Visitor Visas : Confusion at POE - What You Can Do
Posted May 17, 2002

As regular readers of the MurthyBulletin and MurthyDotCom are aware, a proposed regulation issued on April 12, 2002 would decrease the standard minimum stay allowed for those on visitor's visas from six months to one month. We reported on this matter in our April 10, 2002 NewsFlash, Major Changes for Visitors and Students, available on MurthyDotCom, and in our article posted April 19, 2002 entitled, Voice Your Concern on Proposals to Tourist Stays. Essentially, the proposed regulation would change the standard period allowed to visitors from six months to "the time that is fair and reasonable for the purpose of the visit." The potential visitor must establish the time needed. If s/he cannot establish how much time is needed, the Port of Entry (POE) Officer will allow only a 30-day stay, which can only be extended in "unexpected and compelling humanitarian" situations.

Some POE officers are already treating the proposed regulation as the law. They are, according to reports that we have received, granting only 30-day stays in cases where the standard six-month stay is still currently appropriate. The confusion may have occurred because the proposed regulation was issued at the same time as a related regulation (pertaining to changes in status from tourist to student), which was effective immediately upon release.

Attorney Murthy brought this matter to the attention of Yvonne La Fleur, Chief, Air and Space, INS Office of Inspections at the May 3, 2002 AILA conference in Washington, D.C. Ms. La Fleur agreed to address this misunderstanding in the next regional teleconference with the chief POE Inspectors at airports nationwide. She promised to clarify with the POE Inspectors that the regulations are only proposed at this point and that Inspectors should not be issuing B-2 stays for only 30 days based on proposed regulations.

We may have a solution to help any of our readers, their family members, or visitors who might have been subject to this mistake. It is a simple and effective strategy to overcome an error of the INS POE Inspector. To avoid overstaying the date incorrectly notated on the I-94 card, it is wise to file for an extension of the B-1/B-2 status with the INS based upon "Service Error" (i.e. INS error) in granting an inappropriately limited time, in violation of the law that requires 6 months for all B-2 tourists. The filing fee should be included with a request that it be returned / refunded, due to Service Error that necessitated the filing for the B-2 extension of status.