The USCIS recently announced that it has revised its?Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status. The new form will be available on the USCIS website on March 11, 2019. After that date, the USCIS will only accept the revised version of Form I-539.
Form I-539 is used for dependents of an H-1B visa applicant, who is changing visa status, or for dependents extending their current H-4 status.
Starting March 11, 2019, USCIS will ONLY accept the revised Form I-539 with an edition date of February 04, 2019. USCIS will reject a Form I-539 dated December 23, 2016 or earlier, and it appears that there is no grace period.
On March 11, 2019, it will also publish a new Form I-539A, Supplemental Information for Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status. Form I-539A replaces the Supplement A provided in previous versions of Form I-539. Form I-539A can only be submitted with Form I-539; it cannot be filed as a standalone.
According to the USCIS website, the revised Form I-539 will include the following significant changes:
- Every co-applicant included on the primary applicant’s Form I-539 must submit and sign a separate Form I-539A, which will be available on the USCIS’s Form I-539 webpage on March 11, 2019. Parents or guardians may sign on behalf of children under 14 or any co-applicant not mentally competent to sign.
- Every applicant and co-applicant must pay an $85 biometric services fee, except certain A, G, and NATO nonimmigrants as noted in the new Form I-539 Instructions to be published on March 11, 2019.
- Every applicant and co-applicant will receive a biometric services appointment notice, regardless of age, containing their individual receipt number. The biometric services appointments will be scheduled at the Application Support Center (ASC) closest to the primary applicant’s address. Co-applicants who wish to be scheduled at a different ASC location should file a separate Form I-539.