What is Form I-539?

Form I-539 is the application a person in the United States on a temporary status (visitor, student, certain family members of workers) uses to ask to stay longer or to change to another temporary status.

A temporary status has a date: the one on your arrival record, the I-94. The official page says the I-539 is filed before that date, and suggests doing it well ahead.

According to the instructions, the person holding the temporary status files it. Family members included in the same application are added with a supplement, Form I-539A, one per person.

Some work categories use a different form, the I-129, which we do not prepare. Whether your category belongs on this form or another is a legal question: we do not answer it. The official instructions list it and a licensed attorney can guide you.

People almost always gather the I-94, the passport, the visa you entered with, and proof of why you are asking for more time and how you support yourself meanwhile. Students also gather their school's paperwork.

The general list and the official sources live on the form's page; we do not repeat them here. Whether your evidence is enough is for the officer to decide, not us.

We ask for your details, your entry dates and the reason, one thing at a time, and transfer the answers onto the official form with technical checks.

You receive an unsigned PDF. You review it, sign it by hand and mail it with the fee, which is paid directly to USCIS. USCIS also accepts this form online for many cases; how to file it is your choice.

USCIS then sends a receipt notice and, in many cases, a biometrics appointment: fingerprints and a photo. How long the decision takes changes; USCIS publishes its times and we only link to them.

Copying the visa's expiration date instead of the I-94's: they are different dates and the I-94's is the one that counts. Leaving out a child who is in the same situation. Sending it after the I-94 date.

And explaining the reason with a single loose sentence. USCIS asks for a full written explanation, with the evidence that goes with it.

While the application is pending, what you can and cannot do (work, travel, study) is a legal question. We do not guess: the official legal-help directories are linked below.

In the guide on what happens after you mail your form we explain the receipt notice, where the number is, and how to check your case.

We are not a law firm and we do not give legal advice. We fill the form in with your answers and check the formatting; we do not decide whether an extension applies to you or which status to request.