What options if you have fallen out of status in the U.S.

A Nunc pro tunc request can be used to reinstate your legal status – and, in some cases, the USCIS may even backdate the new I-94!
Eligibility criteria:
 Family emergency
 An error by an employer, or
 Oversight
Any of the above factors, may have caused you to fall out of legal status. You now find yourself inside the US with no legal status (and this may include your spouse and children). Can you fix this problem and remain in the States? We can request this discretionary relief from the USCIS.
There are times when it is necessary to request that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) forgive someone’s failure to timely file a request to change or extend their status. We will argue for example that a misunderstanding, illness, or just human error, prevented you from filing timely. We are essentially requesting USCIS forgiveness and to file for a backdated Nunc pro tunc (legal term in Latin, meaning “now for then”), approval.

Discretionary Remedy:

Nunc pro tunc (NPT) is a discretionary remedy by which the USCIS may approve a late filed request to change or extend status, based on facts and extenuating circumstances presented. In other words, the USCIS has no obligation to approve the request.
USCIS has the discretion to approve an NPT request if it is demonstrated that:
(1) the late filing is the result of extraordinary circumstances beyond the control of the applicant or petitioner and the delay is commensurate with the circumstances.
2) the foreign national has not otherwise violated her/his nonimmigrant status.
3) the foreign national remains a bona fide nonimmigrant; and
(4) the foreign national is not subject to deportation or removal proceedings.

If an NPT request is favorably considered for an applicant seeking an extension of status, the USCIS will backdate the validity date to close the gap in status. This is helpful in many cases, since it is common for applicants to fail to extend a dependent status, such as an H-4 dependent, when the petitioner files to extend the status of the primary spouse.
Case study from one of our clients who went from no legal status to green card:

I moved with my husband and 3 children from London to the United States. With my husband working in a multinational company under his L-1A visa, we all held legal status as his L2 dependents. Life took an unexpected turn when my husband passed away from a boating accident, leaving me a single mother to navigate through the complexities of life in the United States with our three children. Amidst the overwhelming grief and responsibility, I completely forget about the status of the L visas it was not a priority.

It was only when the company contacted me, notifying me of the expired L-2 visas and the subsequent loss of legal status due to my husband’s death, that I realized the difficult situation we were in. Returning to London did not seem a feasible option, especially considering the opportunities that the United States offered our children in terms of education and future prospects; we had been living in the States for over 5 years. The loss of their friends and life after losing their dad tragically I felt would impact them severely; the United States was our home.

Someone recommended Caro. She suggested that a Nunc Pro Tunc case would be my best option as if we departed the US, we would be barred from entering for years as we triggered bars due to overstaying by more than one year.

The process was slow and loaded with paperwork, but it was a chance to rectify our illegal status as otherwise my family would be living under the shadows and that would not be an option. Caro emphasized the urgency, understanding that the longer we stayed in the US, the harder it will be to convince the immigration officers.

Remarkably, the immigration authorities recognized our unique situation, and our new visa based on my past experience was approved. Despite the hurdles, our past was forgiven, erasing any trace of our previous undocumented status. As soon as we secured our legal status under a three year visa we set about applying for green cards and these were approved after 18 months.