How to extend my wife's TD visa, which is expiring before mine

K

kiamchoo

Registered Users (C)
Hi guys,

My wife and I are in the US on TN and TD visas respectively. We arrived in Feb 2009 and were admitted for 3 years until Feb 2012.

I changed employers in the middle of 2010, went to the border, and re-entered with a new TN visa valid until 2013. My wife did not come with me to the border and is still on her original paperwork. So this now means that my wife's visa and I-94 will expire before mine.

Seeing as it is that her status is due to expire in about 6 months, I'm interested in extending her visa to expire in 2013, the same time my visa expires.

- Is the right approach to file an I-539 for her?
- Can that be done without filing for an extension for me?
- Or is synchronizing the wrong approach and we should both renew at the same time when her visa expires (Feb 2012)?

Thanks in advance for your help!
 
Thanks for your response Nelsona. I'm amazed at how knowledgeable you are... you helped me before and you're helping me again!

My wife is a Chinese citizen, not Canadian.

Pardon my ignorance, but I'm don't know what circumstances would require her to get a consular visa.

It sounds like if we made a trip out of the country and re-enter together, at that point, the border officials will simply give her a new TD? Is that something I would have to specifically request? Does that take a long time to process (if so I would give myself extra buffer time if we are flying from Canada)?

So to double check, if we go with filing an I-539, we can file that independently for her without filing an extension for me, right? How far in advance would you advise us to file her I-539?
 
Extension in 2013

Followup question:

In 2013, when my wife and I both need to renew our TN and TD visas: Nelsona, you mentioned that my wife needs a consular visa. Does this constrain us to obtaining our visas at a consulate rather than simply getting them at a border crossing? If so, do we need to return to her home country?
 
Hi,

I'm back with another question, and quite urgent at that...

After reading Nelsona's replies, we decided to go the I-539 route. Unfortunately, we let the matter sit for a few months, and now we are ready to send in the I-539 when my wife has only 2 months left on her I-94. After some investigation, I found that a lot of people are seeing processing times longer than 2 months!

I am concerned that if my wife gets her I-539 decision after her I-94 expires, she becomes out-of-status. To what extent will having a record of being out-of-status affect her ability to get visas in the future? What about if her I-539 is rejected and she begins to accrue unlawful presence; are there even greater negative consequences on her ability to get visas in the future? I have heard that this happens, but wanted to confirm that with the experts on this board.

Thanks so much in advance!




nelsona said:
In 2013, you both need to renew TN/TD status
She will need a new visa in 2012, not 2012, if she travels. I'm quite sure her visa it was only issued for 3 years in 2010. You, as a Cdn won't get a visa, you get your status at border or by mail like always.

Unfortunately, because of your status expiring in 2013, she will likely only get a consular visa for 2012 to 2013 -- or not leave the US, and will have to go thru this again when you get a further TN. That is the life of a non-Cdn spouse of a TN.

You need to rememebr that she (not you) has to have a valid TD status (an I-94) to be in US, and a valid TD consular visa to enter US. As long as she has a valid visa, she can get her TS status at the border (to match your TN status).

Most can get TD visas in canada, by appointment. No need to return to home country.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for your help once again!

nelsona said:
Filing an I-539 will keep her in status; it is not required that it be approved before her current TD expires, having it in process is sufficient. She will be in TD pending status.

If her I-539 is rejected, she will be instructed to leave, and she will not accrue illegal presence until then. She would simply leave and get TD visa at foreign consulate and re-enter on new I-94.

Not a big worry, but it is time to stop asking questions and get this done.
Click to expand...
 
My wife filed her I-539 extension last week, 2 months before her I-94 expires. From the uscis.gov website, we saw that the expected processing time is 2.5 months, so there is a real possibility that we will hear back after her I-94 expires. I'd still like to ask for your expert opinion on this matter: if my wife ends up being out of status for a few weeks before she gets her I-539 decision, does it affect her ability to get visas in the future?

I have heard that this is the case, but haven't been able to find much about it online. It is important to us because if that is the case, we will plan for her to leave the country if she still hasn't received her I-539 decision by the time her I-94 expires.

Thanks so much in advance!
 
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