Need Help! Visitor Visa Extension question with I-485 pending

V

Venu123

Registered Users (C)
Dear Friends,

I am a USC and have applied for my parents' GC back in Nov'2013 through AOS. They landed in the US on a tourist visa in Oct'2013.

Since then, they both have received their A# and have been finger printed. My dad applied for EAD and got the same. My mom didn't apply for EAD. Neither of them applied for Advance Parole (as they weren't planning on traveling).

This is my question -

Their I-94 expiration date (on their tourist visas) is end of Mar'2014. With their I-485 receipt and A# in hand, do they still need to apply for their B2 visa extension?

Also, if we need to apply for an extension - is it too late (less than 45 days). And, if we apply now - what do we need to receive from USCIS in order to be assured that they are not out-of-status??

Thanks for your time and help.

Venu.
 
<<do they still need to apply for their B2 visa extension?>>
No. They are in legal status now and will remain that way till their case is decided. You should apply for advanced parole anyway because if they have to leave in an emergency before getting the approval for GC (let's say they want to attend a funeral of a loved one -- people assume that they have no travel plans but life is uncertain) if they leave without AP, all the effort that you have put in for GC will be wasted since you will have to apply again.
 
del0175,

Thanks, for your quick response. I had a similar understanding, but wanted to confirm.

While starting this thread, I read somewhere that - "While on Visitor Visa, its advised to apply for AOS after at least 3 months of US stay in order to steer clear of immigration fraud". Reading that made me a pinch nervous, as we had applied for my parents AOS within a month of their arrival in B2 status.

Could you (or other immigration portal readers) please share your thoughts on that?

Venu.
 
That was (and is) sound advice. Waiting for 90 days before applying for AOS while on B-2 status is a good safety precaution. Applying for AOS within a month may end up being an unpleasant point of discussion at the AOS interview.


Venu123 said:
While starting this thread, I read somewhere that - "While on Visitor Visa, its advised to apply for AOS after at least 3 months of US stay in order to steer clear of immigration fraud". Reading that made me a pinch nervous, as we had applied for my parents AOS within a month of their arrival in B2 status.

Could you (or other immigration portal readers) please share your thoughts on that?
Click to expand...
 
Triple citizen is right. The way you handled this petition makes it appear as if your parents never really intended to visit the US on a tourist visa (which is the intent of the visa and whether the visitor is asked this specifically or not, that is implied intent). This is often a red flag, and I wonder if you waited even a month to do this (this is critical because of the 30/60 day rules still followed by many officers to assess intent of an alien. Some smart decision maker at USCIS will conclude that in order to submit the application, you probably started working on it as soon as they landed because it takes some time to organize all the paperwork and your parents probably brought along with them documents like birth certificates that a typical visitor would not). So, while a kind officer might simply ignore all this and give a stamp of approval, another agent may deny the application and ask them to seek consular processing after cancelling their visitor visa.

Also if this was their very first trip to the United States, it might be concluded that they engaged in fraudulent misrepresentation (meaning at the time of applying for tourist visas they lied about their intentions), which could also result in denial of their visitor visa and rejection of GC application. So for you, all this could mean hiring excellent attorneys to appeal if there is a rejection. That could mean years of litigation and getting stuck in the US while the case gets resolved.
 
Venu123, since you have already submitted the paperwork, it is be better to be patient than panic about it. It is recommended that you wait 90 days but I know of cases where they started the green card processing for their parents who entered on B-2 visa, just a month after they came to US. They did not have any issues and they got their green card without an interview. In the worst situation, they may be called for an interview and asked a few questions.
Just relax and everything will work out fine :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top