Visa extension due to covid pending - am I legally okay until I hear back from UCIS?
I filed and paid for extension of Visa with I-539 form before my original visa expired on May 6th 2020. I have not heard back from UCIS, should I worry? I dont want to travel while tests and vaccines are required, therefore prefer to stay as long as I can.
It says on UCIS homepage https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/uscis-response-to-covid-19 If You File in a Timely Manner. Nonimmigrants generally do not accrue unlawful presence while the timely-filed, non-frivolous EOS/COS application is pending. Where applicable, employment authorization with the same employer, subject to the same terms and conditions of the prior approval, is automatically extended for up to 240 days after I-94 expiration when an extension of stay request is filed on time.
Thank you so much for this answer! What does it mean: your visa would not be voided. What happens when a visa is voided? I have to get a new visa anyway each time I come, so is that a problem that the visa is voided?
Best Answer
It depends on what you mean by "legally okay". What is true is that you do not accrue "unlawful presence" (for the 3-year/10-year unlawful presence ban) while a timely-filed, non-frivolous Extension of Stay or Change of Status application is pending.
If your Extension of Stay is denied, you will start accruing unlawful presence from the date of the denial. This means that by the time you hear from USCIS, you will have accrued some number of days of unlawful presence, but as long as you leave before accruing 180 days of unlawful presence, you will not trigger a ban. Your visa will also have been automatically voided.
Assuming you are are extending B2 visitor status, extensions are only given in 6-month increments. So if your Extension of Stay is approved, if you didn't file a second Extension of Stay before November 6 2020, you will also start accruing unlawful presence from the date of the approval, because the I-94 granted in the approval would have expired in the past. So in this case, there is not much difference between approval and denial.
If you leave the US before an approval or denial decision is made, you would not have accrued any unlawful presence, and your visa would not be voided.
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