Possible overstay on B1 visa. When/how do I disclose?

[FLAussie 5]

Thank you to everyone for the helpful answers on my last questions. I have packet one (I-129F / G-325a) just about done, and should be posting it in the next week or so!

The one thing I haven't figured out is when/how/if I need to file something re the last time I was in the US. What happened is:

1. I was flagged for secondary screening last time I entered the US before I even got to the airport; I still don't know why.
2. After a long, awful interrogation they did let me enter the country, but only for two months, and B-2 not B-1 (even though I had some business matters I still needed to attend to, and told them so).
3. I filed an I-539 requesting an extension and change from B-2 to B-1.
4. The date written on my I-94 was a Sunday; I posted the I-539 that Monday, via express post so it should've got there on Tuesday. So literally two days after the date I was meant to have left by. (I know I should've got it to them earlier; stuff happened.)
5. I left the US 3 weeks later, before I got a response; I still don't know if they granted me the extension or not!

I honestly do not know if I overstayed or not. If they granted me the extension, then I definitely didn't overstay. If they didn't grant it, then I'm pretty sure I had to leave immediately after they notified me... but I'd already left before then. So does that mean that technically I didn't overstay either way, because I requested an extension??

When it gets to interview stage, obviously I will explain what happened, and that I spent lots of time and $300-odd trying to get a 3 week extension so I would be there legally the whole time, even though I hadn't been able to leave by the date CBP told me to leave by.

But for the moment, I'm just concerned about getting packet one in. Do I need to say anything about the (maybe) overstay in there? Or does it come up later in the process?

And... am I just worrying myself about nothing?? I searched the forums for an answer before posting this, and came across so many stories of people who overstayed for months and still seemed to get K-1s just fine. Getting interrogated scared the ####### out of me though, especially because I had never broken the rules at all ever, so now I'm anxious dealing with US immigration in general. (They accused me of basically everything short of being a terrorist, including faking my disability, secretly living in the US even though my passport clearly showed I hadn't been there for ages, and a bunch of other stuff besides. Possibly because I had some homemade herbal tea in my bags, because after interrogating me for hours and pulling apart all my luggage, that was literally the only thing they found that I'd done wrong.)

[Hypnos 6,576]

If your extension request was denied then your unlawful presence began the day after your I-94 expired, as your extension request wasnt filed on a timely basis.

I doubt it will be an issue, although if you have the receipt number you could look it up online and see exactly how it was adjudicated.

Edited April 20, 2014 by Hypnos

[FLAussie 5]

I doubt it will be an issue, although if you have the receipt number you could look it up online and see exactly how it was adjudicated.

Excuse my ignorance, but where do I go to look it up?

I'm not sure I have the receipt number, but I can dig through paperwork and see if I can find one.

[Hypnos 6,576]

You would look for the receipt number that they would have sent you and put it into https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/Dashboard/CaseStatus.do to see what the final outcome of the request was.

[FLAussie 5]

You would look for the receipt number that they would have sent you and put it into https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/Dashboard/CaseStatus.do to see what the final outcome of the request was.

Thank you!

I wasn't able to find a receipt number (I literally didn't receive a single piece of correspondence in reply to my application; I was already out of the country before any of it arrived) but I did find a form to ask them to re-send a letter. Fingers crossed I'll find out soon...