you are absolutely wonderful

Pardon my squestion about 601A-- I found that one out too.

My stepfather's I-94 expired on Jun-05, 2015, so only two weeks after 180 days.

We actually already received a NVC welcome letter (ACL) on Dec 18th, which gave us instructions about filling documents online (six steps), and said that once they reviewed the forms they will schedule a visa interview at Guangzhou, China.

I called a lawyer and she said that we better file I-601 here since he passed the 180 days deadline already. It is likely that USCIS cut us a slack because it is only a few days after the 180-days, but the consulate in Guangzhou may still pick it up and ask for a I601 waiver. The cost for hiring a lawyer for 601 here is ~ $4000.

Should we just let him to go back to China to try his luck? my step father is 78 yr old already.

many many thanks again