Extending visit visa (B2)

[IndigoSkies 168]

My grandmother is a legal resident of UK. She's citizen of Bangladesh. She got tourist visa to US and she's been coming and going to US for last two decades. Every few years she comes and stays in US for 6 months and leaves. She's gotten very old and travelling is becoming hard for her. So this time, we want to extend her visit visa so she can stay a bit longer than the 6 months allowed. I filled out the I539  form online for her and I did so 60 days before her visit visa of 6 months expires. The case number I got doesn't tell me what service center the form went to. But current processing time in all of them are more than 2.5 to 3 months. So by the time we get the approval of extending her say, she will have gone over the 6 months. Should we risk it and let her say beyond her 6 months hoping that her extension will be approved. And she can stay 3 more months. Or should we send her back before the 6 months end. In that case, the approval will come after she's gone and it will not help us and I will have wasted $455 for nothing in the fee. 

 

We did get the NOA1 for this. Can she stay the 3 more months with NOA1? Seems like she can. Will she have trouble coming back to US again someday in future? What do you guys think we should do? Many years ago, we applied for extension for her and that approval came within a month. She said 6+3 months and left before 9 months. No issue. She came back few times after that. No issue. This time the approval won't probably come in time. Just wanted to know what do you guys think about this. Thanks for your help.  Though I am not an active member of VJ anymore, I appreciate this site and uses a lot. You guys have helped me throughout the last decade so much and have literally saved me thousands and thousands of dollars in lawyer fees. I believe in a self-correcting universe. You will get the reward for all the good deeds you've done for me and my family and for countless others. :)

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

You’re seem to be assuming she’ll get approved. If she is denied and has stayed past her i94 date her visa will be automatically cancelled and she will likely find it very difficult to get a new one after that happens. So to my mind it’s the trade off of the risk of that (if she’s that frail she may not want to travel again anyway? so it might not matter) vs your $455. 

 

[Dashinka 24,717]

I agree with @SusieQQQ, only she (your grandmother) can assess the risk of the extension being denied and losing her B2.

 

Good Luck!

[Mollie09 1,543]

I wouldn't risk it. Without a pressing reason to extend her status, you're risking her visa being canceled and a new one being hard to obtain with an overstay.

[JFH 12,191]

If she's getting frail, can she even get travel insurance to cover her (potential) medical needs for the extra months?

[geowrian 22,338]

17 minutes ago, IndigoSkies said:

We did get the NOA1 for this. Can she stay the 3 more months with NOA1? Seems like she can.

She will not accrue unlawful presence while the EOS is being adjudicated.

 

17 minutes ago, IndigoSkies said:

Will she have trouble coming back to US again someday in future?

Every entry is at the discretion of CBP. A very extended stay would be a strong, negative factor.

An overstay (i.e. if denied) would revoke her existing visa automatically, and getting a new one shortly afterwards would be unlikely.

[thatguyuknow 147]

Does your mum not want to stay permanently in the USA? If she does you could always apply for her GC 

[Boiler 45,918]

46 minutes ago, JFH said:

If she's getting frail, can she even get travel insurance to cover her (potential) medical needs for the extra months?

I was wondering that, that is where the money is, travel insurance for someone old and frail is very expensive for obvious reasons and getting it extended?

 

Which Insurer does she use, a not uncommon question and would be good to know. I remember this being the big issue for my Mother.

[JFH 12,191]

42 minutes ago, thatguyuknow said:

Does your mum not want to stay permanently in the USA? If she does you could always apply for her GC 

It's his grandmother. No route to an immigrant visa for her. Unless he brings his mother/father, she/he then becomes a USC and petitions her/his mother. Given the advanced years of the grandmother, there may not be enough years left to do that.

[thatguyuknow 147]

6 minutes ago, JFH said:

It's his grandmother. No route to an immigrant visa for her. Unless he brings his mother/father, she/he then becomes a USC and petitions her/his mother. Given the advanced years of the grandmother, there may not be enough years left to do that.

 

What a pie. Thanks for correcting me. I thought it was his mum.

[civilservant 42]

Send her back before the expiration of the current stay. She isn't going to get the extension.

 

 

[Unlockable 7,315]

I agree with others that it is not worth the risk. Six months is a long time to spend together. Most people don't even get that. Be thankful for the time she has.

 

As others said, if the extension is denied, her B2 visa will be voided. But even then, if it is approved and she stay another 3 months, the next time she wants to come to see you the CBP officer may take into account that your grandmother is staying longer and longer per visit. They may then deny her entry. 

[IndigoSkies 168]

On 6/19/2019 at 10:26 AM, SusieQQQ said:

You’re seem to be assuming she’ll get approved. If she is denied and has stayed past her i94 date her visa will be automatically cancelled and she will likely find it very difficult to get a new one after that happens. So to my mind it’s the trade off of the risk of that (if she’s that frail she may not want to travel again anyway? so it might not matter) vs your $455. 

Yeah. I'm assuming she will get approved for extension. She's 90+ years old and has always gone back on time. With extension or not. Past doesn't mean future will be the same. That's why I posted here to get your ideas. Before Trump, extending visa was a easy procedure. They would let you know yes or no within few weeks. Not the case anymore. She's still got 2 months within her 6 months visit visa stay. I'll wait till 5.5 month and then send her back if I don't get the approval letter for visa extension by then.

 

On 6/19/2019 at 10:36 AM, JFH said:

If she's getting frail, can she even get travel insurance to cover her (potential) medical needs for the extra months?

Because she's legal resident of UK, she gets free healthcare in UK. And so far, luckily, when my grandmother stays with us, she doesn't need any extensive healthcare. Just routine check up and the odd pressure medicine here and there. The medication are reasonably price where I can just pay for those medicine. 

 

On 6/19/2019 at 10:48 AM, thatguyuknow said:

Does your mum not want to stay permanently in the USA? If she does you could always apply for her GC 

My mother is already a US citizen. This is my grandmother (my father's mother). She's permanent resident of UK and we have more family in UK than in US. She doesn't want to stay in US permanently. If she did, my US citizen father can apply for her and she'd become a legal resident of US within a year or so. But she doesn't want to stay in US permanently. And UK has free(r) healthcare, more family members, etc. 

 

After having read all of your advice, here's what we are going to do. We already bought ticket for her to leave before here initial 6 month's visa expiration. If, however, we get the extension approval before she leaves, she's obviously going to stay longer. I'll just pay the difference to change her ticket. We aren't going to risk her staying longer without the approval letter. We do want her to come back in another year or so. Thanks for all of your inputs. Stay blessed and helpful, folks. 😀

 

[Boiler 45,918]

She does not have Travel Insurance?

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

7 hours ago, IndigoSkies said:

 

 

Because she's legal resident of UK, she gets free healthcare in UK. And so far, luckily, when my grandmother stays with us, she doesn't need any extensive healthcare. Just routine check up and the odd pressure medicine here and there. The medication are reasonably price where I can just pay for those medicine. 

 

I agree with boiler, does she have travel insurance? It’s fairly reckless if not, if something happens she may not be able to travel back to the UK to use the free healthcare to fix it. And the older people get, the more things are likely to happen. A simple fall can mean a broken bone.