The INS, in a letter to Alan Lee, an immigration lawyer in New York City, has stated that filing for asylum does not have an impact on one’s ability to lawfully stay in non-immigrant status. It also does not affect a non-immigrant visa applicant’s ability to extend or change non-immigrant status. However, filing for asylum does not in itself extend non-immigrant status. A non-immigrant visa holder will need to maintain that status even after the asylum application is filed in order to apply for an extension or change.
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