Re-entry on B2 While a Past B2 I-94 Extension Request is Pending

[astracastra]

My mother-in-law entered US on 09 April 2021 on B2 visa and was given I-94 until 08 October 2021. We wanted her to extend her stay to attend a family event in early January and applied for her I-94 extension using I-539 until 14 January 2022. On 12 January 2022, she was tested positive for COVID and was not allowed to board the plane as per the regulations at that time, so she was forced to request for a second extension until 31 March 2022. On 24 January 2022, she got the negative COVID test and returned home on 26 January 2022. Since she returned much before her scheduled biometric appointment on 09 February 2022, she requested USCIS to cancel the biometric appointment on the day of her departure (26 January 2022). After she went back home, her first extension request was approved in September 2022 and the second extension request is still under review. She is coming to US this month for a family event and following are my questions.

- Will she run into any issues at the port of entry because her extension request is still pending?
- If she is allowed into US and her second extension is approved while she is in US, will she become out of status immediately (because the second extension was requested until 12 March 2022 which is in the past and in most immigation cases, the most recent action take precedence)? If yes, what should be our next steps?

Thank you all for your time to provide valuable inputs.

[newacct]

- Will she run into any issues at the port of entry because her extension request is still pending?

No. The extension of stay application was automatically abandoned when she left the US. USCIS should have dismissed it as abandoned, but even if they hadn't, it has no relevance anymore.

- If she is allowed into US and her second extension is approved while she is in US, will she become out of status immediately (because the second extension was requested until 12 March 2022 which is in the past and in most immigation cases, the most recent action take precedence)?

No. First, it should not be approved since it was abandoned. Even in the unlikely case it is approved for some odd reason, the start date would be in the past, before the current entry, so it would not take precedence.

[astracastra]

newacct - First of all, thank you so much for your time to make valuable contributions to the forum. I know that your input is not legal advice but when I posted my query, I was just hoping that you would respond to it because you come across as very knowledgeable. I was excited that you did reply and happy that your input was exactly what I wanted to hear. If you don't mind could I ask you a follow-up question? You said

Even in the unlikely case it is approved for some odd reason, the start date would be in the past, before the current entry, so it would not take precedence.

Is there any case law or immigration section that you could quote that talks about this?

I will keep this thread posted on how things go for someone's reference in the future.

[priyavjk06]

astracastra , did you mother in law re renter US ? If so how was the immigration? Could you please reply ?

[visa_2014]

Couple of questions:

1. What if the status does not get approved but I-94 expires? Can parents still stay if the I-539 application is in pending state?
2. Would it be a single application of I-539 for both parents?
3.