My wife made some bad choices earlier in life and was arrested, but she completed probation over 10 years ago and hasn’t had any issues since.
We’ve been through this process multiple times and have had a few denials along the way, but we haven’t given up and keep trying. Just wondering if anyone else has been in a similar situation and eventually got approved after setbacks?
Right now the case has been stuck on “actively being reviewed” for a long time — it just keeps showing that it’s processing with no updates at all. The lawyer also tried to expedite, but nothing came from that.
My main concern is this:
We’ve already been living apart for years, and the kids are doing okay where they are with my wife. I’m worried USCIS might look at it like “they’ve managed this long, so it’s not really extreme hardship.” Not being able to see my two kids every day has been really hard on me.
For context, this is an I-601 waiver tied to a past CIMT issue from over 10 years ago. It was a one-time situation, she completed probation, and there have been no issues since.
Earlier filings may not have been as strong (hardship not clearly shown), but this time we included much more:
- Doctor/therapist evaluation
- Diagnosis of depression/anxiety
- Prescription medication
- Records showing ongoing treatment for about 2 years
Just curious if anyone here has dealt with something similar:
- Had many earlier denials but got approved after strengthening the evidence?
- Used mental health hardship (therapy, meds, long-term treatment) and it actually helped?
- Even if hardship was strong, did anyone still get denied because USCIS felt the negatives outweighed the positives?
- Or the opposite — got approved because positives outweighed the past issue?
Would really appreciate any real experiences 🙏