USCIS Announcement on COVID-19 and Applicants seeking a Change or Extension of Stay
On April 13, 2020, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) provided guidance regarding options for nonimmigrants who may be forced to remain in the United States beyond the date allowed by their visa due to COVID-19. However, USCIS is not providing special or new relief procedures despite the gravity of the pandemic. Rather, USCIS issued a press release simply stating that those who remain in the U.S. due to COVID-19 must seek a change in status or an extension using normal USCIS operating procedures.
Per USCIS, the rule still stands that nonimmigrants must depart the US before their authorized period of admission expires, but if that is not possible due to COVID-19, USCIS encourages the following:
1. Nonimmigrants should apply for an extension: Many nonimmigrants can mitigate the immigration consequences of COVID-19 by timely filing an application for extension of stay (EOS) or change of status (COS). USCIS accepts and processes applications and petitions, and some forms are available for online filing.
2. Requests for extensions or changes should be filed on time. If a "timely-filed, non-frivolous" extension of stay or change of status is filed ahead of time, nonimmigrants generally do not accrue unlawful presence while the application is pending. In fact, when timely-filed, in some circumstances employment authorization can be automatically extended for up to 240 days after I-94 expiration if with the same employer and subject to the same terms and conditions of the prior approval.
3. There may be flexibility for late-filed applications. Pre-COVID-19, USCIS has always had the ability to excuse a nonimmigrant’s failure to timely file an extension/change of status request, though these are generally granted in more dire situations. USCIS requires a showing by the applicant that a late filing was due to extraordinary circumstances beyond his or her control. On April 13, 2020, USCIS acknowledged that the coronavirus pandemic could create extraordinary circumstances which could constitute "extraordinary circumstances," and thus could "excuse the failure to timely file if it was due to extraordinary circumstances beyond their control, such as those that may be caused by COVID-19.” However, USCIS states that any delay in filing a late application must be “commensurate with the circumstances” and that the applicant "must submit credible evidence to support their request, which USCIS will evaluate on a case-by-case basis." Therefore, USCIS has not allowed and specific or blanket waiver of filing deadlines due to COVID-19, but will take these circumstances into consideration.
4. There is no extension of stay or change of status for Visa Waiver entrants. However, the USCIS announcement states that under current regulations, if an emergency such as COVID-19 prevents the departure of a VWP entrant, USCIS at their “discretion may grant a period of satisfactory departure for up to 30 days.” For VWP entrants who have been granted satisfactory departure and are “unable to depart within this 30-day period because of COVID-19 related issues, USCIS has the authority to temporarily provide an additional 30-day period of satisfactory departure.an additional 30-day period of satisfactory departure.” To request satisfactory departure from USCIS, a VWP entrant should call the USCIS Contact Center.
Any other relevant information should be found, as it is updated, at uscis.gov/coronavirus.
