DORA Program and I94 Expiring Help!!!

B

b00st4ddicted

New Member
I been doing some researching, but I can never find a straight answer, and I need to know this as soon as I can. This is what happened. I am a USC, and I just got married in July. We finally got everything we need to file I485. My wife heard that we need to make an appointment to speak to an immigration officer, and so she did it on infopass. Here is where the problem came up. She picked the wrong option and picked immigration officer instead of the DORA program. We went to to the appointment today to speak to immigration officer only to find out that we were at the wrong place and we need to make another appointment for DORA. Her I-94 is going to expire this Friday. Can I still file I-485 even after the I-94 is expired or should I go ahead and send in the I-485 through next day mail to INS so at least they have the record that we are applying?? Please help!!! I am desparate at this point... :confused: :(
 
b00st4ddicted said:
I been doing some researching, but I can never find a straight answer, and I need to know this as soon as I can. This is what happened. I am a USC, and I just got married in July. We finally got everything we need to file I485. My wife heard that we need to make an appointment to speak to an immigration officer, and so she did it on infopass. Here is where the problem came up. She picked the wrong option and picked immigration officer instead of the DORA program. We went to to the appointment today to speak to immigration officer only to find out that we were at the wrong place and we need to make another appointment for DORA. Her I-94 is going to expire this Friday. Can I still file I-485 even after the I-94 is expired or should I go ahead and send in the I-485 through next day mail to INS so at least they have the record that we are applying?? Please help!!! I am desparate at this point... :confused: :(
Click to expand...

You can make the appointment and go for the interview after the I94 expires. Even though she may incur some overstay, it is usually forgiven for spouses of USC. Just make sure that she does not travel out of the US until she receives the GC, even if she has AP - if the overstay is long, she may risk not being allowed back.

The DORA process is so fast - I think it would be worth it to go that way.
 
pianoplayer said:
Just make sure that she does not travel out of the US until she receives the GC, even if she has AP - if the overstay is long, she may risk not being allowed back.
Click to expand...

If the overstay is less than 180 days, she cannot be denied admission on that basis. If it is 180 days or more, the 3-year bar kicks in and she cannot be admitted at all.
 
TheRealCanadian said:
If the overstay is less than 180 days, she cannot be denied admission on that basis. If it is 180 days or more, the 3-year bar kicks in and she cannot be admitted at all.
Click to expand...

Absolutely correct - I should have specified the overstay time for the OP. I do not know how long it takes them to get an interview. I am tired --- it has been a long day.
 
pianoplayer said:
Absolutely correct - I should have specified the overstay time for the OP.
Click to expand...

The other thing to keep in mind is that a non-frivolous I-485 for an Immediate Relative will halt the illegal presence clock, IIRC. So if there's a gap of a few days or weeks between the I-94 expiry and the I-485 filing, so long as the I-485 was approvable when filed the clock is stopped, even if it takes several months for the interview.
 
TheRealCanadian said:
The other thing to keep in mind is that a non-frivolous I-485 for an Immediate Relative will halt the illegal presence clock, IIRC. So if there's a gap of a few days or weeks between the I-94 expiry and the I-485 filing, so long as the I-485 was approvable when filed the clock is stopped, even if it takes several months for the interview.
Click to expand...

Correct - I assumed the OP understood that the clock stopped upon receipt of the application, since he was wondering if he should mail his application in order for them to receive it before the I94 expiration.
 
please explain to me what overstay mean, and do you think it is worth it for me to wait for the appointment instead of filing by mail? my wife has no intention of leaving US until she gets her GC anyways. thanks!!!!
 
ok, i read up on some info about overstay. if the person stays more 180 days which is 6 months, then the person will be banned for 3 years, and if the person stays more than a year than the person will be banned for 10 years. pretty severe penalty :( here is my question, our interview with DORA is on October 3rd as of this moment, and I am trying to get an earlier time. I was wondering if that will give me overstay penalty or not. please help me.
 
sorry for all these questions, but I was just going back and reading the form I-485. there is a section where it says who is not eligible to adjust status, and one of the bullet point said your authorized stay expired before you filed this application. hmmm.... no form has been filed at this point since I am waiting for the DORA appointment, any suggestions, comments, thanks!
 
There is no overstay penalty for the Immediate Relatives of US citizens; she would be fine unless she leaves the US. So long as she entered the US legally at a POE, she can file an I-485 even after overstaying 30 years.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top