New Hardship Policy, Eff. Dec 5, 2016

The USCIS has issued policy guidance to define Extreme Hardship as it should be applied by immigration officers adjudicating waivers and other applications which require such a showing.

This is a welcome development as the standards and results that have occurred have varied widely throughout the US immigration system.  Now there is some further clarity and a guideline to follow in making the strongest case for such a situation. In  particular, it appears that there is a formal recognition of certain arguments that have been made by practioners such as IBLF over the years, such as the hardship that results either from deportation of a spouse by the spouse's absence, or the necessity of the remaining spouse to  relocate by reason of the deportation.  This appears to recognize that separation of spouses is NOT a normal circumstance in normal inadmissibililty, but takes into consideration that consequences of deportation should properly include the relocation of the spouse.

This policy guidance is located at https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume9-PartB.html .