Extension of B2 past one year

[spudi84]

Hi, My in-laws' visa expires on Aug 8th 2021 and I have applied for their extension (I-539) on June 11th 2021. However, this extension is after the 2nd 6months of their stay, meaning that they complete period of stay will be one year on 08/08/2021. I have the receipt of the application that I submitted but it says that "This receipt does not mean that the application is pending". The fees has also been debited from my bank account. My question is, Can they wait until the decision is made even if the response from USCIS is after 08/08/2021? Will they be considered as out of status even if we have a case applied but still didn't receive a response from the USCIS? Thank you in advance.

[rkk09]

Hi,
Per my knowledge, B holders can extend their visa upto two times when they are in the USA which means they can stay in the USA on B visa maximum of one year at that time. I recommend you to check with immigration Attorney then move forward.
Thanks

[newacct]

They have been out of status since their I-94 expired. But they are staying legally for as long as they have a pending Extension of Stay application, no matter how long it takes.

[spudi84]

They have been approved an extension in Feb 2021 until Aug 08 2021, so they are not out of status yet right? You say 'pending' but the receipt that I got after I applied for the extension has a statement that "it is not evidence that your case is still pending". Attached the screenshot from the receipt

[newacct]

They have been approved an extension in Feb 2021 until Aug 08 2021, so they are not out of status yet right? You say 'pending' but the receipt that I got after I applied for the extension has a statement that "it is not evidence that your case is still pending". Attached the screenshot from the receipt

Well obviously the receipt only shows that it was pending at the time it was issued, not that it is still pending now.

[spudi84]

So does that mean that until and unless I get a rejection or an update on the case, I should consider it as pending? Since, that's the last update I have on the case?

[spudi84]

Hi all, thank you for the responses. I have talked to an immigration attorney in my area and she said that my in-laws will not accrue unlawful presence in the USA until 240 days after the expiration of I94 which is 8 months after the expiry date on I-94. So we can wait for the decision until October 7th but need to make travel plans before that if we don't get a decision on our extension application anytime soon.

[newacct]

Hi all, thank you for the responses. I have talked to an immigration attorney in my area and she said that my in-laws will not accrue unlawful presence in the USA until 240 days after the expiration of I94 which is 8 months after the expiry date on I-94. So we can wait for the decision until October 7th but need to make travel plans before that if we don't get a decision on our extension application anytime soon.

This attorney doesn't know what they are talking about. Your in-laws will not accrue unlawful presence for an unlimited amount of time while a timely-filed Change of Status or Extension of Stay is pending. The statute provides 120 days of tolling while a COS/EOS is pending. USCIS policy provides an unlimited time of tolling. Neither of those are 240 days. The only thing that is 240 days is that people in work statuses (e.g. H1b, L1, O1, etc.) are authorized to work for 240 days after I-94 expiry (they are still allowed to stay for an unlimited amount of time; it's just the work authorization is 240 days). Your in-laws are in B2 status which has no work authorization, so there is no 240-day extension of work authorization. But again, they (like people in every status) can still stay for an unlimited amount of time while COS/EOS is pending.