I have been preparing hardship waivers for 4 years now. It's definitely true I've been able to increase my efficiency in waiver application preparation over those years.
So exactly what goes into a hardship waiver?
1) A detailed interview of the applicant's qualifying relative to identify the hardships.
Usually I spend an hour or so talking with the qualifying relative to better understand their life. The interview also helps me identify what documents I need to get from the qualifying relative as well as from other sources.
For almost all clients, I wait until the applicant has already left the country so the qualifying relative can speak from experience about the hardships of separation.
2) Draft the qualifying relative's affidavit.
This is the most time consuming part of the waiver process. Most of the affidavits are 8-12 pages. Typically it will take me 6-7 hours to prepare the affidavit to make sure it touches on the various hardships and tells a coherent and compelling story.
Some attorneys ask the qualifying relative to write a letter. I've tried that approach and found it to be more time consuming. At least some of my clients also find writing such a letter intimidating, even if they are fluent in English. They can speak eloquently about what they are going through, but they cannot express themselves on paper. It takes me longer to edit a letter than to draft an affidavit.
3) Review letters from friends and relatives about the qualifying relative's hardships.
I always ask to see drafts of the letters to be sure the letters properly address the hardships. A letter that does not address the hardships properly does not add anything to the hardship waiver. This review process usually takes about an hour. If the letters have to be translated first, then that adds to the time needed. Typically I'll ask to have the draft letters about 2 weeks prior to the deadline for completing the application. This gives time to get the letters back to the relatives for their signatures.
4) Review the evidence provided by the qualifying relative.
Sometimes as I draft the affidavit, I identify some other evidence needed. This also is when I locate reference information, e.g. costs of travel, wage information, medical information relating to diagnoses.
5) Meet with the qualifying relative to finalize the affidavit and sign the various forms.
The qualifying relatives always review the affidavit for accuracy before signing. After all, it is their story. This step usually takes about 45 min to an hour.
6) Organize the evidence
It takes about 20 minutes to get the evidence into the order I want. At that point, I pass the package to my assistant who puts together the table of contents and numbers the pages.
7) Prepare the cover letter
The cover letter pulls the evidence together to show how the qualifying relative's hardships are consistent with case law. About 2 pages of my cover letter review the relevant case law on hardship waivers to provide the legal background. Beyond that, the letter will explain the hardships of the applicant's qualifying relative. The final letter is usually 9-12 pages long and takes me about 5 hours to write. This step goes quite quickly because by then, I know the qualifying relative's story inside out. For me, that is the other advantage of doing an affidavit.
8) Prepare the application for shipping
Once the cover letter is done, then my assistant scans the entire application to create a file copy and then prepares the FedEx package. For our Mexican clients, we send the package to the FedEx office in Ciudad Juarez because we have learned from experience that is the most reliable way to get the application to the client. Typically the package arrives in Ciudad Juarez 2 days after shipping. I usually time the package to arrive 3 days prior to the waiver appointment date so it does not hang around the FedEx office for too long while still allowing a margin for error should the package get delayed in customs.
Together with the initial intake, liaison with the CSC visa center and the client, it takes about 20 hours to prepare a waiver application.
Usually I will start the hardship waiver package 5-6 weeks before the waiver appointment. By then, the applicant and the qualifying relative will have been separated for at least 4 weeks.
If necessary, a hardship waiver can be assembled in 2 weeks, but I charge more for doing waivers on short notice because meeting the deadline will involve re-scheduling other client work and often demands working weekends or evenings. Doing a waiver in 2 weeks also demands a very high level of cooperation from the qualifying relative for gathering documents.
Most waiver application packages prepared by Blackwell Law Group have 90-110 pages. Rarely will a package have less than 90 pages. More likely is a package with more than 110 pages. Clients often express surprise when they see the final package. They think the package will have 30-40 pages. I believe in being very thorough and prefer to err on the side of caution because the stakes are so high.
My thoroughness means my prices may be higher than other attorneys, but there's a lot of truth to the adage "You get what you pay for." If there is too little evidence or no clear explanation for how the facts demonstrate the hardships, then the case gets delayed and even denied. That's bad news for clients because it means they are separated for longer.
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