When is the best/recommended time to apply for a renewal of tourist visa

[s_kumarg77]

Hi all
My in-laws b1/b2 Visa is expiring in June2019 and they are planning to visit us in April and stay for 5 months.
When is the best time to renew their visitor Visa ? Can I do their renewal around3 to 4 months ( Feb or March 2019) before the expiry date or is there any specific rule that says otherwise. I couldn't get clear information about this anywhere. Really appreciate your time answering this.
Also
Their current Visa shows B1/B2 even though they applied for tourist visa 10 years ago. Now when I fill the DS-160 should I choose B1/B2 or just Tourist B2 ?
Please provide me the info. Thanks a lot for your help.

[krypton9591]

Hi all
My in-laws b1/b2 Visa is expiring in June2019 and they are planning to visit us in April and stay for 5 months.
When is the best time to renew their visitor Visa ? Can I do their renewal around3 to 4 months ( Feb or March 2019) before the expiry date or is there any specific rule that says otherwise. I couldn't get clear information about this anywhere. Really appreciate your time answering this.
Also
Their current Visa shows B1/B2 even though they applied for tourist visa 10 years ago. Now when I fill the DS-160 should I choose B1/B2 or just Tourist B2 ?
Please provide me the info. Thanks a lot for your help.

you can, but be warned that if their visas expire in June then chances are they will only be approve for stay until the expiration date of their visa or before then. so if you're wanting to apply for an extension you would need to do so within a month. and if their extension is denied they will need to depart immediately, also it's not recommended that you try to extend their visa before a trip. it may look suspicious to the VO.

[s_kumarg77]

Hi all
My in-laws b1/b2 Visa is expiring in June2019 and they are planning to visit us in April and stay for 5 months.
When is the best time to renew their visitor Visa ? Can I do their renewal around3 to 4 months ( Feb or March 2019) before the expiry date or is there any specific rule that says otherwise. I couldn't get clear information about this anywhere. Really appreciate your time answering this.
Also
Their current Visa shows B1/B2 even though they applied for tourist visa 10 years ago. Now when I fill the DS-160 should I choose B1/B2 or just Tourist B2 ?
Please provide me the info. Thanks a lot for your help.


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you can, but be warned that if their visas expire in June then chances are they will only be approve for stay until the expiration date of their visa or before then. so if you're wanting to apply for an extension you would need to do so within a month. and if their extension is denied they will need to depart immediately, also it's not recommended that you try to extend their visa before a trip. it may look suspicious to the VO.

Hi thank you for your response. I understand what you said.
My question is as their Visa is expiring in June 2018 can I apply for their Visa renewal for the next 10 years before it expires coz they will be visiting in April and I am not able to understand whether to apply for a extension( but that would make them stay in US on an expired Visa which I dont want to do) so if I renew their tourist Visa and they visit US in April and stay for 4 or 5 months that would be better. But not sure if I can apply for renewal before the Visa expiry date . If yes how advance I can apply renewal.

[Libra_14]

Hi thank you for your response. I understand what you said.
My question is as their Visa is expiring in June 2018 can I apply for their Visa renewal for the next 10 years before it expires coz they will be visiting in April and I am not able to understand whether to apply for a extension( but that would make them stay in US on an expired Visa which I dont want to do) so if I renew their tourist Visa and they visit US in April and stay for 4 or 5 months that would be better. But not sure if I can apply for renewal before the Visa expiry date . If yes how advance I can apply renewal.

Yes, you can certainly renew it before expiry also.

But note that visa is merely for entry purpose, so once you are inside USA - its perfectly fine to live inside with expired visa & valid I94.

[s_kumarg77]

you can, but be warned that if their visas expire in June then chances are they will only be approve for stay until the expiration date of their visa or before then. so if you're wanting to apply for an extension you would need to do so within a month. and if their extension is denied they will need to depart immediately, also it's not recommended that you try to extend their visa before a trip. it may look suspicious to the VO.

What if their I-94 allows stay for 6 months . Say if they enter in May , their Visa expires in June but I-94 allows stay until September...can they stay until then and leave ? Would it be a problem on their way back coz their Visa expired but stayed on Valid i-94?

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Yes, you can certainly renew it before expiry also.

But note that visa is merely for entry purpose, so once you are inside USA - its perfectly fine to live inside with expired visa & valid I94.

Thanks a lot for your response. Actually I am okay with that too.. if they get an i94 for 6 months that should be fine. My question :

What if their I-94 allows stay for 6 months . Say if they enter in May , their Visa expires in June but I-94 allows stay until September...can they stay until then and leave ? Would it be a problem on their way back coz their Visa expired but stayed on Valid i-94? Would that be issue for renewal in future ?
Please let know if anyone has gone through this experience.
Thanks a lot

[scientist2016]

What if their I-94 allows stay for 6 months . Say if they enter in May , their Visa expires in June but I-94 allows stay until September...can they stay until then and leave ? Would it be a problem on their way back coz their Visa expired but stayed on Valid i-94?

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Thanks a lot for your response. Actually I am okay with that too.. if they get an i94 for 6 months that should be fine. My question :

What if their I-94 allows stay for 6 months . Say if they enter in May , their Visa expires in June but I-94 allows stay until September...can they stay until then and leave ? Would it be a problem on their way back coz their Visa expired but stayed on Valid i-94? Would that be issue for renewal in future ?
Please let know if anyone has gone through this experience.
Thanks a lot

As pointed out above, a visa is merely for entry purposes. During return nobody cares about where they stayed or whether it was even legal (no departure checks in the US). All they care is would their destination allow them to enter. Since they will be returning to their native country (I am assuming) they will of course be allowed to enter. So no problems on that front.

[4EVER]

My question :

What if their I-94 allows stay for 6 months . Say if they enter in May , their Visa expires in June but I-94 allows stay until September...can they stay until then and leave ? Would it be a problem on their way back coz their Visa expired but stayed on Valid i-94? Would that be issue for renewal in future ?
Please let know if anyone has gone through this experience.
Thanks a lot

Based on your example, yes, they can stay in the US until September. The visa validity date is the date one must enter the US; so if your parents' B2 visa expires, say, June 1 2019, they can enter the US even on June 1. After their entry, the I-94 date will now govern their length of stay; so if your parents are given up to Sept 1, they can stay up to Sept 1, but must depart after that.

Accdg to this link, under "Admission to the United States and your Duration of Stay": https://travel.state.gov/content/tri...tion-date.html - "You cannot use the visa expiration date in determining or referring to your permitted length of stay in the United States."

As long as they don't misuse their B2 visa and stay past their I-94, there shouldn't be any issues when they renew their B2 visa in the future.

Also, google the Interview Waiver Program (Dropbox). Your parents could be eligible for it. Here's a related link: https://www.immihelp.com/us-visa-int...-visa-renewal/

[s_kumarg77]

Based on your example, yes, they can stay in the US until September. The visa validity date is the date one must enter the US; so if your parents' B2 visa expires, say, June 1 2019, they can enter the US even on June 1. After their entry, the I-94 date will now govern their length of stay; so if your parents are given up to Sept 1, they can stay up to Sept 1, but must depart after that.

Accdg to this link, under "Admission to the United States and your Duration of Stay": https://travel.state.gov/content/tri...tion-date.html - "You cannot use the visa expiration date in determining or referring to your permitted length of stay in the United States."

As long as they don't misuse their B2 visa and stay past their I-94, there shouldn't be any issues when they renew their B2 visa in the future.

Also, google the Interview Waiver Program (Dropbox). Your parents could be eligible for it. Here's a related link: https://www.immihelp.com/us-visa-int...-visa-renewal/

Thanks a lot for your help. My question about renewal still remains unanswered. Can I renew /apply for their visitor Visa atleast 6 months before their current visa expires?
Eg: Visa expires in June 2019. Can I apply for renewal in Feb 2019? Or is there a specific time frame when someone can apply a renewal of the expiring Visa. An answer for this question would actually clear lot of my dilemmas. Appreciate any info/help
Thank you

[Libra_14]

Thanks a lot for your help. My question about renewal still remains unanswered. Can I renew /apply for their visitor Visa atleast 6 months before their current visa expires?

Eg: Visa expires in June 2019. Can I apply for renewal in Feb 2019? Or is there a specific time frame when someone can apply a renewal of the expiring Visa. An answer for this question would actually clear lot of my dilemmas.

I've already answered it, Yes, you can certainly renew it before expiry also.

[s_kumarg77]

I've already answered it, Yes, you can certainly renew it before expiry also.

Any recommended time frame ? I am thinking of renewing atleast 5 months before current Visa expiry. Would it be okay to do so?
Thanks a lot for your help

[Libra_14]

Any recommended time frame ? I am thinking of renewing atleast 5 months before current Visa expiry. Would it be okay to do so?
Thanks a lot for your help

Yes, s_kumarg77.

[minapee]

Based on your example, yes, they can stay in the US until September. The visa validity date is the date one must enter the US; so if your parents' B2 visa expires, say, June 1 2019, they can enter the US even on June 1. After their entry, the I-94 date will now govern their length of stay; so if your parents are given up to Sept 1, they can stay up to Sept 1, but must depart after that.

Accdg to this link, under "Admission to the United States and your Duration of Stay": https://travel.state.gov/content/tri...tion-date.html - "You cannot use the visa expiration date in determining or referring to your permitted length of stay in the United States."

As long as they don't misuse their B2 visa and stay past their I-94, there shouldn't be any issues when they renew their B2 visa in the future.

Also, google the Interview Waiver Program (Dropbox). Your parents could be eligible for it. Here's a related link: https://www.immihelp.com/us-visa-int...-visa-renewal/

This is great to know. Thanks for sharing this.