visa expiration date - quick question

[ealachan 0]

Hi All -

We've got our AOS paperwork submitted and have had notices saying it's being processed, etc. We just noticed on Mark's passport that the visa expires on 3/10/10. That's not a concern for us now that we have the AOS filed...right? Figured I'd ask to be safe rather than sorry...

Thanks!

[HeatDeath 430]

Hi All -

We've got our AOS paperwork submitted and have had notices saying it's being processed, etc. We just noticed on Mark's passport that the visa expires on 3/10/10. That's not a concern for us now that we have the AOS filed...right? Figured I'd ask to be safe rather than sorry...

Thanks!

There are several expiry dates encountered in the K-1 visa process.

The first is the expiry date of your I-129F approval. After your initial petition is approved, you have until your I-797 expiration date to apply for and receive your K-1 visa. This expiration date usually doesn't matter. Most consulates will automatically extend this date if it happens to pass while you are in the process of applying for your visa.

The second is the expiry date written on your K-1 visa itself. This date has nothing to do with when you have to get married, how long you can stay in the US, or when you have to adjust status. This date is 6 months from the issuing date of the K-1 visa, and specifies the date you have to enter the US by. Once you have used your K-1 visa to enter the US, this date is completely irrelevant. So yes, if you entered the US prior to the expiration of your K-1 visa, and married within 90 days, you can still adjust status.

The third expiry date is on the I-94 you are issued when you enter the US. With a K-1 visa, this date is 90 days after you enter the US. The conditions of a K-1 visa state that you have to marry the US citizen named on the K-1 visa within that 90 day period, or you (like every other alien who enters the US on a visa of any kind) have to leave by the expiry date of your I-94. If you have married the US citizen named on the K-1 visa, you do not have to leave at the end of that 90 day period. Note that the expiry date on the I-94 is not the date you have to file AOS by (though it is highly recommended, for a variety of reasons) let alone the date you have to have your green card by (utter impossibility, but I've seen people here with that misconception). It is ONLY the date you have to be married by. If you have not married, you must leave the US at or before this date. If you HAVE married, you can stay beyond the expiry of your I-94, and adjust status.

Note: if you do not file AOS before the end of your 90 day I-94, you will begin accumulating out of status days. You will continue accumulating them until you file for adjustment of status. While out of status days are virtually always forgiven when your adjustment of status is approved, accumulating more than 180 out of status days will cause you to incur a multi-year ban on reentering the US. Accumulating more than a year of out of status days gets you a ten year ban. [Obviously, if you have anything like this many out of status days, you should NOT leave the US FOR ANY REASON WHATSOEVER until your AOS is approved and you have paper documentation that your out of status days are forgiven.] Furthermore, if you happen to interact with federal law enforcement while out of status, they have the right to make your life far more complicated than you would generally like. So try to keep out of status days to a minimum.

Once you file for AOS, you stop accumulating out of status days, and can remain in the US until your AOS case (and any necessary appeals, G-d forbid!) is decided, one way or the other.

Hope this helps.

[Nik+Heather 121]

Furthermore, if you happen to interact with federal law enforcement while out of status, they have the right to make your life far more complicated than you would generally like.

And +1 to all the rest.

Edited February 19, 2010 by Nik+Heather

[belinda63 2,981]

Just keep the NOA handy just in case. Mu husband is often mistaken for a Mexican so I was really worried he might get picked up in a sweep. The NOA should prove he is her legally.

[ealachan 0]

thanks, all....extremely helpful info, and will make my husband feel much better.