Argentina - Tourist Visa Expiring

[Fla&Mark 58]

Hello everybody. I'm a US resident. I'm pregnant and my family wants to come over from Argentina to meet the kid. When they went to buy their flights they noticed that some family member's visa are expiring next year. They already submitted the application, but they got the interview scheduled for March 2023 (!!!!!!!) Anyway, I read over here that it's the regular timeline that we're looking at for tourist visas. 

 

My questions are:

1- Is the expiration date considered the last day they can stay here? I mean, if they want to enter the country one week before it expires and then it expire while they are over here. Would that be an issue? could they get denied to enter the country if that's the case?

2- I'm searching information about the situations that are considered to approve an expedited appointment but I don't think the birth of a grandkid would be considered one. Any advice on that?

3- Can the fact that they already applied for a new visa while they still have a couple of months on this one, make their entry complicated or denied? I wonder if being already in a "new process" can cause any trouble coming in.

 

Thanks everybody!

 

[arken 4,197]

1. Exp date is to enter the US. The CBP will determine how long to allow, up to 6 month generally regardless of visa expiry. Visa expiry while in the US has no meaning.

 

2. very unlikely but doesn't hurt to try.

 

3.No effect.

[Coco8 1,042]

They are not going to expedite visas for the birth of a baby. It's not an emergency. An emergency is if someone is in a coma or had a serious accident. 

 

Typically you can enter the US if your visa is expiring soon. You will be told how long you can stay at the border. So your visa expires in a week, but at the border they can tell you that you can stay for longer than that. Personally, I would not enter with such a small window like a week, because they cancel flights all the time so they could miss the trip.

 

What you cannot do is enter with a passport that expires in less than 6 months. If they have to renew the passport then they have to travel with new passport and old passport with the visa. 

 

The reason why the visitor visas are delayed is because they are delayed with more pressing visas, like marriage, student, etc. They cannot prioritize visitor visas when they have a long list of other visas they have to do first.