Coronavirus

[qjnl 4]

Hi all - my mom came to the US to visit me (PR) on ESTA (visa waiver program) from Hong Kong back in December. My mom planned to stay until early March, leave before the allowed time. However, the Coronavirus outbreak feared me to send my mom back home as Hong Kong has many confirmed cases and someone died of it already.

I want to know is there a way she can extend her stay for another month or two until the spread of Coronavirus going down? I think I saw it saw it somewhere on USCIS that visitor came in via ESTA aren't allowed for visa extension (since ESTA not really a visa).

Is there other way I can try to apply something for her, maybe based on humanitarian reason?

 

Thank you

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

Unfortunately she cannot extend or change her status if entering on VWP. 
 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/tourism-visit/visa-waiver-program.html
 

If you enter the United States under the Visa Waiver Program, you are not permitted to extend your stay in the United States beyond the initial admission period. You must depart the United States on or before the date on your admission stamp when you entered the United States.
 

If you enter the United States under the Visa Waiver Program, you are not permitted to change status in the United States.

 

—-

Is it possible for her to visit a third country (not Mexico or Canada) for a period of time before returning, if she is too afraid to go home right now?

i would be very wary of applying for anything out of the ordinary with VWP, high chance of denial and then she will lose her VWP privileges and find getting a tourist visa probably quite difficult too, and the effects of all that will be with her long after coronavirus is a footnote. 

 

 

[qjnl 4]

10 hours ago, SusieQQQ said:

 

Is it possible for her to visit a third country (not Mexico or Canada) for a period of time before returning, if she is too afraid to go home right now?

i would be very wary of applying for anything out of the ordinary with VWP, high chance of denial and then she will lose her VWP privileges and find getting a tourist visa probably quite difficult too, and the effects of all that will be with her long after coronavirus is a footnote. 

 

 

 

If she goes to Canada, how long do you think she needs to stay before returning to the US without creating any red flag?

 

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

31 minutes ago, qjnl said:

 

If she goes to Canada, how long do you think she needs to stay before returning to the US without creating any red flag?

 

Please re-read what I said... NOT Mexico or Canada. Contiguous countries do not reset entry. (Nor do the neighboring islands I believe.) She needs to go further afield. 
 

as for how lomg, hard to say. If she stays nearly 90 days and then wants to enter again for another 90, a week or two is going to look dodgy. That said, they’ll probably (probably, not certainly) allow it once. The longer out the better. If there is anywhere she has been particularly wanting to visit, say in Europe, this is a good time.

Edited February 6, 2020 by SusieQQQ

[Bizou 0]

3 hours ago, SusieQQQ said:

as for how lomg, hard to say. If she stays nearly 90 days and then wants to enter again for another 90, a week or two is going to look dodgy.

I believe it's best to spend at least as much time out of the us than you spent in the us to come back. Good luck to your mom, what's happening in asia right now is tough.

Edited February 6, 2020 by Je3n

[ultrasoul 51]

On 2/6/2020 at 12:55 AM, qjnl said:

Hi all - my mom came to the US to visit me (PR) on ESTA (visa waiver program) from Hong Kong back in December. My mom planned to stay until early March, leave before the allowed time. However, the Coronavirus outbreak feared me to send my mom back home as Hong Kong has many confirmed cases and someone died of it already.

I want to know is there a way she can extend her stay for another month or two until the spread of Coronavirus going down? I think I saw it saw it somewhere on USCIS that visitor came in via ESTA aren't allowed for visa extension (since ESTA not really a visa).

Is there other way I can try to apply something for her, maybe based on humanitarian reason?

 

Thank you

 

If you had naturalized and became a US citizen, an option would have been to file an I-485 adjustment of status from her ESTA to IR-5 permanent resident (combo filing with I-765 EAD and I-131 advanced parole).  With this path, she would not be able to leave the US until she gets her I-131 advanced parole card (takes 4 to 5 months but you could always apply for an expedite and get it within 2 months). The only issue is that she would need to return to the US for her final I-485 interview date. As part of being a green card PR holder, she would have to ultimately maintain residence in the US (cannot be outside the US for more than 6 months).

 

Sounds like an overkill to your problem but something to think about should you want your mother to live in the US given more future coronavirus development in China + HK political stability issue.