is it legal to stay after I-130 and I-485 has been appliedtogether

[vidya]

My friend who is a naturalized US citizen has applied for a greencard for her mom by submitting I-130 and I-485 together. Currently, her mom has a 10year multiple entry visa. Her I-94 is valid till march 5th, 2005. Since she has already applied for I-485, can she stay in the US without applying for an extension or does she have to go to India/Canada to stay in a valid multiple entry visa? Does she have to wait for I-130 approval to stay legally in the country without an extension.

[markda_p]

i'm not a legal adviser, but I think she has to keep a legal status in order to later adjust her status to the permanent resident. if she decides to stay here, she has to apply for extention for her I -94 (which is hard to obtain, since it is needed several years for an I-130 to be approved). better idea is to go out and come back again after short stays outside the country, to maintain her legal status. the application for i-130 and i-140 does not pffer the "pending" status rights.