Hello,
How are you doing?
I had an immigration related question regarding my sister-in-law, Rita.
Rita is a citizen of India and is here in USA, on H4 visa and studying in local Community College which will fetch her “Associates Degree” in teaching. Her father is in USA on H1B work visa valid till October 2008.
Please note Rita turned 21 years of age on 29th November, 2007.
Here is a brief description of events to help you know the circumstances that occurred. I am trying to put the events as chronologically as possible for your better understanding.
As Rita’s father’s H1B visa was ending in September-2007, he applied for petition for H1B renewal sometime in May-2007 which he received and had got renewed till October-2008.
And Rita’s H4 petition for renewal was applied too but she had not received the outcome of her dependent’s petition till January 2008.
She visited India in August 2007 (when she was not 21) and upon arrival back in the US, the Immigration Officer gave her I-94 card having the stay date till October-2008 (which we believe was based on her father’s renewed H1B visa petition approval which she showed to the Immigration Officer).
As Rita was turning 21 on 29th November, 2007, she applied for a change in status from H4 to F1 Student Visa in October-2007 by sending the I539, APPLICATION TO EXTEND OR CHANGE NONIMMIGRANT STATUS to her College Staff Counselor who would then send the application with College documents to USCIS. She sent the papers to the College Office through USPS. However, the College Office never received her application. Upon investigating, she found her papers were not delivered to her College and were lost somewhere in USPS. So, she sent her application forms again to the College as soon as she came to know about it. She has the receipt from USPS receipt that she has sent the application. Although the college did receive her application the 2nd time, her Counselor was on a vacation by then, which further delayed her application being sent to the USCIS.
Finally, in January 2008, the USCIS Office received her application and provided the EAC Number for her application for change in status.
On April 3, 2008, she received an update online on USCIS website, about her application with the following message “On April 3, 2008, we mailed you a denial decision notice for this case I539 APPLICATION TO EXTEND OR CHANGE NONIMMIGRANT STATUS. The notice explains why the denial decision was made and the options that may be available to you. If you have not received this notice within 30 days of the April 3, 2008, please call customer service at 1-800-375-5283 for further assistance.”
She is very much concerned about her legal status from 29th November, 2007 to date.
Question:
1) First of all, does her stay considered illegal in the US or not considered illegal?
2) If yes, is it considered illegal from
i) 29th November, 2007? or
ii) from April 3, 2008 she saw the online status or from the day when she receives the denial notice via post/mail? or
iii) would the denial notice have the date in it?
3) What preventive measures can be taken incase her stay is not yet illegal?
4) What can be the future course of measure she can take to lawfully stay here in the US and attain her “Master’s Degree” as she has already secured her admission to one of the renowned Universities here in the US.
Your reply will be greatly appreciated.
Thank You!
Regards,
appu_123
How are you doing?
I had an immigration related question regarding my sister-in-law, Rita.
Rita is a citizen of India and is here in USA, on H4 visa and studying in local Community College which will fetch her “Associates Degree” in teaching. Her father is in USA on H1B work visa valid till October 2008.
Please note Rita turned 21 years of age on 29th November, 2007.
Here is a brief description of events to help you know the circumstances that occurred. I am trying to put the events as chronologically as possible for your better understanding.
As Rita’s father’s H1B visa was ending in September-2007, he applied for petition for H1B renewal sometime in May-2007 which he received and had got renewed till October-2008.
And Rita’s H4 petition for renewal was applied too but she had not received the outcome of her dependent’s petition till January 2008.
She visited India in August 2007 (when she was not 21) and upon arrival back in the US, the Immigration Officer gave her I-94 card having the stay date till October-2008 (which we believe was based on her father’s renewed H1B visa petition approval which she showed to the Immigration Officer).
As Rita was turning 21 on 29th November, 2007, she applied for a change in status from H4 to F1 Student Visa in October-2007 by sending the I539, APPLICATION TO EXTEND OR CHANGE NONIMMIGRANT STATUS to her College Staff Counselor who would then send the application with College documents to USCIS. She sent the papers to the College Office through USPS. However, the College Office never received her application. Upon investigating, she found her papers were not delivered to her College and were lost somewhere in USPS. So, she sent her application forms again to the College as soon as she came to know about it. She has the receipt from USPS receipt that she has sent the application. Although the college did receive her application the 2nd time, her Counselor was on a vacation by then, which further delayed her application being sent to the USCIS.
Finally, in January 2008, the USCIS Office received her application and provided the EAC Number for her application for change in status.
On April 3, 2008, she received an update online on USCIS website, about her application with the following message “On April 3, 2008, we mailed you a denial decision notice for this case I539 APPLICATION TO EXTEND OR CHANGE NONIMMIGRANT STATUS. The notice explains why the denial decision was made and the options that may be available to you. If you have not received this notice within 30 days of the April 3, 2008, please call customer service at 1-800-375-5283 for further assistance.”
She is very much concerned about her legal status from 29th November, 2007 to date.
Question:
1) First of all, does her stay considered illegal in the US or not considered illegal?
2) If yes, is it considered illegal from
i) 29th November, 2007? or
ii) from April 3, 2008 she saw the online status or from the day when she receives the denial notice via post/mail? or
iii) would the denial notice have the date in it?
3) What preventive measures can be taken incase her stay is not yet illegal?
4) What can be the future course of measure she can take to lawfully stay here in the US and attain her “Master’s Degree” as she has already secured her admission to one of the renowned Universities here in the US.
Your reply will be greatly appreciated.
Thank You!
Regards,
appu_123