Immigration Corner | Why did my family get their visa and I didn’t?

Dear Mrs Walker-Huntington,

I am seeking your guidance concerning a waiver.

My family of four is migrating to the USA. They were granted their visas, but I was not. I was told I needed to seek a waiver concerning a drug conviction in Jamaica more than 20 years ago. The Ministry of National Security here in Jamaica expunged my records more than 10 years ago. I have never been arrested for anything else.

Based on the above, I would really appreciate your legal guidance.

Thanking you in advance.

– WW

Dear WW,

I can only imagine how heartbreaking it is for you to have your entire family granted immigrant visas and yours denied. Read your refusal sheet from the US Embassy carefully as it states that you “might” be eligible for a waiver – not that you “are” eligible.

To enter the United States a person must be found ‘admissible’ – whether it is as a non-immigrant or, as in your case, as an immigrant. A multitude of reasons exist that could make a person inadmissible to the United States.

One reason for inadmissibility is a drug conviction. These types of convictions cover a wide range of possible charges. However, if the conviction is for less than 30 grams of ganja, there is a waiver of that inadmissibility with the right qualifying relative.

A person can also be inadmissible even if there is no drug conviction under an immigration theory of ‘reason to believe’ a person is involved with drugs. Here again there is a wide range of possibilities that could lead the US to find a person inadmissible under this provision. Persons who live with someone who was convicted of a drug charge can themselves be found inadmissible under this provision without a conviction.

Because there is such a wide range of potential inadmissibility with drug convictions, you need to seek legal advice with a US immigration lawyer. Make sure you have your records and the expungement for the lawyer. It is critical that the lawyer knows the quantity of drugs that you were convicted of and whether it was possession or trafficking as it will make a world of difference. Sadly, in some instances there might be no waiver available.

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