Visitors who are in the United States at this time may be in the situation that they cannot find a way to leave the country before their current period of admission will expire. The period of admission is governed by the date on your I-94, which can be accessed here: https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/

If it is about to expire, you must either leave the U.S. and reenter, or extend the I-94 while in the U.S.  As borders are closing, leaving and re-entering the U.S. is likely not an option.

If you are on a visa, you may want to consider applying for an extension of status. If the petition or application is filed before the I-94 expires, you can stay in the U.S. during that time. In some cases, you can also continue to work for a period of up to 240 days while the petition is being adjudicated.

However, if you entered on the visa waiver program (ESTA), your allowed stay in the U.S. is strictly limited to only 90 days and cannot extend the period of time in the U.S.  Only in an emergency, the US government can grant a so-called Satisfactory Departure. Satisfactory Departure is an extension of admission period and is granted only in limited cases and for serious emergencies, such as hospitalization, or conditions that cause flights to be delayed or cancelled for more than 24 hours (weather, worker strikes, etc.).

These reasons are typically:

• Hospitalization emergencies, such as getting into a serious car accident on the way to the airport to leave the USA
• Inclement weather that cancelled the outbound flight
• Airport strikes
• Catastrophe events impacting your departure area

And specifically these days:

• Exposure to the virus
• Flu-like symptoms
• Other health related issues

Please note, Satisfactory Departure is available depending on which port of entry the visitor entered the US and the procedures for requests for Satisfactory Departure status are office specific, so please consult an attorney if you are jeopardy of overstaying your I-94. Overstays can result in you being barred from reentering the U.S. on subsequent occasions.  We can assist with requests for Satisfactory Departure status at the appropriate Deferred Inspection Office.