My mother is in the U.S. in B-2 status, and her I-94 will expire soon. She has no way to return to India, so she is applying to extend her status. She will return to India as soon as flights resume. Will this prevent her from coming back in B-2 status next year?

Answer

There is no set limit to the number of times a person may be admitted in B-2 status, or how many times their status may be extended. CBP officers at the port of entry always have discretion to admit (or deny admission) to a person requesting to enter on a B-2 visa. Under normal circumstances, some of the issues the officers tend to look at are the recency and duration of previous stays. However, the fact that your mother had to stay longer than expected due to the pandemic should not automatically prevent her from being admitted in the future. Further, given that this is a global phenomenon, one would hope that, in the future, CBP officers will be understanding that a great many B-2 visitors were forced to stay longer than expected.  (03.Jun.2020)

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