Kash100

Hello All:

My mother has a 10 year multiple entry visa to the US. She came to the US again in Dec 02. It's her third visit. At that time, unlike the previous two occasions, she was given a 3 month stamp at the airport by the INS. I'm thinking of getting her visa extended but have a few questions as follows:

1) What if her extension is not granted by the INS? Does it have any effect on her 10 year visa?

2) Whether it makes sense to hire a lawyer for this?

3) Approximately how many days it takes for the INS to get back to us in such a case?

Thanks for all your help.

Kash100

John McHugh

No. Her 10 year visa gives her the "right" to request entry to the U.S. for 10 years for non-immigration puposes. Each entry is an independent situation. If she is denied an extension, then she is supposed to leave but is not responsible for the time that her request was pending.

I don't think that should be necessary. I helped my wife (before she was my wife) and later her brother successfully obtain extensions. I just wrote a letter explaining why each wanted an extension and included information on how they would be supporting themselves. The instructions lay out the things they want to see evidence of.

INS confirms receipt of the the I-539 very quickly, which places the individual in a legal status until they act on the request. In both cases, they approved the request. Oddly, with my brother-in-law, the approval came much faster, and this one was post 9/11 (about one vs. four months, if I remember correctly).

leej

As the other posted correctly stated the Visa only enables a person to travel, i.e. ask permission to enter the US at the time they land in the U.S.

The INS inspector at the airport or other port of entry, determines the duration of authorized stay. In the past, many visitors from the U.K. were given authorized stays of longer than 90 days if they had an actual B-1/B-2 visa in their passport (Versus the Visa Waiver Program - 90 days maximum).

However, with the events of 9/11, all visitors are now asked how long they need to stay and given just that amount of time and a default of 60 days or less seems to be in effect. Any requested stays of a greater length will require documentation to prove the necessity of such a period of stay.

As for processing times - the I-539 is the form used to request B-2 extensions and is the same form used to process change of status or extension of stay requests for F-1 or M-1 students. In the past I-539s, were given low priority by the INS and at times took 18 months to process.

However, due to the embarassment of the 9/11 hijackers' M-1 visa applications being approved 6 months after the 9/11 event, and INS' change in policy that no foreign student can start school until their F-1 or M-1 status has been approved, all I-539s including B-2 extensions have been "fast tracked" to a processing time of approximately 60 days.