A guide to migrate to the US – How to extend your US Visitor Visa

If you are in the USA on a US Visitor Visa and want to extend the visa to stay in the country longer, what would you do? That’s what we are here to tell you all about. A US Visitor Visa is a non-immigrant visa. This means its validity is limited and holding it doesn’t grant you the rights and capabilities that are available to permanent residents of the USA. The main purposes for which one applies for a US Visitor Visa are:

• For business – B1 Visa
• For tourism – B2 Visa
• For both business and tourism – B1/B2 Visa

In case you are intending to stay longer in the USA, you have to satisfy the following requirements:

• You were granted a lawful admission to the USA with a non-immigrant visa
• The validity of your non-immigrant visa status is intact
• You haven’t committed any crime that removes your eligibility for a US visa
• You haven’t violated the conditions of your admission to the USA
• You have a valid passport with a validity that will remain valid as long as you stay in the USA

How to apply for an extension for a US Visitor Visa?

You have to apply for an extension of the US Visitor Visa using Form I-539. Here’s how you do it:

• Fill out Form I-539.
• Attach a statement in writing, explaining what your reasons are to apply for an extension.
• Submit supporting documents so that you can prove that you are applying for an extended stay on a temporary basis.
• Attach copies of air tickets to return from the USA.
• Submit a copy of your I-94 (Arrival/Departure Form).
• Give proof of your financial independence to establish that you won’t become a public charge in the US.
• Produce supporting documentation for any state benefits that you have received after February 11, 2020. As a rule, you are not to access any supplementary income or monetary benefits from the state after February 11, 2020.
• Submit documents demonstrating the effects of extending your stay on your foreign residency or employment.
• Submit $370 as the filing fee (the biometric fee is $85 payable depending on your petition).

Submit I-539 form After you submit the I-539 form, the USCIS issues a receipt to you that contains a 13-digit case number. At this point, you can:

• Check the status of your US visa online. You can do this using the CEAC (Consular Electronic Application Center) Visa Status Check portal. You can use the 13-digit case number or the CEAC barcode available on the DS-160 confirmation page.
• Check the status of your application and the time taken for processing your application. You can use your case number for this.
• Call the USCIS customer service center to inquire about your case.

Points to Ponder

• Try to file your application for an extension of your US Visitor Visa 45 days prior to the expiry of your active visa.
• Even if your US Visitor Visa expires, you are allowed to stay in the US for 240 days post the date of expiry on your I-94 in case you carry the proof of having submitted an I-539 application.
• The proofs for an application for extension under process are the 13-digit case number and the USCIS receipt notice.
• Spouse and unmarried children under the age of 21 years are permitted to be included on a single Form I-539.
• Your qualification for an extension of the US Visitor Visa requires you to have not violated your visa status in any manner and have not become a potential public charge.

Waiver of the need to apply for the extension of a US Visitor Visa

You aren’t required to submit an application to extend your US Visitor Visa if you arrived in the USA as a legally admitted visitor under one of the following categories:

• Visa Waiver Program
• In transit through the US without a visa (TWOV)
• In transit through the US (C Visa)
• Crew member (D Visa)
• Informant (and accompanying family) on terrorism/organized crime (S Visa)
• Fiancé/dependent of a fiancé of a US citizen (K Visa)

If you are willing to visit the USA, talk to Y-Axis, the leading immigration and career consultant in the UAE. If you find this blog engaging, you may also like: Climbing count of foreigners at work in Germany on an EU Blue Card