Limited Visa Duration of Stay

[harble 19]

I was given a limited B1/B2 visa for 3 months validity. In the interview at the embassy, I told the consul that I will be staying for 2 weeks only to take an exam. He was hesitant to grant me because I am under petition. I was wondering if anyone can advise me on this. I wish to extend my stay to 1 month so I can spend more time with family/ touring. Is that acceptable? Will it hurt my chances when I reapply for a visa? Or should I stick to 2 weeks to be safe, then just reapply? Thank you.

[Cyberfx1024 7,978]

3 minutes ago, harble said:

I was given a limited B1/B2 visa for 3 months validity. In the interview at the embassy, I told the consul that I will be staying for 2 weeks only to take an exam. He was hesitant to grant me because I am under petition. I was wondering if anyone can advise me on this. I wish to extend my stay to 1 month so I can spend more time with family/ touring. Is that acceptable? Will it hurt my chances when I reapply for a visa? Or should I stick to 2 weeks to be safe, then just reapply? Thank you.

If you try to get an extension and it is denied then you will be forced to leave ASAP and you will only find out if you are approved/denied for a extension until after your visa time is up. Do you have a multiple entry visa or a single entry visa?

[harble 19]

7 minutes ago, Cyberfx1024 said:

If you try to get an extension and it is denied then you will be forced to leave ASAP and you will only find out if you are approved/denied for a extension until after your visa time is up. Do you have a multiple entry visa or a single entry visa?

Don't I find out my max duration at the port of entry when they stamp my passport? Which means I have to buy my round trip ticket in advance. Correct me if I'm wrong but that's how I understood it. So it's not really asking for an extension rather than pushing my luck. It's a limited visa for 3 months that says multiple entry... but that's basically like a single entry. 

 

I really wonder if it's forgivable to add just 2 weeks to my actual stay.  Or is it something I shouldn't risk?

Edited June 6, 2018 by harble

[Cyberfx1024 7,978]

5 minutes ago, harble said:

Don't I find out my max duration at the port of entry when they stamp my passport? Which means I have to buy my round trip ticket in advance. Correct me if I'm wrong but that's how I understood it. It's a limited visa for 3 months that says multiple entry... but that's basically like a single entry. 

 

I am confused whether the interview at the embassy vs adding 2 weeks to my actual stay would cause problems. Or should I play it safe and stick to 2 weeks? 

Yes, they will give you your max duration at the POE. You will be asked some questions about why you are coming here to the USA, and probably why your visa is only good for 30 months. So they may stamp it for the entire 3 months or they may only stamp it until the exam date, but that is all determined at the POE. So you want to stay 2 weeks longer than the 3 months and requesting that 2 week extension?

 

I would be truthful at the POE and just hope they allow you the 3 month day at the POE then go from there.

Edited June 6, 2018 by Cyberfx1024

[harble 19]

1 minute ago, Cyberfx1024 said:

Yes, they will give your max duration at the POE. You will be asked some questions about why you are coming here to the USA, and probably why your visa is only good for 30 months. So they may stamp it for the entire 3 months or they may only stamp it until the exam date, but that is all determined at the POE. So you want to stay 2 weeks longer than the 3 months and requesting that 2 week extension?

 

I would be truthful at the POE and just hope they allow you the 3 month day at the POE then go from there.

Sorry for being confusing. I meant that I told the consul at the visa interview that I was only staying for 2 weeks. I wish to add 2 more weeks to bring it to 1 month total stay. I was hoping it won't be a big deal. I do not intend to finish the 3 months of visa validity. 

 

Thanks @Cyberfx1024!

[Cyberfx1024 7,978]

1 minute ago, harble said:

Sorry for being confusing. I meant that I told the consul at the visa interview that I was only staying for 2 weeks. I wish to add 2 more weeks to bring it to 1 month total stay. I was hoping it won't be a big deal. I do not intend to finish the 3 months of visa validity. 

 

Thanks @Cyberfx1024!

Not a problem and happy to help. So at the POE just be honest to the officer about doing the exam and spending time with family and hopefully they give you more time. If not then you can always try and ask for an extension, but like I said if it is not approved then you have to ASAP.

[Roel 7,191]

They are already suspicious of your motives. That's exactly why you receive only 3 months visa. 

 

If you'll be asked at the POE showing you're staying they might ask you why your plans changed. But they might also just give you 2 weeks. 

 

Not to mention you might have more scruinity if you ever will want to travel to the US again. 

 

If I were you, I'd only stay 2 weeks like you first planned. 

[harble 19]

2 minutes ago, Roel said:

They are already suspicious of your motives. That's exactly why you receive only 3 months visa. 

 

If you'll be asked at the POE showing you're staying they might ask you why your plans changed. But they might also just give you 2 weeks. 

 

Not to mention you might have more scruinity if you ever will want to travel to the US again. 

 

If I were you, I'd only stay 2 weeks like you first planned. 

Yeah, I really am afraid of screwing things up and hurting my chances for future visa. So you think adding 1 or 2 weeks will still cause harm huh? Thanks for this!

[Boiler 43,433]

If you need a visa for a longer differents purpose best to go back and get one.

[Teemo 252]

 

3 hours ago, az2014 said:

So at the interview you said you are staying for 2 weeks to take an exam, they grant you visa and suddenly you want to go for 1 month for 'touring'.

 

Yea sure ok, typical lies.

 

Should have denied you the visa. Hopefully you get denied entry instead.

Everyone here is being conservative, which I understand. But a 3 month validity means you have 3 months to ENTER the country before it expires, not length of stay in the country. Your length of stay will be granted at PoE and will be in your I-94. It is likely to be several months. You can stay up until the very last date on your I-94 with no problem at all, you are not doing anything wrong or unlawful by staying up to the time granted to you. Of course, general rule of thumb is you spend 1-2x more time outside the country than in it, so if you stay for 2 months, you should not try and come back for at least 2-4 months afterward, or they may presume you are using a visitor visa to live in the US. 

 

Staying 2 weeks more than you originally planned for, if within the time lawfully given you on your I-94, is perfectly lawful, acceptable, and normal. It's good to be conservative but also to know the facts. This is not a "loophole" it is the entire point of granting a lawful period on your I-94. 

 

If you are telling them you want to stay 2 weeks for an exam and you really want and intent to stay and live in the US, then yes you should have been denied the visa and you may be denied entry. But nothing OP said here indicates that. It is perfectly lawful, normal, and acceptable to tack on 2 weeks vacation to a 2 week exam period, even if that idea develops after the interview.  Unless the I-94 says you must leave at the end of the 2 week period (unlikely). 

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

Personally I would usually think adding 2 weeks on to a short trip is not a problem, and usually I wouldn't think twice about it.

In this case, the person has a short duration visa and wants to go back again to visit at some point, which means another visit to the embassy, where they will probably look at the previous interview and then the length of stay, and ask about it. I would still usually think two weeks wouldn't be a problem. But if I was very risk averse and would rather have the chance of another visit down the line than an extra couple of weeks on this one, then I might not risk it. 

 

OP, what petition are you under/what is the expected wait time for your priority date, if there is one?

 

Also, is there any annotation on your visa about the exam specifically?

Edited June 6, 2018 by SusieQQQ

[Coco8 1,039]

I think you could get a ticket for 2 weeks and then, if they grant you more time, you can change the ticket for extra 15 days. You will have to pay a penalty of possibly 200 dollars and the price different with the new ticket. You can also get a ticket that allows you to change the return day, but they are usually more expensive. 

 

I think that if your petition has a long long wait and you ever want to go back to the US, you better stick to your story. Also, at POE, they could get information that you are there for an exam and you don't want to be suspicious adding days and saying you will be on vacation with family that lives in the US (and you have a petition and a short visa). There are a lot of suspicious elements here (from a POE perspective).

 

 

Edited June 6, 2018 by Coco8

[201 12]

if you are given 3 months tourist visa it is valid for 3 months only. its okay to stay 1 week to 3 months as long as you dont over stay within 3 months entry, if you wish to extend you have to file for an extension had to be done i guess months before your visa expires. But mind you they still have the power to deny you depends on the reason why you have to extend. 

[harble 19]

On ‎6‎/‎6‎/‎2018 at 7:45 AM, Boiler said:

If you need a visa for a longer differents purpose best to go back and get one.

Thanks Boiler!

 

On ‎6‎/‎6‎/‎2018 at 1:23 PM, Teemo said:

 

Everyone here is being conservative, which I understand. But a 3 month validity means you have 3 months to ENTER the country before it expires, not length of stay in the country. Your length of stay will be granted at PoE and will be in your I-94. It is likely to be several months. You can stay up until the very last date on your I-94 with no problem at all, you are not doing anything wrong or unlawful by staying up to the time granted to you. Of course, general rule of thumb is you spend 1-2x more time outside the country than in it, so if you stay for 2 months, you should not try and come back for at least 2-4 months afterward, or they may presume you are using a visitor visa to live in the US. 

 

Staying 2 weeks more than you originally planned for, if within the time lawfully given you on your I-94, is perfectly lawful, acceptable, and normal. It's good to be conservative but also to know the facts. This is not a "loophole" it is the entire point of granting a lawful period on your I-94. 

 

If you are telling them you want to stay 2 weeks for an exam and you really want and intent to stay and live in the US, then yes you should have been denied the visa and you may be denied entry. But nothing OP said here indicates that. It is perfectly lawful, normal, and acceptable to tack on 2 weeks vacation to a 2 week exam period, even if that idea develops after the interview.  Unless the I-94 says you must leave at the end of the 2 week period (unlikely). 

Thank you Teemo! I have no intention of overstaying/ change of status/ doing anything illegal. I want to be sure that it is something that will be acceptable. Thank you so much for taking the time to explain. Also, just to add, in the interview, the consul is aware of my family's presence in the US so I have told him honestly that I want to visit them (even showed my itinerary which included touring with them, so I am not hiding this fact at all). I just wish to spend a little more time with them for 1-2 more weeks. I put this discussion up because I need you guys' opinions on whether it would be too risky or something forgivable. I also need to buy the tickets soon so I appreciate the feedback.

On ‎6‎/‎6‎/‎2018 at 3:26 PM, SusieQQQ said:

Personally I would usually think adding 2 weeks on to a short trip is not a problem, and usually I wouldn't think twice about it.

In this case, the person has a short duration visa and wants to go back again to visit at some point, which means another visit to the embassy, where they will probably look at the previous interview and then the length of stay, and ask about it. I would still usually think two weeks wouldn't be a problem. But if I was very risk averse and would rather have the chance of another visit down the line than an extra couple of weeks on this one, then I might not risk it. 

 

OP, what petition are you under/what is the expected wait time for your priority date, if there is one?

 

Also, is there any annotation on your visa about the exam specifically?

Thanks for your thoughts. It is really scary, I agree. F2B with about 7 years to go probably. Yes there's an annotation about the exam. 

 

On ‎6‎/‎6‎/‎2018 at 4:17 PM, Coco8 said:

I think you could get a ticket for 2 weeks and then, if they grant you more time, you can change the ticket for extra 15 days. You will have to pay a penalty of possibly 200 dollars and the price different with the new ticket. You can also get a ticket that allows you to change the return day, but they are usually more expensive. 

 

I think that if your petition has a long long wait and you ever want to go back to the US, you better stick to your story. Also, at POE, they could get information that you are there for an exam and you don't want to be suspicious adding days and saying you will be on vacation with family that lives in the US (and you have a petition and a short visa). There are a lot of suspicious elements here (from a POE perspective).

 

 

This seems like a very safe move. Thanks Coco8!

On ‎6‎/‎6‎/‎2018 at 4:30 PM, 201 said:

if you are given 3 months tourist visa it is valid for 3 months only. its okay to stay 1 week to 3 months as long as you dont over stay within 3 months entry, if you wish to extend you have to file for an extension had to be done i guess months before your visa expires. But mind you they still have the power to deny you depends on the reason why you have to extend. 

I don't plan on going over the 3 month visa validity. I am concerned about the difference between the embassy interview (I said 2 weeks) vs going there and staying for 3-4 weeks. I wonder if the 1-2 weeks added will be an issue (assuming they will grant me more than 2 weeks at the POE). 

Edited June 8, 2018 by Ryan H
Reason for edit: to remove quote of removed content.

[201 12]

37 minutes ago, harble said:

 

I myself have a B2 visa, in my interview i was asked how long will stay i said 2 months ( which was the original plan but something came up ). i was given 10years multiple entry, my initial entry i stayed for about 5 months.

Edited June 7, 2018 by 201