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Should You Overstay an I-20 While Waiting for Marriage-Based Adjustment Status

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  • 11-17-2016, 10:32 PM
    herman345
    Should You Overstay an I-20 While Waiting for Marriage-Based Adjustment Status
    Hello,

    So, my wife and I are in a bit of a pickle. We got married in October of this year, and she's been in the US since August 2014 on a student visa. Her visa is good until something like 2020, but her I-20 expires in mid-December, and she's not planning on signing up for another semester of school. It took us longer than we thought to get all of the paperwork together to file for adjustment of status, so we're just now getting ready to mail it all in, but we're wondering what to do if we don't hear back from USCIS by the time her I-20 is expired. If she goes back to her home country of China, then basically everything we've done up until now was pointless as we'll have to find another way for her to legally immigrate here, which could take a year or long. If she overstays her I-20 and then the application for adjustment gets rejected, though, isn't it possible that she'll have to leave and be barred from entry to the United States for a while for overstaying? Does anyone have any experience in this type of situation, or can anyone shed some light on this? It would be very greatly appreciated!

    Thanks
  • 11-18-2016, 02:43 AM
    flyingron
    Re: Should My Wife Overstay Her I-20 We Wait for Adjustment Status
    Are you a US Citizen? Yes, if she gets denied for an AOS, the time between when she went out of status will possibly count against her. But frankly, she's in trouble anyhow if they turn her down. The fact that she is married to a US resident is going to cause issues with other non-immigrant visa/visits.

    Note, that regardless of what her I-20 stays, if she withdraws from the program that she was in, she's out of status IMMEDIATELY. Probably her best bet would be to continue her studies if she thinks that there's some reason the AOS isn't going to be approved.
  • 11-19-2016, 11:56 AM
    herman345
    Re: Should My Wife Overstay Her I-20 We Wait for Adjustment Status
    Quote:

    Quoting flyingron
    View Post
    Are you a US Citizen? Yes, if she gets denied for an AOS, the time between when she went out of status will possibly count against her. But frankly, she's in trouble anyhow if they turn her down. The fact that she is married to a US resident is going to cause issues with other non-immigrant visa/visits.

    Note, that regardless of what her I-20 stays, if she withdraws from the program that she was in, she's out of status IMMEDIATELY. Probably her best bet would be to continue her studies if she thinks that there's some reason the AOS isn't going to be approved.

    Thanks for your response. Yes, I am a US citizen. She isn't planning on withdrawing from her program - she's actually planning on graduating. I have been reading that there is a 60-day grace period where students on an F1 visa are allowed to stay in the US for up to 60 days after the program end date on their I-20. Do you know if this is true? Do you think it's possible that we can get her status adjusted in time so that she doesn't have to leave the country?

    Thank you.
  • 11-26-2016, 04:03 PM
    bloodbath
    Re: Should My Wife Overstay Her I-20 We Wait for Adjustment Status
    Quote:

    Quoting herman345
    View Post
    Thanks for your response. Yes, I am a US citizen. She isn't planning on withdrawing from her program - she's actually planning on graduating. I have been reading that there is a 60-day grace period where students on an F1 visa are allowed to stay in the US for up to 60 days after the program end date on their I-20. Do you know if this is true? Do you think it's possible that we can get her status adjusted in time so that she doesn't have to leave the country?

    Thank you.

    F1 status does have a 60-day grace period in general upon program completion, and the program completion date is the date certified by the school as the date on which your wife receives her diploma (or her program ends as scheduled).
  • 11-27-2016, 12:24 AM
    flyingron
    Re: Should My Wife Overstay Her I-20 We Wait for Adjustment Status
    Quote:

    Quoting bloodbath
    View Post
    F1 status does have a 60-day grace period in general upon program completion, and the program completion date is the date certified by the school as the date on which your wife receives her diploma (or her program ends as scheduled).

    That's a grace period IF YOU LEAVE. If you stay you are accruing illegal presence from the day you leave the program.
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