How the Calderon Settlement Can Lead to the I-601A Waiver
If you’re a U.S. citizen married to someone with an old deportation order in Massachusetts or elsewhere in New England, you may already know about the Calderon settlement. What often gets less attention is what happens after a case is reopened, because for many families, that’s when the I-601A waiver actually becomes possible for the first time. An immigration lawyer can walk you through whether that applies to your situation, and a green card lawyer can help you understand what the waiver process itself looks like once your case clears. If any of this sounds like your family, call Brooks Law Firm today at (617) 245-8090 for a free consultation.
The settlement, formally Calderon Jimenez v. Noem, No. 18-10225 (D. Mass.), received final approval in January 2025 and runs through January 16, 2027. It gives eligible spouses a path to reopen and dismiss old removal orders. That’s the beginning of the process, not the end of it, and what comes next is where the I-601A waiver enters the picture.
What Is the I-601A Waiver?
The I-601A is a provisional waiver that forgives just one thing: unlawful presence. Specifically, it addresses the 3-year or 10-year reentry bar that gets triggered the moment someone with unlawful presence leaves the United States. Our earlier explainer on the unlawful presence bars covers how those bars work in more detail, but the short version is that this waiver exists specifically for people who need to consular process, meaning they’ll eventually travel abroad for a green card interview rather than adjusting status here. It’s called “provisional” because it’s decided before you leave, rather than after, which is what makes it useful for Calderon families in particular: it turns what could otherwise be years of separation into a single trip abroad for the interview itself.
I Was Ordered Deported — Can I Still File for the I-601A Waiver?
Not yet, and this is the part that confuses people. USCIS’s own rules say you cannot file Form I-601A while you are “subject to an administratively final order of removal, deportation, or exclusion” that hasn’t been vacated. Because everyone in the Calderon settlement’s class, by definition, already has exactly that kind of final order, this bar applies to all of them, and nothing about being a class member removes it on its own.
That’s precisely what the settlement is trying to fix. It doesn’t just pause a case through something like administrative closure, which wouldn’t clear this problem. It’s built around a joint Motion to Reopen and Dismiss: when ICE joins the motion and the immigration court grants it, the final order itself is vacated, and the underlying case is dismissed rather than left open. Once that happens, you’re no longer “subject to” the order that was blocking you, which is what can open the door to filing an I-601A for the first time.
The Extreme Hardship Standard, in Practice
Getting the removal order vacated doesn’t do any of the hardship work for you. The I-601A is a separate case with its own separate requirement: proof that a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse or parent, not a U.S. citizen child, would face extreme hardship if the waiver were denied. USCIS looks at this from two directions:
- What happens to that qualifying relative if they stay in the U.S. without you, and
- What happens if they relocate abroad to be with you instead.
Both scenarios need real evidence behind them. Ordinary family separation, the kind most families experience when someone moves abroad, generally isn’t enough on its own. Financial strain, medical or mental health needs, a qualifying relative’s caregiving responsibilities, and country-conditions evidence about wherever you’d otherwise have to relocate are the kinds of documentation that tend to carry real weight. None of this evidence has anything to do with the removal order or the reopening process; it’s a fresh case about your family’s circumstances now, and it’s worth starting to build well before the reopening is finished.
I-601A Waiver Processing Times in 2026
As of mid-2026, USCIS’s own processing-time data shows the typical I-601A case finishing in about 2.2 years at the median, with roughly 8 in 10 cases wrapped up within about 2.5 years. That appears to be somewhat faster than around a year earlier, when the typical wait was closer to 2.8 years, though these figures shift by office and by month, so it’s worth checking USCIS’s live processing-times tool for the most current estimate.
The filing fee is currently $795, though government fees change periodically and should be confirmed directly with USCIS before filing. It’s worth being clear that none of this is shortened by the Calderon settlement. The settlement’s January 2027 deadline only governs when your request to reopen has to reach ICE; it has no effect on how long USCIS takes to decide an I-601A once you’re actually able to file one.
How Often Is the I-601A Waiver Approved?
USCIS doesn’t currently publish an approval rate for Form I-601A that reflects today’s processing environment. The last detailed breakdown available covers the program’s first two years, 2013 through 2015, when a large majority of applications were approved. Processing has changed enough since then, average wait times have grown substantially, that a decade-old number isn’t a meaningful predictor of your odds today, and we won’t present it as one.
It’s also worth being clear that the Calderon settlement doesn’t change how USCIS reviews an I-601A once it’s filed. The settlement affects ICE’s actions and whether your removal order gets vacated; it has no bearing on how USCIS adjudicates the waiver itself. That application is decided on its own facts, the same way anyone else’s would be. What actually seems to matter, case by case, is the strength of the hardship evidence and whether the application is complete the first time. An attorney reviewing your specific hardship facts can give you a more honest sense of where you stand than any published statistic could.
What Happens After I-601A Waiver Approval
Approval isn’t the finish line. Once USCIS approves the waiver, the case moves to the National Visa Center, which needs the rest of your immigrant visa paperwork before it will schedule the actual consular interview. You still have to travel abroad and attend that interview, and a consular officer still makes the final call on the visa itself.
There’s also a real trap here, though not one that should affect Calderon families who follow the sequence correctly: leaving the United States before removal proceedings are formally terminated or dismissed can delay the visa, create a new inadmissibility problem, or even revoke a waiver that was just approved. If your case was already dismissed under the Calderon settlement before you ever filed the I-601A, this risk doesn’t apply to you the same way, since your removal case is already closed by that point. It’s a serious risk for anyone who tries to file the waiver before that dismissal is actually final.
The Settlement Is Being Actively Enforced Right Now
This isn’t just sitting on paper. Early this year, the federal judge overseeing the case ruled that ICE cannot remove a class member while a motion to reopen is still pending, no matter where in the country that person is arrested. A follow-up order in March 2026 also required ICE to notify class members’ attorneys promptly whenever it denies a motion or moves toward removing someone. That matters here specifically because it’s exactly the stretch before your case is dismissed, the moment you’d otherwise be most exposed, that the court is holding ICE to.
Which Path Is Right for Your Family?
Getting your case reopened under Calderon doesn’t by itself tell you whether you’ll need the I-601A waiver at all. If the noncitizen spouse originally entered with inspection, adjustment of status through Form I-485, filed and completed entirely within the U.S., may be the better fit, with no need to leave the country or file a waiver at all. Which path applies depends on the details of the original entry, not on anything the settlement itself decides, and that’s a conversation for an attorney.
Getting the Sequence Right
None of this happens in one step, and the order matters:
- The removal case has to be reopened and genuinely dismissed under the settlement, not just paused.
- Only then does the I-601A waiver, if consular processing is the right path, become something USCIS will actually consider.
- The waiver itself carries its own hardship evidence, its own fee, and its own multi-year timeline, independent of the settlement.
- Approval still isn’t the end. NVC paperwork and the consular interview still come next.
Filing an I-601A too early, before the underlying order is actually vacated, risks a denial that has nothing to do with the strength of your hardship case. An attorney can help make sure the sequence, not just the paperwork, is right before anything gets filed.
If you think this may apply to your family, don’t wait to find out. Call Brooks Law Firm today at (617) 245-8090 to schedule a free consultation, and we’ll give you an honest look at where your case stands and what comes next.
