B2 i-539n

[sunogosi]

Hello,

I have been in America since December 2021 on a B2 tourist visa. The B2 visa was valid until March 2022. I applied for the F1 student visa before the B2 visa was expired. But immigration is considering my documents for a very long time (since March 2022) and sent me an RFI on July 28, 2022 and my B2 visa is already expired. It turns out that I am out of B2 status, because I did not renew it? What should I do now? Do I need to extend the B2 visa in parallel with I-539N application, as USCIS is still considering my file and sent me an RFI on July 28? After all, my B2 already expired since March 2022. Am I illegal in this country?

Please, reply ASAP. What I should to do? Thank you.

[newacct]

First, you need to clear up your terminology between "visa" and "status". A visa is only for entry, and the visa's expiration date has nothing to do with how long you can stay in the US. Do you instead mean that your B2 status, as give on your I-94, expired in March 2022?

You applied for a Change of Status to F1 status by filing I-539. (You cannot get a "visa" from within the US.) You can legally stay in the US for as long as your Change of Status application is pending, as long as your I-539 was filed before your B2 status expired. You do not need to apply for a B2 Extension of Stay (it would be too late to apply for one anyway).