Mother in Law here from China extension question

[Bry0101 0]

Hi My mother in law is here from China and her I94 ran out in April, we filled out the forms for an extension and submitted, she did her Biometrics in March and we have had no communication from USCIS since this appointment and no change in her status on their portal, we assumed if her extension was granted she would have to leave before November as she would have been here for a year, so we booked a return flight to China last week and the airline canceled the flight a few weeks later, has anyone experienced anything like this yet? If I can't get a return flight and she stays past her one year mark will she be in violation? Has anyone gotten an appointment for a extension since the USCIS office opened up? Any advice would be appreciated. 

[JFH 12,190]

If the e tension is denied she will be on overstay.  An overstay of 180 days or more would incur a ban. 

[igoyougoduke 1,662]

2 hours ago, Bry0101 said:

Hi My mother in law is here from China and her I94 ran out in April, we filled out the forms for an extension and submitted, she did her Biometrics in March and we have had no communication from USCIS since this appointment and no change in her status on their portal, we assumed if her extension was granted she would have to leave before November as she would have been here for a year, so we booked a return flight to China last week and the airline canceled the flight a few weeks later, has anyone experienced anything like this yet? If I can't get a return flight and she stays past her one year mark will she be in violation? Has anyone gotten an appointment for a extension since the USCIS office opened up? Any advice would be appreciated. 

 

appointment for what ? if she is denied her over stay count starts in april.  Below are the rules for now 

 

• Three years, if you depart the United States after having accrued more than 180 days but less than one year of unlawful presence during a single stay and before removal proceedings begin;
• 10 years, if you depart the United States after having accrued one year or more of unlawful presence during a single stay, regardless of whether you leave before, during, or after removal proceedings; or
• Permanently, if you reenter or try to reenter the United States without being admitted or paroled after having accrued more than one year of unlawful presence in the aggregate during one or more stays in the United States.

[Boiler 45,672]

Going to look like she is living here rather than visiting, obviously depends if you want her to be able to get another visa.

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

I539 used to take 4-6 months, so if they followed same timelines you should hear pretty soon if she is approved or not.

 

4 hours ago, Bry0101 said:

we booked a return flight to China last week and the airline canceled the flight a few weeks later,

I presume something in the above sentence is a mistake, but anyway, just because one flight got cancelled doesn’t mean they all are. Look for different time, different airline, different route, whatever. USCIS are being more lenient than usual it sounds because of the pandemic but I wouldn’t take that to mean she can just decide to stay months more because of one cancelled flight! I personally wouldn’t push it beyond a year max unless there really is an airspace shutdown, or risk ban. Google is showing multiple flights available from the US to China.

 

Edit: it seems there was a time period when a spat between US and China led to flights being cancelled but that seems to have been resolved in mid June https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/16/business/us-china-flights-intl-hnk/index.html

Edited August 1, 2020 by SusieQQQ