Extending ESTA/Visa Waiver Participants’ Periods of Admission Due to COVID-19
Individuals admitted under the VWP/ESTA program who find themselves unable to depart the U.S, before their current period of admission will end because of COVID-19 related issues who were admitted to the U.S. through John F. Kennedy International Airport, NY (JFK) and Newark Liberty International Airport, NJ (EWR) only contact your Murray Osorio representative so we may request a Satisfactory Departure for up to 30 days.
The request for Satisfactory Departure can be made if the individual’s period of stay will expire in 14 days or less. If your period of VWP/ESTA admission has expired, CBP will decide to grant satisfactory departure on a case-by-case basis.
There is no provision under U.S. law to extend the stay of an alien admitted under the VWP. The only form of relief for an alien admitted under the VWP who is unable to depart timely due to emergent circumstances is the exercise of Satisfactory Departure.
Pursuant to Title 8 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Section 217.3(a), if an emergency prevents an alien admitted under the VWP from departing the United States within the period of authorized stay, a period of Satisfactory Departure may be granted not to exceed 30 days – provided that the request is made during the period of admission and the alien is still in status at the time of the request. If departure is made within the period of approved Satisfactory Departure, the alien is regarded as having made a timely departure without overstaying the allowed time. In emergent circumstances, requests for Satisfactory Departure may be granted if the alien is out of status but can prove the intent was to depart timely – authority to approve these cases is reserved for the Director, Field Operations, unless re-delegated locally.