Quick clarification about the period of authorized stay

[andrecfa 21]

I'm a K1 fiance. I married within the first 90 days in the US, and filed for AOS within that time. My I-94 has expired recently. I've received a few I-797c notice of action letters in the mail, which I believe constitutes the NOA1, but I'm not 100% sure because at the top of these letters, it's written in bold that, "This notice does not grant any immigration status or benefit."

 

Do these letters mean that my stay in the US is presently authorized pending my AOS approval? Or will that only be the case when I receive a letter without the bold statement?

[Boiler 43,745]

Authorised is the wrong word but are now in pending adjustment never never land.

[andrecfa 21]

6 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Authorised is the wrong word but are now in pending adjustment never never land.

So what you mean to say is, my stay in the US will only be "authorized pending AOS approval" when I receive a letter without the bold statement? Would that letter also be part of NOA1 or will it be NOA2?

[Boiler 43,745]

EAD and AP Combo Card you are pending now.

[arken 4,197]

Let's put in this way, your stay in the US is allowed at this time with pending i485 but it's not giving you any status.

Edited September 22, 2021 by arken

[andrecfa 21]

1 minute ago, arken said:

Let's put in this way, your stay in the US is allowed at this time with pending i485 but it's not giving you any status.

Thank you! That's exactly what I wanted to confirm. I know I'm out-of-status, I just wasn't sure if the letters I received authorized my stay or not because of what they write at the top of the page.

 

So if some sort of situation involving law enforcement arises and I have to show them my docs, these letters plus my passport will prove that my stay is presently authorized, despite the expired I-94. Right?

[Crazy Cat 39,651]

8 minutes ago, andrecfa said:

Thank you! That's exactly what I wanted to confirm. I know I'm out-of-status, I just wasn't sure if the letters I received authorized my stay or not because of what they write at the top of the page.

 

So if some sort of situation involving law enforcement arises and I have to show them my docs, these letters plus my passport will prove that my stay is presently authorized, despite the expired I-94. Right?

The receipt for the I-485 authorizes you to stay until the I-485 is either approved or denied.  

[arken 4,197]

19 minutes ago, andrecfa said:

 

So if some sort of situation involving law enforcement arises and I have to show them my docs, these letters plus my passport will prove that my stay is presently authorized, despite the expired I-94. Right?

Note that not all law enforcement personnel have complete understanding of this sort of allowable stays. If you happen to accost a badass cop, he could still report you to ICE, you could be detained but will ultimately released thru court or interior review.

[Adventine 3,187]

28 minutes ago, andrecfa said:

Thank you! That's exactly what I wanted to confirm. I know I'm out-of-status, I just wasn't sure if the letters I received authorized my stay or not because of what they write at the top of the page.

 

So if some sort of situation involving law enforcement arises and I have to show them my docs, these letters plus my passport will prove that my stay is presently authorized, despite the expired I-94. Right?

 

It's probably a good idea to avoid calling yourself "out-of-status" as that gives people the wrong idea. Better to describe yourself as "in authorized stay" or "pending adjustment of status."

[andrecfa 21]

9 minutes ago, arken said:

Note that not all law enforcement personnel have complete understanding of this sort of allowable stays. If you happen to accost a badass cop, he could still report you to ICE, you could be detained but will ultimately released thru court or interior review.

 

Yes, I realize that. Thanks.

 

2 minutes ago, Adventine said:

 

It's probably a good idea to avoid calling yourself "out-of-status" as that gives people the wrong idea. Better to describe yourself as "in authorized stay" or "pending adjustment of status."

I know. I just wanted to make clear that I understand that someone can be both out-of-status and authorized to stay.

[Crazy Cat 39,651]

Just now, andrecfa said:

 

Yes, I realize that. Thanks.

 

I know. I just wanted to make clear that I understand that someone can be both out-of-status and authorized to stay.

This site explains it pretty well, imo.

 

https://www.murthy.com/2018/12/17/differences-between-lawful-status-period-of-authorized-stay-unlawful-presence-2/

[Adventine 3,187]

@andrecfa it's good that you understand the nuances and can explain it to others, if needed. Unfortunately, some people's biases are so deeply ingrained that they won't even give you a chance to explain. Hopefully, you'll never encounter those people.

[TBoneTX 43,422]

A hijack post has been removed.

[Demise 1,137]

21 hours ago, andrecfa said:

I'm a K1 fiance. I married within the first 90 days in the US, and filed for AOS within that time. My I-94 has expired recently. I've received a few I-797c notice of action letters in the mail, which I believe constitutes the NOA1, but I'm not 100% sure because at the top of these letters, it's written in bold that, "This notice does not grant any immigration status or benefit."

 

Do these letters mean that my stay in the US is presently authorized pending my AOS approval? Or will that only be the case when I receive a letter without the bold statement?

As long as you have an I-485 pending, you remain in a period of authorized stay, you do not really have any status between the K-1's I-94 expiration and I-485's approval, but you remain legally in US on the virtue of a pending I-485.

 

The verbiage "This notice does not grant any immigration status or benefit" appears on every single I-797C, even if the I-797C is for something that does automatically grant some kind of immigration benefit, like I-485 (authorized stay), I-751 or I-829 (conditional green card extension), or I-765 (EAD extension if the category has automatic extensions).