USCIS Publishes New Editions of Form I-539 and Form I-539A

On March 8, 2019, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a new and revised edition of the Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status [PDF version]. Starting on March 22, 2019, the March 8, 2019 edition of the Form I-539 will be the only acceptable edition of the Form I-539. Thus, any prior edition of the Form I-539 filed on or after March 22, 2019, will be rejected.

Along with the new edition of the Form I-539, the USCIS also published a new edition of the Form I-539A, Supplemental Information for Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status. The new edition of the Form I-539A is also dated March 8, 2019.

The USCIS listed several important changes on the new editions of the Form I-539 and I-539A (quoted from news release):

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 Form I-539 webpage on March 8. Parents or guardians may sign on behalf of children under 14 or any co-applicant who is 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 8.
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.

The USCIS made clear that it will reject any revised Form I-539 that is missing any of the required signatures or biometrics fees. This includes supplemental Forms I-539A as well.

The Form I-539 is one of the most common immigration forms. For this reason, it is important for nonimmigrants to be aware of the new edition. We discuss change of nonimmigrant status in a full article [see article]. To learn about specific nonimmigrant categories which utilize the Form I-539, please see our website's growing article selections on travel visas [see category], work visas [see category], and student visas [see category].