@TLK92 Court docs can be harder to estimate but in person is faster since there is a postal strike.

Yes, late 2025 is easily makeable. Yes only fill out the I-192 form.

@J Rogers

John you don’t think getting a waiver by the end of 2025 if starting the process now is an accurate guess?

I was planning on using esafe to file. Just wanted to make sure it that the 1-94 form is the only one that I am needing to get?

How long do court documents typically take to get? I thought it was as simple as leaving the courts with them, but apparently not.

I knew that typically the first one is only a year and then sometimes you get the 5 year after applying the second time.

I have been reading through the forum but to be honest find it a bit difficult to navigate, not sure if it’s from using my phone but I’ve tried using the search function. If you have any keywords I should be looking for please let me know.

@TLK92 as far as timing goes you could get Very lucky (like some people have been) and get it in 3-4 months but the median average seems to be 10-11 months right now unfortunately. I’d say 80% of waivers I’m seeing approved right now are at around that 10-11 month mark. And FYI my first time application was a 5-year waiver back in 2019 so it’s not Always 1-years for first time.

But if you finally get around to submitting it in, let’s say January - February. I would say yes it is risky to plan something in early 2026 right now. Just speaking honestly.

1. Your fingerprints are not going to come fast. Postal strike.
2. Your not going to get a waiver "early" next year. Its MUCH slower than that.
3. You should file on ESAFE. Not fill out forms.
4. 2 letters of reference form friends.
5. Court documents might also take awhile
6. The letter is not JUST about change. Its an accurate description of exactly what happened, so they can assess the severity and decide how long the waiver SHOULD be. A waiver is NOT permanent, and can range form 1 to 5 years.

Look through THIS forum for ACCURATE advice. Some of the information you provided makes me think some of the information you collected is from the border (they have no clue because they don't actually make the decision Virginia does)

You don;t want a 1 year waiver. You want a 5.

Hey @john Roger’s do you need a character witness letter to be from an employer??? I never had that in my previous waiver in 2019 that got approved. Just people who have known me for a few decades who can speak to my character.