GF overstaying her F1 grace period by 1 day. Need advice please!

[ventek07 0]

Hi all,

 

Im sort of confused and scared regarding my GF’s visa situation. 

She was on F1 visa and she graduated in may of this year. Her F1 visa expired on 24th may but her school ended on 31st may i.e. SEVIS ended on 31st may.

She says her school record/SEVIS matters for grace period and that her grace period ends on 30th July. She’s flying out on 31st july, the very next. She says it doesn’t matter since its just 1 day.

 

Im unsure because we plan to get married and i plan to apply for her green card. I’m a US citizen so I’ve no problem in getting married in her country, coming back, filling out i130 etc and applying for her visa through consular processing.

 

Now should I be worried about her grace period overstay by 1 day? 

She’s currently traveling around US and leaving on 31st! 

 The reason she’s traveling on 31st july is because she’s traveling straight to Europe and her Schengen visa start date is 1st August so she leaves on 31st and lands on 1st August.

Thank you all.

[EA and MK 48]

You remain in F1 status indefinitely, as long as you comply with the rules of F1 status. This includes having a valid I-20 and remaining in good standing with your program of study. You also remain in F1 status for 60 days after successfully completing your program. This is not 61 days, it's 60 days. She won't accrue unlawful presence, but her credibility will be ever more diminished as she can't commit to complying with her visa terms. This will make getting another non-immigrant visa difficult. It may not impact an immigrant visa, but depending on the country she is from there may be difficulty posed by the CO. Just leave on time.

 

 

[arken 4,197]

If her next entry to the US will be on the immigrant visa thru your petition, no matter how long it would take, no issues.

 

If she plans to try B2 visa to visit you in case of lengthy processing time or delays, 1 day of overstay will very likely cause the denial.

 

Overall, no effect on immigrant visa whether it's 1 day or 20 days but regardless always a good idea not to violate visa terms.

[Timona 4,208]

I would not play close to the fire. This may come back to haunt her. 

 

Why do I say this? Some force of nature may happen and then, boom, just like that, her last minute flight is canceled. She then ends up overstaying a few more days. US immigration will not care that your flight was canceled due to snow/ wildfire etc. They'd say you had enough time. 

 

So, tell your girlfriend to avoid this last minute thing. But to each their own. Should you guys break up and she seeks a non-immigrant visa, then that's when her reality will hit her.

[ventek07 0]

8 hours ago, EA and MK said:

You remain in F1 status indefinitely, as long as you comply with the rules of F1 status. This includes having a valid I-20 and remaining in good standing with your program of study. You also remain in F1 status for 60 days after successfully completing your program. This is not 61 days, it's 60 days. She won't accrue unlawful presence, but her credibility will be ever more diminished as she can't commit to complying with her visa terms. This will make getting another non-immigrant visa difficult. It may not impact an immigrant visa, but depending on the country she is from there may be difficulty posed by the CO. Just leave on time.

 

 

Thank you for your reply. Would you know any instances where counselor processing outside US have led to no issuance of green card? Tbh, the reason she’s leaving on 61st day because she’s going straight to Europe and her schengen visa starts on 1st August. 
 

should i still be worried being a US citizen and applying for her i130 when she’s back home in Pakistan? 
 

 

5 hours ago, arken said:

If her next entry to the US will be on the immigrant visa thru your petition, no matter how long it would take, no issues.

 

If she plans to try B2 visa to visit you in case of lengthy processing time or delays, 1 day of overstay will very likely cause the denial.

 

Overall, no effect on immigrant visa whether it's 1 day or 20 days but regardless always a good idea not to violate visa terms.

Thank you for your reply. Would you know any instances where counselor processing outside US have led to no issuance of green card?. 
 

should i still be worried being a US citizen and applying for her i130 when she’s back in her country?

[Letspaintcookies 2,310]

As a spouse of a US Citizen an overstay will be forgiven when applying for an immigrant visa. So nothing to worry on that front.

 

For the non immigrant visa: consular officers don't like it when somebody doesn't play by the rules. And with her overstay, even if it's just one day she shows that she doesn't play by it. So she'll be judged by that the next time she applies for a non- immigrant visa. And her reasoning is not exactly a good one cause it shows very clearly that she is planning it. So that's even worse than a canceled flight.

[Rocio0010 5,599]

Rule of thumb for these cases is to leave well before the visa expiration date. I have always left around 7-10 business days prior, just to be sure. 
Any overstays will be forgiven if she marries a USC. But if you guys break up, and she wants to come back on a non- immigrant visa, this can cause issues down the road, especially with her being from Pakistan.

If her Schengen visa starts on the 1st, and she wants to be safe and abide the rules, Im pretty sure she can fly to Mexico before the 31st and wait it out there.

[Demise 1,322]

16 hours ago, ventek07 said:

Hi all,

 

Im sort of confused and scared regarding my GF’s visa situation. 

She was on F1 visa and she graduated in may of this year. Her F1 visa expired on 24th may but her school ended on 31st may i.e. SEVIS ended on 31st may.

She says her school record/SEVIS matters for grace period and that her grace period ends on 30th July. She’s flying out on 31st july, the very next. She says it doesn’t matter since its just 1 day.

 

Im unsure because we plan to get married and i plan to apply for her green card. I’m a US citizen so I’ve no problem in getting married in her country, coming back, filling out i130 etc and applying for her visa through consular processing.

 

Now should I be worried about her grace period overstay by 1 day? 

She’s currently traveling around US and leaving on 31st! 

 The reason she’s traveling on 31st july is because she’s traveling straight to Europe and her Schengen visa start date is 1st August so she leaves on 31st and lands on 1st August.

Thank you all.

If she's already in US why not just marry her and file for AOS? In that case she won't have to leave and do the whole dog and pony show with dealing with the consulate abroad.

[Mike E 11,742]

2 hours ago, Demise said:

If she's already in US why not just marry her and file for AOS? In that case she won't have to leave and do the whole dog and pony show with dealing with the consulate abroad.

Agreed. This way she never accumulates unauthorized presence. 
 

Ok

[Redro 4,611]

Why is your gf going to Europe? Is this just for vacation or does she need to do something there?

If your plan is to get married and apply for a spousal visa. You might want to consider getting married and adjusting status. 

 

Islamabad currently has a very long backlog:

People DQ'ed in late 2020 interviewed in 2022.

 

If your girlfriend leaves and things remain the same in Pakistan she probably won't be able to come over on the spousal visa for 3-4 years. 

 

Visitor visas have a waiting time at ISL of 430 days. link

So, unless she has a visitor visa now... she won't be returning to the US for several years. As you'll still have to get married and file the I-130 after her vacation. 

Edited July 24, 2022 by ROK2USA