MiL approved for Tourist Visa - question on length of stay

[ameribrazil 37]

First and foremost, shout out to @GABIMATCH for providing me a copy of the invitation letter that she used before - it helped my mother-in-law get approved.

 

So to my question:

 

My MiL has been approved for her tourist visa, but during her interview, she told the CO that she would travel around Nov to join us for Thanksgiving. They asked her how long she was planning on staying and she said 15 days. The CO told her that they would be asking the same question again at POE and that her answer should match what she said at her interview.

 

Unfortunately, she cannot join us for the Thanksgiving holiday because she forgot that she had other obligations that she cannot postpone. So instead she'll come in Dec for the Christmas holidays from Dec 2 - Jan 9. We would like her to stay pass the new years and then head back home. But this is more than the 15 days she told the CO. If her return date is beyond the 15 days she mentioned at the interview, would she be turned away from POE? My wife is worried that they would send her back at POE. She has no intention to over stay or live here as she a lot going on in Brazil.

 

Thanks

[Unlockable 7,314]

No worries. It will not be a problem. They understand that not everything goes as planned and things change. She can stay the allotted time.

 

However, you should be aware that it is not you nor your MIL who determines how long the allotted time of stay within the US. It is the POE agent. For instance, the agent can place in your MIL's passport that she is only allowed to stay for 7 days. That would mean she would only have one week to visit. This is only a possibility of happening not a probability. It is very common that agents give a visitor up to 6 months stay in the US per trip. The previously mentioned scenario is when visitors come and stay in the US for long periods of time repeatedly. The agents want to be sure that the visitors aren't abusing their visitor visas by living in the US.

 

Congrats and good luck.

Edited October 9, 2017 by NuestraUnion

[ameribrazil 37]

5 minutes ago, NuestraUnion said:

No worries. It will not be a problem. They understand that not everything goes as planned and things change. She can stay the allotted time.

 

However, you should be aware that it is not you nor your MIL who determines how long the allotted time of stay within the US. It is the POE agent. For instance, the agent can place in your MIL's passport that she is only allowed to stay for 7 days. That would mean she would only have one week to visit. This is only a possibility of happening not a probability. It is very common that agents give a visitor up to 6 months stay in the US per trip. The previously mentioned scenario is when visitors come and stay in the US for long periods of time repeatedly. The agents want to be sure that the visitors aren't abusing their visitor visas by living in the US.

 

Congrats and good luck.

Thank you NuestraUnion! This is what I hoping for but needed to double check first before booking her flight.