Extend B1/B2 Visa

[Vegas1 3]

Can a person with a B1/B2 visa remain in the USA for 6 months without leaving?

Is that the maximum length of stay?

If someone came to the USA for 1 month on a different arrival, can they still stay 6 months?

I believe the passport is stamped with the correct maximum length of stay when someone arrives. Is this correct?

Thanks for any info.

[Vegas1 3]

My stepson has a 10 year B1/B2 USA Visa. As I understand it, he can only be in the USA for 6 months out of the year. He has already been here one month this year so he has 5 months remaining for this year ... please correct me if I'm wrong. Here is my situation and question.

Situation:

My stepson's mother/my wife will be having surgery which will take about 2 months to recover. During her recovery, I will be having surgery that will take 4-12 months for recovery.

My wife doesn't drive but I do. I will not be able to drive after surgery for 4-12 months. For the 2 months my wife is recovering my wife can't take care of me and of course can't drive because she doesn't have a license or a permit.

Question:

My stepson can drive and take care of us during our recovery. Is there some way or some form I can submit to get his visa stay extended to more than 6 months so he can drive us to doctor appointments and take care of us?

Thanks for any info.

[EndlessStory 53]

Is depends on the date that is stamped on your passport. It's usually 6 months but sometimes the officer can stamp a shorter date too.

[Boiler 45,486]

The date he can stay to is governed by his I94, there should be a date in his passport.

B2 is a Visitor Visa, there is effectively no visa for home help.

[aaron2020 11,651]

My stepson has a 10 year B1/B2 USA Visa. As I understand it, he can only be in the USA for 6 months out of the year. He has already been here one month this year so he has 5 months remaining for this year ... please correct me if I'm wrong. Here is my situation and question.

Situation:

My stepson's mother/my wife will be having surgery which will take about 2 months to recover. During her recovery, I will be having surgery that will take 4-12 months for recovery.

My wife doesn't drive but I do. I will not be able to drive after surgery for 4-12 months. For the 2 months my wife is recovering my wife can't take care of me and of course can't drive because she doesn't have a license or a permit.

Question:

My stepson can drive and take care of us during our recovery. Is there some way or some form I can submit to get his visa stay extended to more than 6 months so he can drive us to doctor appointments and take care of us?

Thanks for any info.

Hi,

Your stepson can not be your caretaker and driver on a visitor visa. This is considered work which is not permitted on a visitor visa. Helping you and your wife could result in losing his visitor visa and being banned from the US for 5 years.

Apply for a green card if you want him to be able to work in the US to care for you and be your driver.

He can apply to extend his visit, but he needs to provide a valid reason why. Working to care for you is not a valid reason.

Edited June 30, 2014 by aaron2020

[aaron2020 11,651]

A visitor visa holder MAY be permitted up to six months. So, a visa holder can get 6 months or 0 days.

Look at your I-94. That determines how long you can stay.

[Vegas1 3]

WOW ... I find it hard to believe that my government considers taking care of your elderly parents work and not family support.

He won't be getting paid so a work visa doesn't seem possible. So once again I find it hard to believe that my government would consider taking care of your elderly parents work.

Can you give me a USCIS or State website that backs up your claim?

[Boiler 45,486]

Just look up what you are permitted to do on a B2.

[aaron2020 11,651]

Go to the Philippines subforum and ask how many of them were able to bring their mothers over to help care for their new borns.

Edited June 30, 2014 by aaron2020

[Mitch0526 1]

The I-94 is just something you receive at border control or what? My wife will cross over in 2 days and I have read about the I-94 and wasn't sure if that's just something they give her or what?

[jan22 3,053]

There is actually a lot of information out there on this...I've pulled a couple of examples for you.

For the B-2 portion of the visa, there is this from the U.S. Embassy Chisinau (Moldova) website (http://moldova.usembassy.gov/visitor-visa.html) (bolding added):

In the United States Foreign nationals in the United States on B-2 status are allowed to visit family and friends and travel throughout the United States. However, as tourists, they are not allowed to engage in any skilled or unskilled labor. This means that they may not perform any sort of activity for which an American resident would be paid. This could include working at a construction site, helping out at a friend or relative's place of business, or even babysitting a relative's children. A foreign national on B-2 classification who engages in any of these activities may have a difficult time qualifying for a tourist (or any other type of visa) in the future.

If your stepson were not there, and you need the support you are discussing, you would have to employ someone to assist you. It doesn't matter if you are actually paying your stepson or not -- just that someone would have to be paid to do the work if he weren't there. (And, BTW, depending on how old you are -- not sure what "elderly" is any more, some of it might be covered by Medicare.)

To reference information specifically for the B-1 portion of the visa, there is this from USCIS website (http://www.uscis.gov/eir/visa-guide/b-1-business-visitor/understanding-b-1-requirements):

Generally speaking, you cannot engage in any activity or perform a service that would constitute local employment for hire within the United States. What constitutes local employment for hire will depend on the circumstances of each case, but generally speaking, any activity you perform in the United States must be directly connected with and part of your work abroad.

Add to that, to be permitted entry into the US on a visa, the immigration officer has to believe that the person seeking entry still meets the qualifications of the visa and is not intending to do anything not in keeping with the visa classification (here, a B1/B2). One of the requirements of that visa -- in addition to the links I've included as examples -- is to be able to show compelling ties to your home country that would require you to return, e.g., family, employment, a residence all of which you have no intention of abandoning. How can your stepson show that, if he can be away from his home country ties for up to a year?

I'm sorry for your situation and hope you find a way to work things out.

Edited June 30, 2014 by jan22

[RhettVoe 282]

The above is correct....and besides, what job does he have that hands out 6-9 month paid vacations?

the way to look at this situation is the following: if he wasn't going to be around, you would have to pay for people to provide those various services, hence, what he would be doing is considered work...it does not matter if you hand him cash in exchange for those services...(you are giving him room and board)...and there are NO exceptions for relatives working for other relatives...none....zero...(this is where people often try to use semantics in their cover letters requesting an extension, about how they 'need' be with their relative in their time of healing....(carefully glossing over what they are really planning to do)...while he might succeed, you should be aware of the fact that our COs overseas can look up entry and exit records if they choose to do so, and if they see that he camped out for many many months, they will wonder the same thing I mentioned above...what job in eastern Europe doles out lengthy paid vacations to their employees? (none)...and how did he manage to support himself for months and months in the US? And what occupied his free time?

And when the answers don't make sense, or he winds up telling in a roundabout fashion what it was he was doing, good bye tourist visa....is that really worth the risk? because if his visa gets cancelled, it will be a long long long time before he ever gets another one (because he will have violated the trust given to him)...you may think this is absurd, but your opinions on this issue don't trump our laws.

So think carefully about what it is your are considering...which is violating the rules governing activities with a B2 visa.

(and if you are still in disbelief, go to the library, get a copy of the Immigration & Nationality Act, peruse the chapter on B2 visas and find the exception to working that pertains to relatives....hint....you won't find it)

[JohnR! 5,495]

Presuming he is admitted as a tourist, he can request an extension of his stay for another 6 months - also presuming he would be given months upon arrival.

He will need to fill out form I-539 - you can download the form here: ---> http://www.uscis.gov/forms

There are consequences though. His current 10-year visa will be automatically cancelled when/if he files for the extension, which means that he will need to apply for a new tourist visa in the future, in order to come visit. The reason being the consulate will possibly want to know the reason of his extended stay this time around. Depending on his circumstances he may have trouble getting a new visa.

So, while it is possible and several people do get their visas extended, you need to mitigate that with his circumstances lest he be denied a visa in the future.

Good luck!

My stepson has a 10 year B1/B2 USA Visa. As I understand it, he can only be in the USA for 6 months out of the year. He has already been here one month this year so he has 5 months remaining for this year ... please correct me if I'm wrong. Here is my situation and question.

Situation:

My stepson's mother/my wife will be having surgery which will take about 2 months to recover. During her recovery, I will be having surgery that will take 4-12 months for recovery.

My wife doesn't drive but I do. I will not be able to drive after surgery for 4-12 months. For the 2 months my wife is recovering my wife can't take care of me and of course can't drive because she doesn't have a license or a permit.

Question:

My stepson can drive and take care of us during our recovery. Is there some way or some form I can submit to get his visa stay extended to more than 6 months so he can drive us to doctor appointments and take care of us?

Thanks for any info.

[MacUK 983]

One thing I'm wondering that would probably apply to the OPs situation and more generally.

Is there a limit on how long a tourist may drive within the US while holding a foreign issued driving licence?

[aaron2020 11,651]

One thing I'm wondering that would probably apply to the OPs situation and more generally.

Is there a limit on how long a tourist may drive within the US while holding a foreign issued driving licence?

There's no limit since a visitor can not take residency in the US.