July 31, 2020
On July 31, 2020 DHS filed a motion to dismiss its own appeal of a decision about Unlawful Presence for Fs and Js. For now, USCIS has returned to applying prior policy guidance based on its unlawful presence memo issued on May 6, 2009. Under that prior policy, F/J students admitted for duration of status (D/S) do not begin accruing unlawful presence until an immigration judge finds a status violation in the course of an immigration proceeding, or an immigration officer finds a violation of status in the course of an application for an immigration benefit.