Am I Out of STATUS ?

[Cheekoo]

Am I Out of STATUS ? A tough one

Hi Gurus

I honoured US with my arrival in Feb'02 got I-94 till Aug'02 and had B1-B2 Visitor Visa.

Filled an I-539 for extention of stay,( till Jan 2003 ), in June 15 '02. Got an RFE for reply date Nov 16 2002. Asking for copy of return tickets.

On the Basis of Substitution of LC
Filled for I-140 July 02 and then
Filled for I-485/765/131 in Oct '02

My Concern is that, Am I Out of Status at this moment.

My Lawyer tells me that there is no need to respond to I539 extention request as now we have I-485 pending. Secondly in a few months EAD / AP will be issued.

A lot of questions are already in there.

Response will be appreciated

 

[jaxen]

The problem comes when you go out of US when 485 is pending and enter using AP. In secondary inspection they will research this issue.
I would suggest that a response be sent to INS. Otherwise from aug 02 to Oct 02- you might be considered out of status. Even if the 539 is denied, your out of status issue is nullified because you were waiting to hear from INS , by which time you decided to switch to 485.

Although one might argue that the RFE generated indicates that the interim period is covered, unless and until an adjudication has been finalized on the pending 539, this democles sword is going to hang over you all your life.

My Opinion.

 

[rawager]

Personally I dont think you are out of status. As you had an application pending with the INS. However, it would be a good idea to respond to the RFE to bring things to a closure on that end. Otherwise it will be an open ended issue. You application for extension will be denied b'coz you did not respond to the RFE within the deadline. According to me its better to close loose ends so that it may not haunt you sometime in future when you least expect it or want it.

My 2 cents and I am not an attorney.

 

[Cheekoo]

Thanx for your responses,

In that RFE they have asked for s few things which I can not provide them with. for example a confirm ticket showing return to India in Feb 2003. Now that is getting into a big situation , even if I buy tickets and then later on return them. It will start another story.

I asked again to my Lawyer and he again said that he would rather have I539 aboandoned as 1485 is pending. More over he said that 1, I-140 was filled in July 02 when my I-94 was valid, thus making me eligible to stay within the country. Because I-140 can only be filled when you are in united states. Similar goes for I485. As this was also filled prior to the RFE reply due date.

He further said that Once my FP is done and EAD and AP is issued, I will enjoy the status of any other person with or without H1. Cause Once you use EAD your H1 is gone.

Now, what I understand here is Once I get EAD and AP I will be able to travel as well as start paying Tax.

Story getting long right ?

Sure will appreciate your input.

Regards