Lawful status means that a foreign national has an unexpired Form I-94 that was issued by immigration authorities, and they are complying with the conditions on their specific visa. If they do not comply with those conditions, they will not have lawful status. An H-1B visa holder who does not work for the employer that sponsored their petition, for example, will be considered to have fallen out of status. By contrast, a period of authorized stay defines a time during which a foreign national does not have lawful status but has permission to stay in the U.S. for a certain reason. This typically happens when a foreign national has applied to extend or change their status while their current status remains valid, but USCIS does not make a decision on their application before their status expires. A foreign national is unlawfully present in the U.S. only if they have neither lawful status nor a period of authorized stay.