Getting a tourist visa extension in the U.S.
QI applied for an extension to my tourist stay before my current visa expired. I came from Mexico on a tourist visa, intending to leave after a few months. However, I have had trouble getting a ticket home. I haven’t heard back from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Now that I have stayed longer than permitted, what should I do?
Name withheld, Salt Lake City
A. Since your original permission to stay has expired, it makes no difference whether you leave now or after you hear from USCIS. That said, I expect USCIS to approve your extension request. The agency understands that travel now is difficult and for some, dangerous.
If USCIS approves your extension of stay, the law considers you to have been here legally while your application was pending. If USCIS denies your extension, you would need to leave the United States. The law doesn’t consider you to have been unlawfully present unless USCIS issues a denial.
If you have a valid multiple entry visa and you leave after a USCIS denial, you would need to get a new visa to return to the United States. For more information on the impact of the coronavirus crisis on visa extension requests and other immigration matters, go to uscis.gov
QMy U.S. citizen uncle petitioned for a green card for my mother in 2001, almost 20 years ago. What can he do to speed up the process? My mother is Mexican and currently living in Mexico. Diego, Guadalajara, Mexico
A. You’ll have to be patient. The law limits the number of relatives of U.S. citizens who can immigrate each year.
The wait time depends on the “preference” category and the green card applicant’s nationality. The brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens from Mexico have the longest wait of any family category. This month, Mexican siblings of U.S. citizens can get immigrant visas if their relative filed for them before July 1, 1998.
Allan Wernick is an attorney and director of the City University of New York’s Citizenship Now! project. Send questions and comments to questions@ allanwernick.com. Follow him on Twitter @awernick.