Confused about when to leave?

[GoldenDaffodil]

I have a B2 visa till Feb 08. I have applied for an extension using I-539 which was denied.

The letter of decision states that "the decision resulting in the denial of Form I-539 leaves you without lawful immigration status and you are now present in the United States in violation of the law. You are required to depart the United States within 30 days from the date of this decision, or be subject to removal proceedings."

However, the original I-94 card that was returned still bore the original date in Feb 08.

So what should I do now? Prepare to leave as per letter or follow the stamped date on the I-94?

[PraetorianXI]

Go by the date on the I-94.

[GoldenDaffodil]

There is an annotation behind the I-94: Denied EOS, CSC, 3688, 11/29/07 and a signature.

I take it that EOS refers to extension of stay, and CSC 3688 some kind of reference no, 11/29/07 as the date my application was processed.

Will this annotation have any bearing on my allowed duration of stay?

[PraetorianXI]

No. Your legal stay is still until the date the I-94 expires.

[GoldenDaffodil]

Thanks for your advice. However, I called up USCIS to confirm, and was told that the letter supersedes the I-94, and that I should leave as per instructed!

I'm still sceptical though - how would the immigration official at the airport know that I have been ordered to leave if I don't produce the letter since my I-94 is not expired?

[PraetorianXI]

If the letter superseded your i-94, they would have stamped something like "cancelled or expired" on the i-94.

You applying for an extension does not make you a criminal. That letter is the STANDARD message sent by USCIS. Which in MOST cases arrives AFTER the I-94 has expired, which makes sense warning the alien and giving him/her 30 days before he/she becomes deportable.

USCIS costumer service is full of hot air.

[GoldenDaffodil]

That is such a relief to hear.. I suspected as much that it is probably a standard template of sorts.

Thanks a mill!

[orion]

Sorry, but I differ in my opinion. When I first read your post, I understood that the denial letter supercedes your I-94 and that you'll have to leave within 30 days of the date on extension rejection letter. After reading all the replies, I just wanted to point to the fact that the denial letter has left the date on your I-94 redundant. The date on denial letter + 30 days is the time frame in which you must leave. And also, you yourself confirmed this with USCIS respresentative.

And you dont worry about "how would the immigration official at the airport know that I have been ordered to leave if I don't produce the letter since my I-94 is not expired?". They would know, you wont face any problem when departing but the problem will arise when you return to re-enter the US in future. Being in this part of the world, how can you ask how would the immigration official know? Immigration is managed by USCIS and you sent the application to USCIS and USCIS rejected it. They have all the means to update the info on your profile which the officer at PoE can pull up and see.

Bottomline is - the date by which you should leave US is clearly written in the denial letter and was again confirmed to you by phone.

You can and should consult an immigration attorney in you are still unclear.

[GoldenDaffodil]

I would think that the USCIS has no right to rescind my approved I-94 when I had applied for an extension!

However, is it possible that there has indeed been an oversight that my I-94 is not yet expired, but the USCIS computer record system is now showing otherwise?