B2 Extension still not approved but want to leave USA

[Tomhuckleberry]

I hope you can help with a query I have. My daughter is currently in the States on a B2 visa which expired at the end of September. She was taken ill in early September and was advised by her doctor not to fly until she recovers. She immediately applied for a B2 extension via an immigration lawyer.

She has now recovered enough to be able to fly home but her visa extension has not yet been approved and her lawyer has advised her not to leave the States until the visa extension has been approved (or denied!) as she will have difficulty in the future getting a visa. She was told that the extension would take 2 and a half months to be processed.

This all seems a bit illogical to me as she has done everything that has been asked of her but she is desperate to home for Christmas but she will not jeopardise any future visits to the States.

Any advice will be welcome.

[newacct]

First of all, when a visa expires has no relevance to how long she can stay. I am assuming you mean her status given on her I-94 has expired, and that her visa hasn't expired.

If she leaves before a decision is made, there are no negative consequences to her current visa. In fact, it is better to leave before the decision than waiting until the decision because there is a risk that the decision is denial in which case she would immediately begin accruing unlawful presence and her current visa would become void.

[Tomhuckleberry]

Many thanks for your quick reply. I'm slightly confused. My daughter applied successfully for a B2 visa allowing her to stay in the USA for a maximum of 6 months. She entered the USA almost immediately her B2 was granted. I assume that on arrival she was issued the I94 in her passport. So she has now been in the States continuously for nearly 9 months. Before her 6 months was up she applied for an extension (presumably to her I94?).

Her main concern is that if she now leaves before the extension is granted / refused it will adversely affect her visa applications in the future. This is what she was informed by her immigration lawyer.

Thanks for your help

Kind regards
Bill

[newacct]

Nobody can know what factors a visa officer will consider. But under any reasonable consideration, leaving sooner is always better than leaving later. It makes absolutely no sense to think that a consular officer will consider you having stayed longer in the US as a good thing.

And as said before, if her visa isn't expired (which it probably isn't), leaving now will eliminate the risk that her visa will be voided which will happen if there is a denial.

[Tomhuckleberry]

I'm so sorry for taking so long in replying but sadly my daughter had a relapse and needed further surgery. Thank you for your help but can I please clarify the situation:

My daughter is currently in the States on a B2 visa which was issued in March this year. She flew into LAX in April and her I94 gave her until September 29th to visit. She fell ill in the middle of September and was advised NOT to fly for a least 6 weeks. She immediately applied for an extension to her I94.

Since then she has undergone both major and minor surgery and will hopefully be fit to fly this weekend. Despite being told that the I94 extension will take two and a half months to approve / or reject, that period has now passed and there is still no feedback.

I know you said that it is always best to leave in these situations but her immigration lawyer has recommended NOT to do this as it may jeopardise her visiting the States in the future or any future visa application.

If she does leave over the weekend without the I94 extension being approved will it be on her record that she overstayed and will this cause a problem on leaving the country?

I hope you don't mind me asking but what is your expertise in these matters?

Many thanks for your help

Kind regards
Bill

[newacct]

No. As I said before, there is nothing bad about leaving without the extension being decided. And in fact, waiting until a decision could be worse because there is a risk that it's a denial. Extensions take around 3-5 months to process these days.

[Camille Pulma-Sales]

overstayed while waiting for visa extention

hello, i applied for a b2 visa extension last october and still, i haven't received their reply. i already overstayed here for more than a month. I wanna go back to my country already, will there be a problem with my visa when i exit and re-enter again since a b2 visa extension is still pending but i already overstayed? thanks!

[newacct]

hello, i applied for a b2 visa extension last october and still, i haven't received their reply. i already overstayed here for more than a month. I wanna go back to my country already, will there be a problem with my visa when i exit and re-enter again since a b2 visa extension is still pending but i already overstayed? thanks!

Your visa isn't voided. You need to get the I-539 receipt somehow if you haven't already gotten it, so you can prove in the future that it was filed while you were still in status and you left while it was pending.

[Camille Pulma-Sales]

thank you

Your visa isn't voided. You need to get the I-539 receipt somehow if you haven't already gotten it, so you can prove in the future that it was filed while you were still in status and you left while it was pending.

yes i have with me the receipt already. thanks for your help! i appreciate it. I hope to receive my visa extension reply already. but nonetheless, i hope exiting and re-entering wouldn't be a problem. thanks again!

[globalmove]

B2 Extension still not approved but want to leave USA

It is better to leave before the decision than waiting until the decision because there is a risk that the decision is denial. It will eliminate the risk that her visa will be voided.