily for these appointments.  

Fingerprints will be taken at the appointment and the I-601 will be adjudicated in one to two days. If the officer decides to approve the waiver application (and there is no change in the standard for approving or denying cases), another appointment will be set up with the consulate within another day to two days. I-601s that are more complicated and for which an officer cannot make a decision immediately, will be put in a regular I-601 queue and will likely process in the time that I-601s have typically taken.  

The new procedure is not available to people with I-601s currently pending and applicants with waivers already pending will not be permitted to re-file.