What happens if petition expires while the case is in AP? I'm freaking out. I completely forgot about my petition which expired on July 22, 2009. I have e-mail from the embassy that the petition will be extended for another 4 months but I did not make any formal request to extend it. Was it extended automatically? I've just sent the e-mail asking for the expiration date confirmation.

I also have this same question! I remembered to ask for the first extension, and it was granted with no difficulty. I also asked again when it was time for a second extension. The embassy replied that our AP was almost done, but never mentioned if they extended the petition again. I sure hope they did! Now I am asking for the third extension with my fingers crossed.

Good luck - I hope they took care of it automatically for you !

Thanks, bmcguire! You made me feel a little better.

It is almost impossible for any embassy to complete the visa process in 4 months. This is one of the issues I addressed in my long many pointed complaint to various senators, ombudsmans, etc. The expiration dates need to be longer.

Good news is the embassies are aware of this and will automatically extend the validity of the petition.
But it never hurts to zap them an email requesting the extension just in case they forget.

My Fiacnee is on AP for nearly 14 months now. I never asked for the extension on our case? should i send them an email now? or they have done that automatically? Please Advise?

They should have automatically extended the petition but as i said before never hurts to send them an email or a written letter. They are human and they can forget.

Don't panic I just recommend this as a cover your A** thing. They deal with expiring petitions all the time and they usually automatically renew them.