Proposal to Reduce Tourist Stays to Only 30 Days! 
Posted Mar 29, 2002

Immigration and Naturalization Service Commissioner James W. Ziglar announced a significant proposal for change in the tourist visa regulations. In testimony given March 19, 2002 before the House Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims, the Commissioner stated that the INS is considering regulatory changes that would result in most holders of tourist visas being allowed entry for a period of 30 days. This is a dramatic reduction from the previously generous provisions, whereby the INS routinely granted tourists the right to remain legally in the U.S. for up to 6 months.

Mr. Ziglar also announced significant changes with respect to persons requesting a change of status from B-2 (tourist or visitor for pleasure) to F-1 or M-1 (student). These issues were confirmed in a meeting on March 20, 2002 between senior officials of INS and the Washington D.C. Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), which was attended by several attorneys from The Law Office of Sheela Murthy.

Tourist : Length of Stay Change

Currently, most individuals entering on B-2 visas are allowed to remain in the U.S. for six months. The INS inspector at the Port of Entry determines the length of the authorized stay. Unless there are reasons to limit the stay, such as recent, multiple prior visits, permission to remain in the U.S. for six months has been given fairly routinely. The proposal would limit this "routine" period to one month.

Although the Commissioner did not release any further details on this subject, INS officials at the above-mentioned AILA meeting indicated that periods of more than a month would be allowed but would require documented reasons justifying the need for a longer stay.

For our MurthyBulletin and MurthyDotCom readers this change may mean that extended visits by family members will become more difficult. Many older parents visit their permanent resident children for several months at a time. Due to the expense of the trip and the great distance involved, such relatively lengthy visits are the only way that many immigrant families can remain in close contact. Given that the INS Ports of Entry are increasing their scrutiny of repeat visitors, it may now be quite difficult or even impossible to have family visitors in the country for fairly brief visits more than occasionally. The proposed change has not yet been implemented and we will be following this issue closely.

Restrictions on Changing to Student Status

As a direct reaction to the events of September 11^th, the INS is proposing changes to the procedure in effect when an individual applies to change status from tourist to student. Presently, one can start attending classes / courses at the time the application for change of status is filed with the INS. The proposed changes would require such a person await the INS approval of the change of status before being legally eligible to attend classes. Generally, the INS has taken approximately 6 to 9 months to approve the change of status in the past. The current proposal would greatly reduce the waiting time for a decision on a change of status to 30 days or less.

The ability to file the change of status from tourist to student is also under scrutiny. An intending student may be held strictly to the requirement that s/he declare her/his intention to be a student at the Port of Entry in order to be allowed to change status after entering as a tourist. If this intent is not declared, the individual would have to leave the U.S. and make an application for a visa at a U.S. consulate abroad in order to enter as a student rather than filing for the change of status with the INS in the U.S., as is often the case now. 

These changes are intended to reduce or eliminate the ability of individuals to "linger" in the U.S. for protracted periods of time while awaiting decisions on changes of status from tourist to student. These procedures would work in combination with new requirements mandating that the school notify the INS if the student does not enroll in school right away or maintain valid student status during the course of study. These measures are all geared towards ensuring that students do not violate their student status or have the time to become involved in various illegal activities without being apprehended or detected promptly by the INS.