Many Americans don't realize how easy it is to fall into some sort of "illegal" status in the US. I have been stranding in the US with expired status at the be

Many Americans don't realize how easy it is to fall into some sort of "illegal" status in the US. I have been stranding in the US with expired status at the beginning of the pandemic. I filed change of status but USCIS never approved it before I gave it up and left to a third country to apply for the visa. (So technically the CoS was automatically rejected and the months were retrospectively counted as illegal presence.) And now, in a few days, my wife will have to suspend her job because the USCIS keep delaying the decision on her H1B CoS, due to some "additional security check".