Immigration Corner | Do I have to refile for my husband?

Dear Mrs Walker-Huntington,

I filed for my husband in 2016, but he was refused the visa because it came up on his fingerprint records that he had been arrested back in 2003 for marijuana. They told him that he could file a waiver, which he did not do because of financial issues. It is now 2021. Do I have to refile for him?

– S.C.

Dear S.C.,

It is unfortunate that you have had to be separated from your husband for so long. In a situation like this, you would want to find out from the US Embassy in Kingston and/or US Citizenship & Immigration Services if your husband’s file is still open. If it is, you can proceed with filing a waiver of his inadmissibility for marijuana charges if it was possession for under 30 grams of ganja. If the file was closed/destroyed, you would need to begin the process all over.

Drug charges make an individual inadmissible to the United States, and if the individua is already a permanent resident, can lead to the individual’s removal. There is an exception if the charge is for possession of under 30 grams of ganja, where you could file for a waiver. Filing for the waiver makes a simple possession of ganja become a major and expensive issue to try to reunite with your husband.

To be granted the waiver, you would have to demonstrate to the US government that you are experiencing extreme hardship in America that would only go away if your husband were to come to America to live with you, and conversely, why you could not relocate to Jamaica to live with your spouse. This standard of proof varies for every person, and a detailed analysis of your situation in America and what your life would be like if you went to live in Jamaica would need to be conducted. Examples of extreme hardship are financial, medical, or emotional. All claims for hardships must be documented.

The standard of proof may seem daunting, but it is entirely achievable if you have the resources to hire an immigration lawyer to assist you to make the factual and legal argument to have your husband in America. It is a harsh reality for many persons when a simple possession of ganja becomes a life-changing barrier to unification with family.

Dahlia A. Walker-Huntington, Esq is a Jamaican-American attorney who practises immigration law in the United States and family, criminal, and international law in Florida. She is a diversity and inclusion consultant, mediator, and former special magistrate and hearing officer in Broward County, Florida. info@walkerhuntington.com