INTRODUCTION
An overstay visa is when you are in a country longer than your visa allows, so you are here illegally. You must know about the immigration laws. This is because even accidental overstaying can have unpleasant effects.
Overstaying your visa will keep you from entering America again or destroy your opportunities for future visas. Read on to learn more about this immigration issue and how to navigate it.
UNDERSTANDING THE VALIDITY TIMELINE OF VISAS
The expiration date of a visa is the time from the date your visa was issued to the date it expires. It tells you for how long you can lawfully enter and leave the US.
Your visa could have one entry, several, or none, depending on where you are from. If there is an expiry date mentioned on your form I-94 or admissions stamp, then that is when you should leave the country.
WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU OVERSTAY?
Violating a US visa has some pretty bad consequences. If you are an illegal immigrant here for 180 days or less, you can avoid severe punishment if you leave before hitting that mark.
But staying here more than 180 days can lead to your being prohibited from re-entering the US for three to ten years. Crossing ten years can lead to hefty fines and sinister legal issues, like needing a waiver to come back.
Although technically a civil offense, overstaying a visa isn’t so much a crime. It will exclude you from a wide range of immigration benefits and lead to deportation, though.
SPECIFIC DETAILS OF THE PENALTIES FOR OVERSTAYING YOUR VISA
If you stay in the United States beyond your visa expiration date, it will be counterintuitive as follows:
- Illegal presence: You cannot re-enter within three years when your departure if you stay for more than 180 days but not a year. You cannot re-enter if you stay for more than one year but not two, either, for ten years.
- Future visa issues: The overstay is tracked, and getting a future visa into America becomes harder.
- Detention and removal: It will hold you back and get you deported from the United States. No ill feelings will be held by the immigration officers if apprehended.
DIFFERENT WAYS TO TRACK VISA OVERSTAYS
The US government uses a bunch of tools and methods to keep an eye on visa overstays.
Here are some ways they track people who are illegally staying:
- Biometric programs.
- Electronic tracking of exits through airline lists.
- Matching entry and exit records.
- Facial recognition tech.
- I-94 arrival or departure records.
- Plus, other high-tech systems and databases.
WHAT YOU SHOULD DO IMMEDIATELY
- Find your visa expiry date: Start by looking at when you were originally supposed to leave the United States. That would have been on your I-94 document. Almost everyone is most likely going to mess up the date, so double-checking will be wise.
- Hire an immigration attorney: Each overstay case is unique. Your immigration attorney will be able to provide specific advice in the context of your case.
- Take your options for your status seriously: Depending on your case, you might have some options available to you for your status. That can be by filing an extension, a change of status, or a re-entry permit if you qualify.
Your immigration attorney can sit with you and run through your options and tell you what would be in your best interest.
LEARN MORE!
If you have overstayed your visa, it is strongly advised that you consult with a highly experienced immigration attorney.
Skilled immigration attorneys have excellent success records for defending clients in the matter of complex immigration cases. This includes overstayed visas.
To learn more, get a copy of this comprehensive e-book on core immigration issues.
