shayward

My Dad got approved for permanent residence in January and was due to head out to us in April. Considering all of the chaos right now we'd like to apply for an extension to the requirement to arrive within 6 months of being approved.

Does anyone know if this is possible? I haven't been able to find anything on the USCIS website, and i'm not 100% what i should be searching for anyway.

As it currently stands he needs to get to the USA before June 30th before his 6 month window is up.

Its also been hard to find information on whether he is exempt from the travel ban since he has been approved for permanent residence but he hasn't actually entered the country yet and so therefore doesn't have an actual green card.

We have emailed USCIS, and if they respond I will post the information on here.

I'm guessing there must be a number of people in a similar state of limbo with approved visas, 6 months ticking away and a travel ban.

civilservant

Not possible. If the visa expires he has to start all over again.

I also don't think he'll be exempt from the ban as he is 1) not yet a PR and 2) not a spouse of a USC;

I am not sure if USCIS will allow any grace period for visas issued during this time, but I suspect not, since visa validity is a matter of law not policy.

Oh and by the way, it's 6 months from the date of the medical, NOT 6 months from visa issuance.

shayward

Thanks for the response.

I should have added more information that now seems relevant.

Though he is a UK citizen, he lives in South Africa and SA is not one of the countries currently banned from entry.

Also, is your answer based on experience or because you work for USCIS?

civilservant

That's quite a large fact to leave out! If he is not living in a travel ban country then it will not apply to him.

No one on this board works for USCIS as far as I am aware.

shayward

So for others coming to this thread, i read the ban in more detail and it says that it applies to people who have been in the banned countries 14 days prior to arriving in the US.

So an option may be to fly via a non=banned country, stay there for at least 14 days and then head over.

This is not advice, btw, just a thought.

Pulaski

Given how quickly things are moving, I suspect that it is only a matter of days before all international air travel is heavily restricted.

shayward

Since most infections are spreading locally i think that the international travel bans are basically shutting the barn door after the horse has already bolted.

scrubbedexpat099

The issue is the medical, presumably they will reissue the visa and up date with and an updated medical?

Pulaski

We have moved so far outside of "normal operating conditions" that it is highly likely that many of the operational rules will no longer apply, so dogmatically saying "that isn't possible" is not going to be appropriate, and nobody knows how the rules may be flexed or changed.

I am not saying that the primary visa application requirements will be changed, but things like timing, location and availability of interviews, medical requirements, etc. could be readily changed by executive order. Whether they will be, and if they are, how, remains to be seen.
I think here is a good chance that, under the circumstances, that will happen. .... The criminal record check may also have to be refreshed.

civilservant

'Dogmatic' or not, I prefer not to speculate on something for which there is zero evidence.

There has been no statements of any kind, that I have seen, from US or any other Federal Agency, that support your wild speculation.

Pulaski

You seem to have overlooked where I said "nobody knows", and in the current state of the world, I would characterize "ain't gonna happen" as wild speculation. I have no doubt you would have said the same thing 14 days ago if someone had suggested that transatlantic air routes would be all but shut down before the end of March.

scrubbedexpat099

If I could remember the details... there is something within the regulations that covers this, and I forget when and where I read it, anyway in the big picture I would not let this be a great concern, something that can and will be resolved.

shayward

So we have since discovered that you can apply for an extension of you validity period in extenuating circumstances..... which I'd these times qualify as!

Haven't exactly figured out how to apply yet, but working on that next.

Pulaski

Don't worry, you probably have a year or so to work out the details.

shayward

We have about 6 weeks to figure it out since that is when his visa expires.

If you've got nothing helpful to add then maybe you shouldn't post.

Since my father has sold the house, and packed up his worldly belongings we're trying to figure out how to stop him from being homeless. So i have a lot to worry about jackass.