Extension of Stay and Visa Revalidation
EXTENSION OF STAY
Why Do You Need to Extend Your Nonimmigrant Status?
A nonimmigrant temporarily enters the United States for a specific purpose such as business, study, or pleasure. When you entered the country as a nonimmigrant, a U.S. immigration inspector should have examined your passport and visa and then given you an BCIS Form I-94 (Arrival/Departure Record). This record should tell you (in the lower right-hand corner) when you must leave the United States. You can prove you did not violate U.S. laws by turning in your BCIS Form I-94 to the proper authorities when you leave the country. If you want to extend your stay in the United States, then you must ask for permission from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (BCIS) before your authorized stay expires. Proof that you are willing to obey U.S. immigration laws will be important if you want to travel to the United States as an immigrant or nonimmigrant in the future. If you break immigration laws, you may also become subject to removal (deportation).
What Does the Law Say?
The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) governs the admission of all people to the United States. For the part of the law concerning temporary admissions to the United States, please see INA § 214. The applicable regulations are found in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 8 CFR § 214.
Who is Eligible?
You may apply to extend your stay if you were lawfully admitted into the United States with a nonimmigrant visa, your nonimmigrant visa status remains valid, and you have not committed any crimes that would make you ineligible. You must apply to extend your status if you wish to stay longer than the date indicated in the lower right-hand corner of your BCIS Form I-94 (Arrival-Departure Record). Please note, you must submit the application for an extension of stay BEFORE your current authorized stay expires. You must also keep your passport valid for your entire stay in the United States.
You may not apply to extend your stay if you were admitted to the United States in the following visa categories:
(VWPP) - Visa Waiver Pilot Program
D - As a crewman
C - As an alien in transit or in transit without a visa
K - As a fiancé of a U.S. citizen or dependent of a fiancé
S - As an informant (and accompanying family) on terrorism or organized crime
For the following categories of nonimmigrants, your employer should carefully read and file a Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker and any supporting documentation:
E - International Traders and Investors
H - Temporary Workers
L - Intracompany Transferees
O - Aliens of Extraordinary Ability
P - Entertainers and Athletes
Q - Participants in International Exchange Programs
R - Religious Workers
TN - Canadians and Mexicans Under NAFTA
If you are in the following nonimmigrant categories, you should carefully read and complete an Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status and submit any required supporting documents:
A - Diplomatic and other government officials, and their families and employees.
B - Temporary visitors for business or pleasure.
F - Academic Students and their families
G - Representatives to international organizations and their families and employees.
I - Representatives of foreign media and their families
J - Exchange Visitors and their families
M - Vocational Students and their families
N - Parents and children of the people who have been granted special immigrant status because their parents were employed by an international organization in the United States.
How Do My Spouse and Child Apply to Extend Their Stay in the United States?
If your employer files a Petition for Alien Worker for you, then your spouse and child must carefully read and complete an Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status and submit any required supporting documents to extend their stay. It is best to submit both forms at the same time.
If you are filing for your own extension, you may include your spouse and any unmarried children under the age of 21 in your application if you are all in the same nonimmigrant category. You may also include your spouse or children in your application if they were given derivative nonimmigrant status. This means that your spouse and children were given nonimmigrant visas based on your nonimmigrant status. For instance, if a student is given an F-1 "Academic Student" visa, then the spouse and child are given F-2 "Spouse and Child of an Academic Student" visas.
When Should I Apply?
We recommends that you apply to extend your stay at least 45 days before your authorized stay expires, but the BCIS Service Center must receive your application by the day your authorized stay expires.
What If My Authorized Stay Has Already Expired? (What If I Am Late Filing for an Extension?)
If you are late filing for an extension and your authorized stay has already expired, you must prove that:
The delay was due to extraordinary circumstances beyond your control;
The length of the delay was reasonable;
You have not done anything else to violate your nonimmigrant status (such as work without BCIS approval);
You are still a nonimmigrant (This means you are not trying to become a permanent resident of the United States. There are some exceptions.);
You are not in formal proceedings to remove (deport) you from the country.
How Do I Get Another BCIS Form I-94 "Arrival/Departure Document" If the Original Was Submitted With the Application to Extend My Stay?
If your application for an extension is approved, you will be issued a replacement I-94 with a new departure date. If your application is denied, your original I-94 will be returned with a request for your immediate departure.
VISA REVALIDATION
Revalidating Visas in the U.S.
The Diplomatic Liaison Division of the Visa Office revalidates diplomatic and official visas. In addition, the Visa Office also accepts applications for revalidation of employment category (E,H, I, L, O & P) visas for aliens who have previously been issued a visa of the same category at a U.S. mission abroad and meet certain other criteria. These aliens also have the option of revalidating their visas at overseas issuing posts. Because the processing of visa applications routinely take 6 to 8 weeks, we do not recommend the use of our services to employment category applicants who anticipate urgent travel.
Issuance of a new visa cannot be guaranteed. If an application does not meet all criteria established for revalidation by the Visa Office, or if there is any other reason why the application is not clearly approvable upon receipt in the Visa Office, the applicant will be required to make a new application at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate abroad.
The Visa Office can only accept applications for revalidation of the following types of visas: H, L, O, P, E or I. These visas can only be revalidated if your passport contains a previous visa of the same classification as the visa now being sought. If you do not have an existing visa in your passport of the same category that you seek, you can only obtain a new visa by applying at a U.S. consulate or embassy abroad or through the U.S. border post program.
B1/B2 (visitor), F (student) and J (exchange visitor) visas cannot be revalidated in the U.S.
The Visa Office can no longer revalidate visas for nationals of the seven countries currently designated as state sponsors of terrorism. Such individuals must apply for their visas at U.S. Embassies or Consulates abroad. For more information, please see the Notice: Special Visa Processing Procedures Pursuant to Section 306 of the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Reform Act of 2002.
Required Documentation
Each applicant for a visitor visa must pay a nonrefundable US$100 application fee and submit:
1) An application Form DS-156, completed and signed. Blank forms are available without charge at all U.S. consular offices;
2) A passport valid for travel to the United States and with a validity date at least six months beyond the applicant's intended period of stay in the United States. If more than one person is included in the passport, each person desiring a visa must make an application;
3) Two photographs 1 and 1/2 inches square (37x37 mm) for each applicant, showing full face, without head covering, against a light background.
Photograph requirements for nonimmigrant visa applications:
- A passport-sized photograph measuring 1 1/2 inches by 1 1/2 inches
- The photograph must have been taken within the last six months.
- The photograph may either be in color or black and white, but must have only a plain, white background.
- Photos with colored, dark or patterned backgrounds will not be accepted.
- For persons wearing glasses, there must be no reflection around the eyes. Photos with reflections will not be accepted.
- The photograph must be a full-frontal view, taken facing the camera - no side or angled views are acceptable.
- The face on the photograph must occupy approximately 40-50% of the whole photograph. (Facial images too small/large will not be accepted.)
4) and, all male nonimmigrant visa applicants between the ages of 16 and 45, regardless of nationality and regardless of where they apply, must complete and submit a form DS-157 in addition to the Nonimmigrant Visa Application (DS-156). Applications submitted without the required forms will be refused.
If your existing visa is still valid, it will not be considered for re-issuance until the remaining validity is within sixty days of expiring. You do not require a new visa merely because you have changed employers and received a new I-797 petition from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (BCIS). If your current visa is still valid, you may reenter the US with that visa as long as you are in possession of a valid I-797, even though the visa contains the information from your former employer.
How Can I Check the Status of My Application?
Click on the menu button to the left, labeled "Check Case Status" and enter your file number.
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