B-1 Extension after Applying For An Immigration Visa

Year: 2018
Nationality: Chinese
Applicant: Mr. Long
Case: B1/B2 Extension Petition (I-539)

Timeline:
2017.6 Entering the United States with B1/B2
2017.11 Submit B1/B2 extension application
2017.12 B1/B2 expired
2018.3 Submit O-1 and EB-1A applications
2018.7 Received RFE for B1/B2 extension application (notification of supplementary documents)
2018.8 Approval of B1/B2 extension

Difficulties:
• A detailed written statement is required in the RFE (Notice of Additional Documents) issued by the USCIS, explaining the reasons for the extension of the application and explaining the need for a long-term stay in the United States. The written statement requires the applicant to provide a list of all activities and addresses during the entry to the United States in chronological order, as well as my affidavit;

• Mr. Long applied for an EB-1A immigrant green card during the extended period of stay. The supplementary notice from the Immigration Bureau required an explanation of why he applied for the green card. It must be proved that Mr. Long only stayed in the United States temporarily, and did not give up his permanent residence in China;

• If Mr. Long’s B1/B2 extension cannot be successfully approved, it will not only result in the denial of his O-1 application but also prevent him from changing or adjusting his status in the United States in the future. Moreover, he has illegally overstayed in the United States for more than 180 days, and once he leaves the country, he faces the problem of being barred from entering the country for three years.

BACKGROUND
In June 2017, Mr. Long entered the United States with a B1/B2 visa. After traveling in the United States for three months, Mr. Long became very interested in the American construction industry, so he came up with the idea of legally developing his business in the United States. Introduced by a friend, Mr. Long came to Tsang & Associates for help, hoping to seize the time to apply for O-1 work visa and EB-1A outstanding talent green card for himself, so as to realize his dream of entering the US construction industry as soon as possible. After learning about Mr. Long’s special situation, Attorney Zang sorted out the application timeline for him, formulated an application plan and informed him of the risks. Because Mr. Long’s B1/B2 visa is about to expire in December 2017, the B1/B2 extension application was submitted for him in November 2017.

It took the Immigration Bureau 8 months to review Mr. Long’s application for an extension, and it was not until July 2018 that a supplementary document was sent. At this time, Mr. Long had overstayed his stay in the United States for 7 months. His supplementary document must be passed, otherwise, he will face a series of problems later, so our law team puts all their energy into responding to this supplementary notice.

KEYS TO SUCCESS
1. Necessity of B1/B2 extension application
In response to this, we have collected relevant materials to prove that the key reason for Mr. Long’s extended stay in the United States is that he needs more time to fully prepare his O-1 application. Mr. Long needs to find an American employer, and fully negotiate and communicate with the American employer. Not only that, but he also needs time to prepare the O-1 application data, which is related to the United States.

The clerical team of Tsang & Associates sorted out in detail all the activities and addresses of Mr. Long during his entry into the United States and their rationale. In addition, we also specifically explained his next plan in the United States, so that the staff of the Immigration Bureau can clearly know that he has not violated any laws and disciplines in the country, and the overstay is just to apply for his own O. -1 application.

2. Did not give up the intention to return to China, excluding immigration tendency
Regarding the fact that Mr. Long’s EB-1A green card application is still under review, Tsang & Associates focused on the following three aspects to prove that he would not violate the B1/B2 visa’s prohibition of immigrant intent:

The first part: Mr. Long’s family members are all in China, and there is no evidence that he has the idea and action of immigrating to the United States. Mr. Long also explained in his personal affidavit that his motivation for traveling to the United States was just to relax.
The second part: Show Mr. Long’s overseas bank account: Mr. Long has spent his whole life working hard in China, and the main investment is in China.
The third part: Mr. Long has an inseparable relationship with his family.

Although Mr. Long is in the United States, his family is in China, and he misses her wife very much. He spends time contacting his family every day. His family is waiting for him to go back. Therefore, it is illogical for Mr. Long to abandon all intentions of staying in the United States at the moment.

OUTCOME
After receiving the B1/B2 supplement notice, Zang Dikai United Law Firm (Tsang & Associates) responded quickly and prepared and sent the supplementary materials within one month. A few days later, I received an approval notice from the Immigration Bureau, allowing Mr. Long to successfully extend his B1/B2 without overstaying. And, his O-1 approval letter was received on the same day! What a double blessing! Mr. Long was finally relieved after waiting for 9 months, and then he was ecstatic, and immediately came to Tsang & Associates to thank him.

Mr. Long’s entire plan to go to the United States is obviously very large and complicated. He entered the country from B1/B2 to deciding to apply for O-1 and EB-1A. Due to the expiration of B1/B2 in December 2017, it led to the application of each step in the next step. are full of unknowns. However, relying on the efficient adaptability and strong professional ability of the Tsang & Associates team, Mr. Long was able to avoid any danger, and the two cases (B1/B2 extension and O-1 work visa application) were successfully approved at the same time. The next successful case will bring you the secret of Mr. Long’s O-1 visa being successfully approved after RFE (Notice of Supplementary Documents).

*To protect customer privacy, customer names are pseudonyms.