USCIS Announces Grace Period for New I-539

03/04/2019

USCIS has announced a grace period for the new I-539. Specifically, it will publish the new form on March 8, 2019 and accept the existing version of the form through March 21, 2019. Starting March 22, 2019, USCIS will only accept the new version of the form, which will have an edition date of February 4, 2019. USCIS originally announced it would publish the new form on March 11, 2019 and require it effective the same day.

The grace period does not affect the changes associated with the publication of the new Form I-539. Notably, most I-539 applicants, regardless of age, will be required to pay an $85 biometrics service fee and attend a biometrics appointment at the nearest Application Support Center. In addition, each co-applicant must submit and sign a separate Form I-539A, which will replace Supplement A on the existing I-539.