The eruption of the volcano in Iceland made it impossible for any travelers to fly back to Europe. For those who had made travel arrangements for the last days before their U.S. visa expired, they found themselves facing a serious problem: losing their legal status in the United States while being stuck at an airport. According to the immigration rules, falling out of status can spell problems for returning to the country in the future.
Posts to the Nowy Dziennik Polish Daily News website proved that this was not an abstract problem. One desperate reader wrote, "I was supposed to fly to Warsaw last Thursday. After 180 days in the U.S. my tourist visa expired last Sunday. I contacted the USCIS to learn that because my visa had ran out, I will not be allowed in the U.S. for the next 10 years. Is there anyone else in a situation like mine?"
Fortunately, the 10-year rule applies to individuals who have remained in the United States illegally for more than a year, so the reader does not need to worry; however, she is in a complicated situation.
Immigration authorities published special instructions for people who got stuck at American airports because of the canceled flights and overstayed their visas. The procedure for Polish citizens involved not only filling out complicated paperwork to extend their legal stay, but also paying a $300 fee.
After three days the U.S. Customs and Immigration Services (USCIS) changed the instructions for people whose visas expired while waiting to leave the country.
"Generally speaking, travelers holding non-immigrant visas do not have to file for an extension of status and pay a corresponding fee," said Kathie Tichacek, a spokesperson for the NY USCIS. However, the citizens of countries that are required to obtain visas to enter the United States, and whose visas are about to expire while they wait for flights to resume, are required to make a visit at the USCIS office and present their passports, documents proving that the flight was canceled, along with the I-94 form that states the date of their entry in the United States. All this must be done to receive a document allowing them to lawful stay in the United States for 30 days. They no longer have to fill out form I-539, and application to extend/change non-immigrant status, which involves a fee of $300.
The change of procedures took place after a diplomatic intervention. Poland highlighted the problem in a European Union memo addressed to the Department of State, said Pawel Maciag, a spokesperson for the Polish Embassy. Nowy Dziennik was the first to report the inconvenience and high costs involved in a procedure required of travelers involuntarily stuck in the United States.
According to the new instructions, travelers who are not required to have U.S. visa to enter the country should visit the U.S. Customs and Border Protection office located at the airport to obtain the so called Satisfactory Departure document that enables them to legally remain in the United States for the next 30 days. They can also go to the nearest USCIS office.
For individuals who are required to have a U.S. visa to enter the country, the easy procedure at the airport is not an option. They must appear at a USCIS office in order to extend their stay. The instructions posted on agency's website are yet again full of inconsistencies, for instance directing people to fill the form I-539 45 days before their visa expires.
But contrary to the instructions posted on the USCIS website, Tichacek stated that travelers who overstayed their U.S. visas due to these unusual circumstances do not automatically lose the privilege to extend their legal stay. "The exception to the rule applies only to the individuals who were not able to leave the country on time," she said.
Flights between the United States and Europe resumed on Tuesday night, though accommodating all the travelers whose flights were canceled will take at least two weeks. The Poles who face the issue of an expiring U.S. visa must go to a USCIS office in order to avoid problems getting back into the United States in the future.
