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38-490: The corresponding form used for Adjustment of Status to that of a Lawful Permanent Resident is Form I-485. However, whereas Form I-485 is always needed when adjusting status within the United States to that of Lawful Permanent Resident from a non-immigrant status, Form I-539 is only needed for some kinds of transitions or extensions of stay. For the following current statuses, any extension of stay beyond that specified on

76-523: A Form I-539 application for extension of stay or change of status (in the case that the alien is already in the United States). The responsibility of issuing Form I-94 is with the CBP Office of Field Operations (OFO), a subdivision of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), that processes entries and exits at ports of entry (land, sea, and air) as well as deferred inspection sites. Note that OFO

114-527: A designated port of entry with a valid visa, are issued a Form I-94 (those who enter using the VWP are issued a Form I-94W, but they are not eligible to file Form I-539). This form contains an entry for the expiration date. There are two ways the expiration date may be entered: Section 3 of Form I-539 gives the applicant the opportunity to specify a new requested end date (in 1.a.) or either request or indicate that he or she has already been granted D/S. The end date for

152-468: A new employer with the same type of status. When changing status to the dependent of a temporary nonimmigrant worker, Form I-539 must be filed. An example is a change from student status to H-4 status , the status for dependents of people on other H visas. A single Form I-539 can be filed for all the dependents (such as the spouse and children) of the Form I-129 beneficiary. Those who want to transition to

190-400: A person can be used for repeated filings of Form I-539 for extension of stay or change of status. Form I-539 is generally not filed in isolation; it must be supported by two kinds of proofs. For most cases, the filing fee is $ 370, with no additional fees. There are a few exceptions: People who are not United States citizens or lawful permanent residents, when they enter the United States at

228-435: A student or scholar or dependent status (such as F, J, or M) must first get the corresponding authorization from the institution (such as Form I-20 for F status and Form DS-2019 for J status) and then use that to file Form I-539. If transferring to student status using Form I-539, it is necessary to first pay the same SEVIS fee that applicants from outside the United States need to pay in order to apply for their visa. Until

266-472: A temporary Form I-94, with expiration date at most 30 days in the future. The process of admission of the alien and issuance of a long-term Form I-94 is then completed at the deferred inspection site. Deferred inspection sites can also be used to correct errors in Form I-94s issued at ports of entry. Form I-94 is only issued to people who are not United States citizens or permanent residents. Among these, it

304-564: Is available for download from the USCIS website. The filing address depends on the type of status change or extension that the applicant is requesting. The possible filing addresses include lockbox facilities, service centers, and (in the case of diplomatic statuses) appropriate international bodies. Form I-539 may be filed electronically using the Electronic Information System (ELIS) for some categories. A single ELIS account created by

342-493: Is distinct from the United States Border Patrol , whose responsibility is to patrol the rest of the border to monitor for unauthorized border-crossing. The most common place of issue of Form I-94 is at ports of entry, including airports, sea ports, and land ports. The form is issued electronically at air, sea and land ports of entry. For air and sea travel, the process begins even before the alien has departed for

380-500: Is not issued in the following cases: In case of an extension of stay or change of nonimmigrant status within the United States, the USCIS can issue its equivalent of Form I-94 as part of the I-797A approval notice. This applies to two main types of forms: Note that for students on an F visa , the I-94's expiration date is listed as "D/S", for duration of status. Thus, stay is extended by having

418-424: Is not necessary to accomplish this change of status. Thus, for instance, if trying to transition from F status to H-1B status, only Form I-129 need be filed, and not Form I-539. Similarly, Form I-129 needs to be filed when transitioning from one temporary nonimmigrant worker status to another. Since temporary nonimmigrant worker statuses are tied to specific jobs, a new Form I-129 needs to be filed even when changing to

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456-632: The Form I-94 requires the filing of Form I-539: For the following categories, it is not possible to change status while in the United States, or extend stay beyond that specified in Form I-94 : The most numerically significant of these ineligible categories is entrants under the Visa Waiver Program . They cannot use Form I-539 except in exceptional circumstances. Thus, even people from VWP-eligible countries who believe they might need to extend their stay or change their status should get B visas . For

494-539: The Caribbean islands and return in less than 30 days. Instead of the "visa", what gets revalidated is the change of status, and therefore in lieu of the visa the applicant must carry the Form I-797 Approval Notice in addition to all the other supporting documentation. In particular, it does not matter if the applicant has never acquired a visa for the new status, nor does it matter if the previous status for which

532-600: The Designated School Official at the institution, who acts as the intermediary between the student and the government bureaucracy. All reporting requirements imposed on students are to the DSO rather than directly to USCIS or DHS. In addition, those applying for Optional Practical Training need to first get a new Form I-20 indicating their institution's approval for the OPT, and then get an Employment Authorization Document from

570-472: The Form I-539 is approved, the person is not officially in student status and cannot start classes. This also applies for people transitioning from F-2 status to F-1 status. The process generally takes 3–6 months, which can be considerably longer than traveling outside the United States and getting a new visa. For those who entered the United States using a B visa , having an annotation on the visa saying that

608-454: The Form I-94, the applicant is no longer in authorized status. However, removal proceedings are unlikely to be initiated against the applicant and, if they are, then the pending Form I-539 can be used as a mitigating factor against the removal. Moreover, despite not being in a lawful status, the applicant does not accrue "unlawful presence" for purposes of inadmissibility to the United States. Once

646-654: The Seventh Circuit. On March 9, 2021, the Seventh Circuit lifted its stay and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois’ order vacating the Public Charge Final Rule went into effect. On March 9, 2021, DHS moved to dismiss its appeal before the Seventh Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals , and the Seventh Circuit dismissed the appeal the same day. DHS immediately implemented

684-485: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security. On Nov. 2, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois vacated the Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds final rule, 84 Fed. Reg. 41,292 (Aug. 14, 2019), as amended by Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds; Correction, 84 Fed. Reg. 52,357 (Oct. 2, 2019) (Public Charge Final Rule) nationwide. That decision was stayed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for

722-482: The USCIS by filing Form I-765. M students who entered for a fixed duration or course of study, as well as F students who did not get "D/S" as their expiration date (this includes all those who are studying at the K-12 level) do need to file Form I-539 to extend status or transfer to another institution. Any change of status to a status as a temporary nonimmigrant worker must be accomplished by filing Form I-129 . Form I-539

760-475: The United States, except for those who fall under exceptions, had to submit form I-944, Declaration of Self-Sufficiency. The form called for information related, among other things, to the applicant's assets and liabilities, health insurance, bankruptcy filings, past Immigration Fee waiver requests, applicant's education and occupational skills and more. The form was based on the Public Charge Rule adopted by

798-453: The United States. In order to apply for permanent residency, the applicant must not be "removable" from the United States. If he or she is the beneficiary of an approved immigrant petition ( family or employment-based ), the priority date must be current (if applicable). Once the application package (I-485, I-693, and the filing fees ) are received, the applicant will receive the receipt number. This receipt number can be used to track

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836-571: The United States: the alien's air and sea carrier collect information about the alien (such as passport number) and send this information to CBP. At the port of entry, the arriving alien is screened by an officer from the CBP Office of Field Operations . If the CBP officer is convinced, based on the alien's documentation and all other evidence submitted, that the alien can be admitted into the United States,

874-514: The applicant did have a visa did not allow for automatic visa revalidation. Adjustment of Status Adjustment of status in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) of the United States refers to the legal process of conferring permanent residency upon any alien who is a refugee , asylee , nonpermanent resident , conditional entrant , parolee , and others physically present in

912-458: The applicant is in a position to extend stay or transition to the new status (from the start date indicated on the Form I-539). Until receiving the approval, the applicant cannot engage in any activities that require being in the new status. As a general rule, Form I-539 does not extend the validity of existing visas. To the contrary, a change of status accomplished through Form I-539 can invalidate

950-408: The application is approved, the approval retroactively makes lawful the time spent by the applicant in the United States after the expiration of the original Form I-94. If the application is denied, the applicant must immediately depart the United States (if it is denied before the expiration date, the applicant has until the expiration date of the Form I-94 to depart). Once the Form I-539 is approved,

988-419: The approved Form I-539 (whether an actual date or D/S) overrides whatever was there in the Form I-94. It is important to make sure that the Form I-539 application is sent in (and ideally, that it is approved) prior to the expiration date of the Form I-94. The USCIS recommends filing the Form I-539 at least 45 days prior to the expiration date on the Form I-94. Late submissions are likely to result in denial. In

1026-629: The case online. In most employment-based applications , the petition will be approved within four months and a green card will automatically be mailed. In some cases, a face to face interview is required. This is often done in marriage-based applications to ensure that the marriage is bona fide , meaning genuine and not a sham marriage . Based on a rule promulgated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in August 2019, from February 24, 2020 to March 8, 2021, every applicant for adjustment of status in

1064-413: The case that the applicant does not have a Form I-94 (either a paper form or an electronic form that he or she can print out), the applicant must contact his or her nearest Deferred Inspection Site managed by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection , in order to obtain proof of lawful entry to the United States. The USCIS says that if it has not reached a decision on the Form I-539 by the expiration date of

1102-461: The entrant is a "Prospective Student" is generally a prerequisite for the Form I-539 application to be accepted. In general, the USCIS does not approve transition to student status with a start date more than 30 days prior to the program start date. Therefore, applications where the applicant's current status expires more than 30 days before the start date of their program are likely to be rejected. Form I-539 can always be submitted by paper. The form

1140-498: The exception of those who are entering using the Visa Waiver Program or Compact of Free Association , using Border Crossing Cards , re-entering via automatic visa revalidation , or entering temporarily as crew members). While the form is usually issued by CBP at ports of entry or deferred inspection sites, USCIS can issue an equivalent as part of the Form I-797A approval notice for a Form I-129 petition for an alien worker or

1178-441: The existing visa. Form I-539 may be used to extend one's stay on the same status as one currently has. This extension of stay does not change the terms of one's entry visa. In particular, it does not change whether the visa was a single-entry visa or a multiple-entry visa, nor does it change the period of validity (i.e., the expiration date) of the visa. When Form I-539 is used to change status, it invalidates any visa obtained that

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1216-475: The following categories, there are restrictions concerning one's ability to request a change in one's nonimmigrant status: For students on F visa (in post-secondary institutions) and their dependents, if the Form I-94 (or any update to it from a previously filed Form I-539) specifies "Duration of Status" (abbreviated "D/S") as the expiration date, then one simply needs to extend the underlying authorization. Explicitly, an updated Form I-20 needs to be issued to

1254-545: The judgment, i.e., the vacatur of the August 2019 rule. This rule was discontinued by DHS on March 9, 2021 and Form I-944 has been discontinued and should not be filed. Form I-94 Form I-94 , the Arrival-Departure Record Card , is a form used by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) intended to keep track of the arrival and departure to/from the United States of people who are not United States citizens or lawful permanent residents (with

1292-412: The officer at the port of entry may not be able to make a decision as to whether to admit the alien. This could be due to missing documentation, need for further review of the case, need for a maintenance of status and departure bond, or other similar reasons. In this case, the port of entry can issue the alien a Form I-546, asking the alien to complete the process at a deferred inspection site, as well as

1330-477: The officer issues a Form I-94 to the alien. At air, land and sea ports, the I-94 is issued digitally, and the alien is not issued a stamp or a paper I-94 form. The I-94 can be retrieved at any time using an online retrieval tool. } However, in September 2016, CBP announced that land travelers who inform the CBP in advance and pay a $ 6 fee can get electronic Form I-94s issued at land ports of entry. In some cases,

1368-420: The student by the international office at his or her institution, with a new expiration date. No Form I-539 need be filed. Note that this works only if the new Form I-20 is issued prior to the expiration date of the old Form I-20. Even if transferring to a different educational institution, there is no need to file Form I-539. In general, the responsibility of keeping the student's information up-to-date lies with

1406-596: The student's SEVIS record updated and a new I-20 issued, without a new Form I-94 being issued. The switch away from paper Form I-94 to electronic Form I-94 was carried out in 2013. The change to I-94 definition to allow for the electronic format was recorded in the Federal Register on March 27, 2013. The rollout schedule was as follows: On April 30, 2014, CBP announced a new retrieval tool that travelers could use to obtain their travel history and print their most recent Form I-94. In September 2016, CBP announced

1444-447: Was associated with the applicant's previous status. Thus, whenever the applicant next travels outside the United States, the applicant is required to obtain a new visa to re-enter the United States. If the applicant's new status is a category eligible for automatic visa revalidation , then, after successfully transitioning to the new status, he or she may use automatic visa revalidation to travel to Mexico, Canada, or (for some statuses)

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