I have a general visa that expires in 1 year and a visitor visa that expires in February. In November I applied for an 6 month extension on my visitor visa but they said they will only be able to evaluate it in 4 weeks (which is past my stay deadline). Can I stay past my expiration while waiting for their response? Or must I leave by my expiration?

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Originally Posted by sthapar

I have a general visa that expires in 1 year and a visitor visa that expires in February. In November I applied for an 6 month extension on my visitor visa but they said they will only be able to evaluate it in 4 weeks (which is past my stay deadline). Can I stay past my expiration while waiting for their response? Or must I leave by my expiration?

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This is a very international site, what country are you visiting?

I am from India visiting America

There is no such "general visa". There is a B1/B2 visitor visa. You cannot extend any visa in the US, as that must be done at the US consulate or embassy outside the US. Do you mean you have applied for an extension of your I-94, which reflects your visa status?

Is the B2 the visa what you entered the US with? If so, your I-94 will be annotated, most likely, as a "B2". Confirm that you have a B2 I-94, and if so, then you validly filed extension will allow you to stay in the US beyond the original expiration date of your I-94.

You can confirm this with an immigration attorney.

Filing extension is not recommended, especially from India and other Asian countries. You may have problem when apply for a new visa...

Yes it is a B2 which expires in October 2011, while the I-94 expires in February 2011. I filed for the extension in November 2010. So you do think I will be allowed to stay past February until they decide on my extension?

Yes, if you applied before the I-94 expiration, your good past that date. Plan on leaving within the time you requested, not based on when they may decide.