Form I-929 Instructions 08/31/21 Page 3 of 5
Submit evidence, including a signed statement from your alien
relative and other supporting documentation, to establish that
discretion should be exercised in favor of your alien relative.
Although you are not required to establish that your alien
relative is admissible, USCIS may take into account all
factors, including acts that would otherwise render your alien
relative inadmissible, in making its discretionary decision on
the application. Where adverse factors are present, you may
offset these by submitting supporting documentation
establishing mitigating equities that your alien relative wants
USCIS to consider when determining whether or not a
favorable exercise of discretion is appropriate. Depending on
the nature of the adverse factors, you may be required to
clearly demonstrate that the denial of adjustment of status or
an immigrant visa would result in exceptional and extremely
unusual hardship to you.
What Documents Do You Need to Demonstrate
Extreme Hardship?
Extreme hardship is determined on a case-by-case basis. You
are encouraged to cite and document all applicable factors you
believe demonstrate that you or your alien relative will suffer
extreme hardship if he or she is not allowed to remain in or to
enter the United States. You must demonstrate that refusal to
allow the family member to remain in or to enter the United
States would result in a degree of hardship beyond that
typically associated with such a removal or refusal. Factors to
be considered may be, but are not limited to, the following:
A. The nature and extent of the physical or mental abuse
suffered as a result of having been a victim of criminal
activity;
C. The likelihood that the perpetrator's family, friends, or
others acting on behalf of the perpetrator in the home
country would harm the applicant or the applicant's
children;
B. The impact of loss of access to the U.S. courts and
criminal justice system, including but not limited to
participation in the criminal investigation or prosecution of
the criminal activity of which the alien was a victim, and
any civil proceedings related to family law, child custody,
or other court proceeding stemming from the criminal
activity;
D. The applicant's needs for social, medical, mental health, or
other supportive services for victims of crime that are
unavailable or not reasonably accessible in the home
country;
F. The perpetrator's ability to travel to the home country and
the ability and willingness of authorities in the home
country to protect the applicant or the applicant's children;
and
E. If the criminal activity involved arose in a domestic
violence context, the existence of laws and social practices
in the home country that punish the applicant or the
applicant's child(ren) because they have been victims of
domestic violence or have taken steps to leave an abusive
household;
G. The age of the applicant, both at the time of entry to the
United States and at the time of application for adjustment
of status.
What Documents Do You Need to Establish
That Discretion Should be Exercised?
In such a situation, submit a statement from the appropriate
civil authority certifying that the document or documents are
not available. You must also submit secondary evidence,
including:
What If a Document Is Not Available?
B. School record: A letter from the authority (preferably the
first school attended) showing the date of admission to the
school, the child's date of birth, or age at that time, place of
birth, and names of the parents.
A. Church record: A copy of a document bearing the seal of
the church, showing the baptism, dedication, or
comparable rite occurred within 2 months after birth, and
showing the date and place of the child's birth, date of the
religious ceremony, and the names of the child's parents.
The person making the affidavit does not have to be a
U.S. citizen. Each affidavit should contain the following
information regarding the person making the affidavit: full
name, address, date and place of birth, relationship to you,
full information concerning the event, and complete details
explaining how the person acquired knowledge of the
event.
D. Affidavits: Written statements sworn to or affirmed by
two persons who were living at the time and who have
personal knowledge of the event you are trying to prove.
For example, the date and place of birth, marriage, or
death.
C. Census record: State or Federal census record showing
the name, place of birth, date of birth, or the age of the
person listed.
