Form I-602 Waiver: Grounds, Filing, and Processing Time

The Form I-602 waiver is a free application that lets refugees and asylees ask the U.S. government to overlook specific grounds of inadmissibility that would otherwise block their entry or their green card. It is available only to people in the refugee or asylee pipeline, it covers a defined set of legal barriers, and it leaves the most serious security and drug-trafficking grounds permanently off the table. Whether you actually need to file it, where you send it, and what you have to prove all depend on your exact situation.

Who Can File

Four groups may use Form I-602. You can file if you are seeking admission to the United States as a refugee, including as the spouse or child of an approved refugee. You can file if you are already inside the United States seeking derivative refugee status as the spouse or child of a refugee. The last two categories are refugees and asylees already in the country who are applying for lawful permanent residence through adjustment of status.¹

If you are not in one of those groups, this form is not for you. Other visa categories have their own inadmissibility waivers on different forms with different legal standards. The I-602 is a refugee and asylee tool only.

Check First Whether You Even Need a Waiver

Before filing anything, confirm your ground of inadmissibility actually requires a waiver. Federal law exempts refugees and asylees adjusting status from three whole categories: the public charge ground, labor certification and immigrant qualification requirements, and certain documentation requirements for immigrants.² If that’s your only issue, no I-602 is needed.

Public charge is the one that most often gets miscategorized. Refugees and asylees are categorically exempt, meaning USCIS cannot deny your adjustment because you might use public benefits.³ Anyone telling you to file an I-602 for a public charge concern is wrong.

Grounds the I-602 Can Waive

For grounds that are not automatically exempt and not on the hard-bar list, an officer can grant the waiver as a matter of discretion if you show your admission serves humanitarian purposes, preserves family unity, or is otherwise in the public interest.² That three-part test governs every decision.

The most common waivable grounds under Section 212(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act include:

Health-related grounds, such as a communicable disease of public health significance, or a physical or mental disorder with associated harmful behavior.
Missing one or more required immigrant vaccinations, though some vaccination gaps qualify for a blanket waiver that skips the I-602 entirely.
Criminal grounds, including convictions for crimes involving moral turpitude, multiple criminal convictions, or a single offense of simple possession of a controlled substance, as long as no drug trafficking is involved.
Prior immigration violations, such as fraud or misrepresentation on an earlier application, or previous unlawful presence.⁴

A ground being technically waivable does not mean approval is likely. The officer weighs the seriousness of your issue against the humanitarian, family, and public interest factors you present.

Grounds That Cannot Be Waived

Some inadmissibility grounds are permanently barred from waiver, no matter how strong the humanitarian case:

Controlled substance trafficking, including knowing assistance to trafficking operations.
Espionage, sabotage, or seeking to enter to overthrow the U.S. government by force.
Terrorist activity, including hijacking, hostage-taking, assassination, and the use of biological, chemical, or nuclear weapons.
Entry the Secretary of State believes would produce serious adverse foreign policy consequences.
Participation in Nazi persecution, genocide, torture, or extrajudicial killings.

These bars come from INA 212(a)(2)(C) and 212(a)(3)(A), (B), (C), and (E), and no officer has discretion to waive them.⁴²

What Goes Into the Application

The form asks for basic identifying details: full legal name, A-Number, and date of birth. You also have to identify the specific subsection of INA 212(a) that makes you inadmissible. That subsection is usually stated on the notice you received from USCIS or from a consular officer.⁵

The narrative statement is what usually decides the case. You need to explain in detail the acts, convictions, or medical conditions that triggered inadmissibility, with dates, and then argue why the waiver should be granted. Vague generalities do not persuade. Tie specific facts to the legal standard: humanitarian need, family unity, or the public interest.

Health and Vaccination Evidence

If a communicable disease or a physical or mental disorder with associated harmful behavior is the issue, submit a full treatment history and a current prognosis from a licensed provider.⁵ The officer needs to see the condition is being managed.

Vaccination gaps are handled differently. If you simply lack documentation, or a vaccine was not age-appropriate, or there wasn’t enough time to complete the series, a blanket waiver may be available without filing an I-602 at all. Your civil surgeon or panel physician can certify the issue directly. Objecting to all vaccinations on religious or moral grounds is a separate waiver with a higher bar: a sworn statement explaining the exact nature of your beliefs, the objection has to cover all vaccinations rather than selected ones, and corroborating affidavits help.⁶

Criminal Record Evidence

For criminal inadmissibility, attach certified court records showing the exact charges and dispositions. Beyond the legal record, show rehabilitation: completion of any sentence, community involvement, employment history, and character letters. The form still requires a written explanation of the acts and convictions with dates, even if the documents cover the same ground.⁵

Translations

Any document not in English needs a certified English translation. That covers medical records, court files, affidavits, and any other supporting evidence. Certified legal translation typically runs $20 to $60 per page depending on the language and your location.

Where to File

There is no single mailing address, and there is no filing fee.⁷ Where you send the form depends on your situation:⁸

Refugees processing abroad whose Form I-590 is already filed: contact the Resettlement Support Center that helped prepare your refugee application for submission instructions.
Filing along with a Form I-730 Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition: send the I-602 to the same USCIS office processing the I-730.
Filing concurrently with Form I-485 for adjustment of status: mail both forms together to the address on the USCIS Direct Filing Addresses page for Form I-485.
Filing after your I-485 was already submitted: send the I-602 to whichever USCIS office is currently adjudicating that I-485.

USCIS may require biometrics (fingerprints, photograph, and signature) for identity verification and background checks, decided case by case rather than automatically. If biometrics are needed, an appointment notice will follow.¹

How Long It Takes

Plan for a long wait. The median processing time for the USCIS waivers category that includes Form I-602 was 35.4 months as of early 2026.⁹ That figure covers a broader category of waiver forms, so individual I-602 timelines vary, but it gives you a realistic pace.

During that window, the officer may send a Request for Evidence if something is incomplete or unclear. Response deadlines depend on what’s requested: 30 days for initial evidence the form itself requires, 42 days for evidence available inside the United States, and 84 days for evidence that has to come from overseas. Add three days to each deadline when the RFE arrives by mail. Missing the deadline can produce a denial on the incomplete record, so watch your mail and respond promptly.

If the Waiver Is Denied

A denied I-602 cannot be appealed to a higher body. USCIS offers no administrative appeal for this form.¹⁰ What you can do is file Form I-290B as either a motion to reopen or a motion to reconsider. A motion to reopen presents new facts or evidence that wasn’t available before. A motion to reconsider argues the original decision misapplied the law or policy to the facts already in the record.

You generally have 30 days from the date of the denial to file, plus an extra three days when the decision was mailed, for 33 days in total.¹¹ The I-290B filing fee is $675, a real cost compared to the free I-602. Before filing, honestly assess whether you have genuinely new evidence or a clear legal error to point to. A motion that simply restates the same case rarely changes the outcome, and it costs you money and additional months of waiting.

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Form I-602 Instructions
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1159 – Adjustment of Status of Refugees
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 8, Part G, Chapter 3 – Applicability
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1182 – Inadmissible Aliens
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-602 – Application by Refugee for Waiver of Inadmissibility Grounds
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual – Waiver of Immigrant Vaccination Requirement
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Fee Schedule (Form G-1055)
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-602, Application by Refugee for Waiver of Inadmissibility Grounds
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Historic Processing Times
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. When to Use Form I-290B, Notice of Appeal or Motion
11
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Questions and Answers – Appeals and Motions