What should you do if you risk overstaying your visa due to COVID-19? Maybe you’re
ill, maybe you cannot leave, maybe your flight is canceled. Let's talk about options in this
video. My name is Jacob Sapochnick. I'm an immigration attorney located in San Diego,
California. In the past 4, 6 weeks, we've been dealing with so many issues relating
to Coronavirus, changes in immigration, impact on our clients, and people like you that are
going through the immigration process. If you're here for the first time, subscribe
to our channel, click the bell to be notified for new videos. We release new videos every
single week, and especially now so many updates. Don't miss out on that. So, let's dive right
in and talk about options for people that are currently in the United States and they're
concerned about overstaying their visas. As we know there are so many challenges right
now and the USCIS and the immigration service, they’re also aware of that. Challenges like
people who are visiting in the US and then unable to leave right now because the flights
are canceled. People that are currently here on an ESTA, on a 90-day travel permit from
Europe, who are not able to leave as well because airports are closed, airports in the
receiving countries are not receiving flights, people that are changing from employment,
switching companies, filing for job transfers and extensions. Everything is currently on
hold because the USCIS offices are closed. Yes, they're closed for physical appointments.
They're working on the back end but things are really, really delayed. So, people are
concerned. So, what do we do? So, let's kind of break it down. Let's talk about, first,
people that are currently in the United States on a tourist visa and they are not able to
leave because the flights are canceled or because they're receiving airports or not
taking flights, currently, in so they're stuck here. So, the first thing that I want to suggest
is if you’re here on your B1, B2 visa and your 6 months term are coming to an end because
you’re here in the US right now, file for an extension, it's the best thing you can
do just file it. And as long as your case is pending, you're able to stay in the United
States and wait for the results of your extension, or as soon as flights are open, you can literally
just leave. If you’re here on the ESTA, if you’re here as a visitor from Europe,
you can apply for what is called Satisfactory Departure where you essentially need to call
the Customs and Border Patrol at the airport where you entered or in the city where you're
located and ask them in writing for a 30-day extra stay in the US. Typically, what they
want to see, they want to see your flight return. They want to see an explanation of
the reasons why you cannot leave and for you to be able to get an ESTA extension of 30
more days, your departure on the end of your ESTA should be 14 days or less before it expires.
So, if you just arrived in the US now and you have two more months left, they're not
going to give an extension. You should be in a period of 14 days in the period of your
ESTA being expiring. So, you contact the CBP and try to get an extension. A recent update
suggests that you can also call the local USCIS office and they have a division where
you're able to also ask for assistance with your ESTA. They’re just trying to expand
that because so many people are here visiting from Europe and it's just not enough manpower
at CBP to be able to help with those extensions. So, USCIS offices are also able to help that
as well. So, if you have questions about how to do that, post them in the comments as well.
Now, another thing that people are concerned about is people are switching or filing for
extensions of work. But filing the extension of work in this period of time, you may not
be able to get the [inaudible] time, you're not going to be able to get the answer for
your extension. So, what you have to understand, if you're filing for an extension of a work
visa, like an H1 or a TN, or an E2, and you're still in the US, working for the same employer,
the fact that you file the extension, the fact that you file the actual petition, you
should be automatically able to get an extension of 240 days to continue working uninterrupted,
which is great because hopefully, by the time this whole crisis is over, you'll be able
to get a receipt, and in the meantime, there's no interruption in your employment, and you
can continue working for that employer. This is true if the extension is with the same
employer, and the conditions of work are the same. And finally, let's talk about people
that are here but they overstayed their visas. So, let's say you’re on a tourist visa,
COVID-19 start, there’s panic, either you got sick, or you were not able to file the
extension because people were just panicking and there was a shutdown and order to stay
at home. People that have overstayed are still suggested to file the extension now, even
if you do it late, and the way you do it is you file extension but with an explanation
as to the extreme circumstances that led you to file your extension late. So, it has to
be something reasonable. So, maybe we're late 2, 3 weeks, if you're late five months, they're
not going to accept it, obviously. But if you’re late like a month or even a month
and a half, because you're trying to find a space, or you're trying to protect yourself,
put it in writing file an extension, put some evidence to show why it happened. And according
to a recent memo that was released by USCIS, they will entertain people that give credible
explanations, with some proof to be able to get an extension even if you file it late.
So, those are kind of the main things that are on people's minds right now, first of
all, what to do if you're here on a tourist visa, and you cannot leave, I suggest file
an extension if you're here. If you are on ESTA, ask for an extension of 30 days and
you could even ask for an extra 30 days under recent changes. You do it directly with the
CBP, or with the USCIS. If you file the extensions to work, even if you don't have an approval
or a receipt, you should be able to work for 240 days as long as you file the extension
with the same employer. And finally, even if you overstayed, and you're still here in
the US, you can still file for an extension explaining the circumstances that led to overstay
and they should be able to accommodate that and accept your application. So, these are
some of the current tips that I want to give you guys. Many, many people are asking those
questions are concerned about overstaying, are concerned what to do, they're stuck here.
Those are the things you have to do. Let me know in the comments below if you have any
questions. If you know anybody that may be benefiting from this video, share this video
with a friend. Subscribe to our channel. We are going to make videos every single week
and let me know what other topics you want us to make videos about, what are your concerns.
I'll be here making videos for you. Thank you for watching, and we’ll see you in our
next video.