B2 Mil passport expired while in US

[Chuckit272 6]

My mother in law came to visit in December 2018 on B2 visitor Visa.  Her I94 date was June 5 2019.  Her flight to go home was scheduled to leave May 30.  Went to airport today for her to fly home and behold her passport expired in March 2019.  So no way she will be able to leave by June 5.  Consulate in Chicago will take at least a week to get a new passport.  Plus reschedule a new flight.  Do I need to file an I-539 to extend her I-94?  She obviously cannot leave the country and get a new i94.  Will USCIS likely approve a stay extension?  Will this impact her current visitor Visa in the future?  My concern is I read that although she is Brazilian and lives in Argentina if her visa is cancelled she will be required to travel to Brasil to apply for a new tourist visa.  Thanks all!

Edited May 31, 2019 by Chuckit272
More detail

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

2 minutes ago, Chuckit272 said:

My mother in law came to visit in December 2018 on B2 visitor Visa.  Her I94 date was June 5 2019.  Her flight to go home was scheduled to leave May 30.  Went to airport today for her to fly home and behold her passport expired in March 2019.  So no way she will be able to leave by June 5.  Consulate in Chicago will take at least a week to get a new passport.  Plus reschedule a new flight.  Do I need to file an I-539 to extend her I-94?  She obviously cannot leave the country and get a new i94.  Will USCIS likely approve a stay extension?  Will this impact her current visitor Visa in the future?  My concern is I read that although she is Brazilian and lives in Argentina if her visa is cancelled she will be required to travel to Brasil to apply for a new tourist visa.  Thanks all!

 

Well, she was supposed to have checked that her passport would be valid for her period of stay before she came. I mean, she had to fill in the passport expiry date for her APIS before she flew, right? She must have known then she had a potential problem.  No way this will be an acceptable reason for i539, which means if she doesn’t leave by 5 June she will be in overstay (even if it’s retrospective from when she gets the denial) and her visa will be automatically voided. This will make getting a future visa highly unlikely plus she would have to apply in her country of passport only which for her is an added complexity.

 

If she’s taking a direct flight to her home country then the expired passport is usually good for travel. Maybe she should see if she can get a direct flight to Brazil before her i94 expires and get a new passport there before going home to Argentina.

[p-ana 933]

And why cant her renew it at a consulate in Argentina or even here? It’s a same day process if you go in person here. 

I’d find a way to get it done ASAP or else it’s likely she will lose her visiting privileges 

[WeGuyGal 1,052]

Airline is unlikely to issue a boarding pass with an expired passport.

 

Best to contact the embassy and seek an emergency passport or a short term travel document for a fee. Most embassies have contingencies for expedited passport issuance, this may qualify as an emergency. i539 carries significant risk. 

[Chuckit272 6]

That's the issue is we are at Mercy of the Brazilian consulate.  Doubtful they will have a new one by Wednesday

 

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

11 minutes ago, Chuckit272 said:

That's the issue is we are at Mercy of the Brazilian consulate.  Doubtful they will have a new one by Wednesday

 

That’s your only hope right now, assuming you want your MIL to be able to visit again in future. Suggest you (she) call them first thing in the morning and see what can be done.

[Chuckit272 6]

22 minutes ago, WeGuyGal said:

Airline is unlikely to issue a boarding pass with an expired passport.

 

Best to contact the embassy and seek an emergency passport or a short term travel document for a fee. Most embassies have contingencies for expedited passport issuance, this may qualify as an emergency. i539 carries significant risk. 

What's the risk of i539?  From what I see it's usually approved as long as you have valid visitor Visa and i94.  We would only be asking for maybe a month extension.

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

6 minutes ago, Chuckit272 said:

What's the risk of i539?  From what I see it's usually approved as long as you have valid visitor Visa and i94.  We would only be asking for maybe a month extension.

 

Where do you see that? We see most of them refused without a valid reason. “I forgot to check passport expiry” likely doesn’t qualify. I see you are also now talking about a month extension when the week it will take for passport issuance would only go a couple days past her i94. Anyway, if you’re that confident it will be approved then that would be the obvious route.  Please come back and update the thread on the outcome, as this forum definitely has a belief that such requests are considered frivolous and likely to be denied so it will be useful information for us and future posters if it is approved.

 

(You are aware by the way the uscis suggests filing i539 at least 45 days before i94 expires?)

Edited May 31, 2019 by SusieQQQ

[Chuckit272 6]

1 minute ago, SusieQQQ said:

 

Where do you see that? We see most of them refused without a valid reason. “I forgot to check passport expiry” likely doesn’t qualify. I see you are also now talking about a month extension when the week it will take for issuance would only go a couple days past her i94. Anyway, if you’re that confident it will be approved then that would be the obvious route.  Please come back and update the thread on the outcome, as this forum definitely has a belief that such requests are considered frivolous and likely to be denied so it will be useful information for us and future posters if it is approved.

 

(You are aware by the way the uscis suggests filing i539 at least 45 days before i94 expires?)

Wow ok.  Well we didn't know it was expired until today at the airport.  She doesn't speak English so going through customs and forms she just had a letter written from my wife and me on support. I don't know what all people fill out on internstional trips   Officer just rubber stamped her admission

And I thought if you ask for 2 weeks extension and it takes two days longer than that would be silly to ask for such a limited window.  This community was alot of help 10 years ago when my wife and I were getting married on k1 visa.  Sorry for asking for any advice. 

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

7 minutes ago, Chuckit272 said:

Wow ok.  Well we didn't know it was expired until today at the airport.  She doesn't speak English so going through customs and forms she just had a letter written from my wife and me on support. I don't know what all people fill out on internstional trips   Officer just rubber stamped her admission

And I thought if you ask for 2 weeks extension and it takes two days longer than that would be silly to ask for such a limited window.  This community was alot of help 10 years ago when my wife and I were getting married on k1 visa.  Sorry for asking for any advice. 

All passengers flying to the US have to enter APIS (advanced passenger information) before they fly. Either your MIL or you or your wife, depending who did this, must have filled this in. One of the things they ask for is passport expiry date.  That’s why I don’t understand why it seems to have been such a surprise.  (And it’s her own passport in her own language.)

 

By the way, adjudication of i539 is 3-5 months. You won’t find out until long after she’s gone if it was accepted or denied. 

 

And sorry to be blunt , but this community is being helpful to you by giving you solid advice and realistic scenarios. Good advice isn’t always what you want to hear.

Edited May 31, 2019 by SusieQQQ

[Chuckit272 6]

19 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

All passengers flying to the US have to enter APIS (advanced passenger information) before they fly. Either your MIL or you or your wife, depending who did this, must have filled this in. One of the things they ask for is passport expiry date.  That’s why I don’t understand why it seems to have been such a surprise.  (And it’s her own passport in her own language.)

 

By the way, adjudication of i539 is 3-5 months. You won’t find out until long after she’s gone if it was accepted or denied. 

 

And sorry to be blunt , but this community is being helpful to you by giving you solid advice and realistic scenarios. Good advice isn’t always what you want to hear.

Just to clarify her visa currently is still good for another like 6 years.  USCIS would refuse to do this extension  over a small issue like passport expired for 60 days and not issue an i94 extension for a month to resolve?  Seems like a harsh punishment. 

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

18 minutes ago, Chuckit272 said:

Just to clarify her visa currently is still good for another like 6 years.  USCIS would refuse to do this extension  over a small issue like passport expired for 60 days and not issue an i94 extension for a month to resolve?  Seems like a harsh punishment. 

If she overstays by even one day her visa is automatically voided. We’ve seen this happen with people who’ve had flight delays due to weather.

 

USCIS asks for a detailed reason of why the extension is asked for, I’ve already given my opinion on that, if you believe it is a “small issue” then we agree to disagree on how they view it. (CBP does require that a passport is valid for the intended length of stay. Your MIL’s intended period of stay was beyond her passport expiry.) 

 

now i have just discovered another problem that you (your MIL) will face in filing an i539:

”Your passport must be valid for your entire requested period of stay in the United States.”

This is a catch-22 for you, seeing as it seems you can’t file for an extension on an expired passport anyway. Here is the guide https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Resources/C1en.pdf

the sentence quoted above is on the first page 

(the top of p3, right hand column has the information about the visa being voided on overstay, but this is now moot as she can’t file with an expired passport)

 

 

Edited May 31, 2019 by SusieQQQ

[Chuckit272 6]

8 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

If she overstays by even one day her visa is automatically voided. We’ve seen this happen with people who’ve had flight delays due to weather.

 

USCIS asks for a detailed reason of why the extension is asked for, I’ve already given my opinion on that, if you believe it is a “small issue” then we agree to disagree on how they view it. (CBP does require that a passport is valid for the intended length of stay. Your MIL’s intended period of stay was beyond her passport expiry.) 

 

now i have just discovered another problem that you (your MIL) will face in filing an i539:

”Your passport must be valid for your entire requested period of stay in the United States.”

This is a catch-22 for you, seeing as it seems you can’t file for an extension on an expired passport anyway. Here is the guide https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Resources/C1en.pdf

the sentence quoted above is on the first page 

(the top of p3, right hand column has the information about the visa being voided on overstay, but this is now moot as she can’t file with an expired passport)

 

 

https://www.uscis.gov/system/files_force/files/form/i-539instr.pdf?download=1

 Hoping this is true!

 

Edited May 31, 2019 by Chuckit272
Clarification

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

1 minute ago, Chuckit272 said:

https://www.uscis.gov/system/files_force/files/form/i-539instr.pdf?download=1

 

 

So that confirms that she was required to have the passport valid for the entire period of her stay.  What is the explanation you plan to submit for it not being valid? It’s not like she was incapacitated in an accident an unable to leave before expiry, or something like that. Especially considering her return ticket was booked for 2 months after her passport expired.

 

Anyway, you seem determined to apply so I’m not spending any more time going in circles with you. I want to emphasize that I was serious before (not sarcastic) when I asked you to come back and update us on the outcome, if we are giving incorrect advice as a general rule then we should know about it. My personal opinion is that is a certain denial so I would like indeed to find out if that doesn’t turn out to be the case.

[Chuckit272 6]

4 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

So that confirms that she was required to have the passport valid for the entire period of her stay.  What is the explanation you plan to submit for it not being valid? It’s not like she was incapacitated in an accident an unable to leave before expiry, or something like that. Especially considering her return ticket was booked for 2 months after her passport expired.

 

Anyway, you seem determined to apply so I’m not spending any more time going in circles with you. I want to emphasize that I was serious before (not sarcastic) when I asked you to come back and update us on the outcome, if we are giving incorrect advice as a general rule then we should know about it. My personal opinion is that is a certain denial so I would like indeed to find out if that doesn’t turn out to be the case.

Susie thanks for yourhelp. 

 

If she can't get a valid passport before the I 94 expiration date there isn't any other option.  Open for ideas. Mistakes made.  Trying to make the best. 

Edited May 31, 2019 by Chuckit272