Please help!!! My parents are issued limited stay!! Please help!!

O

OMFSmolar

Registered Users (C)
Hi everyone,

My dad visited me on 3/28/2013 on a B2 visa. He stayed till 9/2/2013. He is returning to the US today on 10/29/2013. However, at the custom, an officer stamped on his visa stating "stay limited" till 12/28/2013, no EOS/AOS/COS.

Does anyone know why this happened?? Can we do anything about it?? My understanding is that visitor can stay up to 6 months per entry, and the visa is for multiple entries as long as the visa is not expired.

I really hope someone can help me with this.

Thank you for your help in advance!
 
I don't see anything too strange. While a B1/B2 visa holder is generally given 6 months each visit, it is not meant to be used as a de facto green card. When you visit for five months then immediately visit again, the CBP might think that you're trying to live in USA.

You can try extending his stay by filing I-539 with the CIS, but they are likely to think the same way as the CBP and deny it.

IIRC the paper I-94 has been replaced with an electronic version.
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/id_visa/i-94_instructions/
 
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It's always up to the officer's discretion how long a duration of stay to give. It's not uncommon to be given one month sometimes. 6 months is just the max they can give.
 
Thank you so much for your response.

So from March 2013 to March 2014, my dad can only stay in the US up to 6 months?? So does it mean if he comes back after March 2014, he should be able to stay for another 6 months?

My husband is wondering if the "new" year starts from March 2014 or Jan 2014?

Thanks again for all your help!
 
OMFSmolar said:
Thank you so much for your response.

So from March 2013 to March 2014, my dad can only stay in the US up to 6 months?? So does it mean if he comes back after March 2014, he should be able to stay for another 6 months?

My husband is wondering if the "new" year starts from March 2014 or Jan 2014?

Thanks again for all your help!
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I don't know how they calculate it, as I have never seen an official formula for it. My best guess is that it depends on each CBP officer's judgment. There was somebody here whose wife used B1/B2 for three consecutive visits of 5 months with a month in between, she was denied entry the fourth time around and sent back.
 
You dad spent more than 5 months in the US during his last visit and then returned within two months. The officer at the POE determined that your fathers seems to be using his visitor visa to live in the US. As simple as that.
No genuine visitor to the US should spend more than 6 months in the US during any 12 month rolling window.

OMFSmolar said:
Does anyone know why this happened?? Can we do anything about it?? My understanding is that visitor can stay up to 6 months per entry, and the visa is for multiple entries as long as the visa is not expired.
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