Mother-in-law came to visit from Canada - they stamped her with "limited stay". Help.

[jb816]

My mother-in-law flew in from Montreal on April 23rd. We got her a one way ticket because we don't know when she is going to return. I'm pregnant and she is here for the baby (I'm due in a couple of months). They gave her a hard time at customs and everyone was speaking English to her and her English is very broken. She got nervous and couldn't fully explain her situation (which is perfectly legal and normal. She's visiting her son and daughter-in-law and waiting for her grandson to be born!).

I've been trying to call Florida US Customs and Border protection all morning. Busy signal. They wrote on her passport "Limited Stay - May 23" so that basically means she has to go back on May 23rd? Why? Can they really enforce that? She didn't do anything wrong and they didn't give her any kind of paperwork or anything that would explain what happened and why she needs to return to Canada in a month. We were planning on having her stay 4 or 5 months and then go home.

Any advice/info is greatly appreciated.

[peace999]

Is she a canadian national or canadian PR . If candian PR , what is her nationality and was she entering on a B1/B2 visa?

Please post whatever she can tell about the details of the interview?

When was the last time she visited you guys and for how long?

[jb816]

Is she a canadian national or canadian PR . If candian PR , what is her nationality and was she entering on a B1/B2 visa?

Please post whatever she can tell about the details of the interview?

When was the last time she visited you guys and for how long?

She is a Canadian citizen. Has a Canadian passport. She has visited us before but usually only stayed for about a month. She was here a little over a year ago. It looks like she just got this new passport, her old one must have expired because the date of issue on her new one is March 13, 2014. Under "type" on her passport, it says "P". They wrote "B2" on her stamp, so I guess it's B2. Not sure what all of that means.

As far as the interview with customs. My husband told me that she just said she's here to visit us and he doesn't know why they would harass her. I just asked her again what exactly she said to them. I asked her if she just told them she's here to see her son and she said, "Yes, I tell them I'm here for my boy and to work for my boy" . Bingo. That's probably what set them off. She didn't mean work as in REALLY work, she means helps us with the baby. Do you think that is what caused them to harass her and make her come back in a month? Any way of rectifying this? Thank you for the quick response.

[peace999]

yes, bingo.

That is what it was. For future, she should carry a note for the customs, if she does not speak good english.

like, " Do not speak good english. Here to visit son for 3 months". and never say that word WORK again to the customs.

B2 means visitor . Extension of the stay takes 3-4 months to process and may not work out since they stamped LIMITED stay on her passport.

She will have to leave before the stamp date and enter again a few months later.

[jb816]

Crap! She won't be able to come back for a few months?? Where do I file the "extension of stay"? Is the link below correct for filing the form I-539? Thanks.

***

[peace999]

Yes, that link is correct. Look carefully at her B2 stamp does it say anything else . Like 'NO EOS' or 'NO COS'

[jb816]

Nope. It just says B2 and underneath that, it says "May 23, 2014 Limited Stay". All hand written within her entry stamp.

[peace999]

Before you file an I-539 and spend roughly $300 , I suggest you talk to a good immigration attorney. There are several who would give free initial advice on whether it is worthwhile applying with a LIMITED STAY stamp.

[jb816]

Yea I think we'll do that. Thank you for all your help.

[jb816]

Also one more question. The maximum amount of time for visitors (like my mother-in-law) is 6 months correct? In the future, we should probably just get her a roundtrip ticket to save the hassle of them questioning her. That will help you think?

[peace999]

yes,they give 6 months to canadians USUALLY but remember their discretion rules supreme and they can always give a shorter stay like they did this time.

So mentioning full 6 month of stay if she has been visiting frequently is not a good idea every time.
Book a return ticket for a shorter period like 4 or 5 months.

[jb816]

Ok that sounds good, we'll do 4 months next time. Thanks!