Legal Question in Immigration Law in New York

Hello

I'm on a student visa and my girlfriend is on a tourist visa. We're both brazilians. We entered on January 6th but she was given only a month to stay here. We've been living together for a while (in Brazil) and I want her to stay with me in the US.

Question: would it be better to ask for a tourist visa extension (the thing is we don't have a "real" reason besides we being together) or to try to get a student visa from an english school in NY? I just want to find a way to keep her legally in the country a few more months, in the hope that by the second semester she will succeed transferring her college to here and getting a long duration student visa too (like mine).

Thank you very much for any help you can give


Asked on 1/08/13, 5:06 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Marlene Hemmings Marlene Hemmings, Attorney at Law

If she applies for a B-2 extension now, it will take longer to adjudicate the application than the time she has left on her visa. Thus, if it is denied, she accrues illegal presence.

USCIS is loathe to approve a change of status from B-2 to F-1, so she will need to apply for her student visa at home. However, applying for an F-1 is a far better option than a B-2 extension.

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Answered on 1/09/13, 9:00 am


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