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The Consequences of Overstaying Your Visa in the U.S

By August 2, 2017 No Comments

There are several situations that demand the assistance of the best immigration lawyers in Irvin. These may include getting a family based immigration, violation of traffic that resulted in a traffic ticket, real estate laws when purchasing property, establishing a business in the US, preparing an estate plan and others.

While all of these situations can be quite complicated and daunting at times, overstaying in the US is the problem that can result in many severe legal consequences. It’s a complication that must be given into the hands of the best immigration lawyers in Irvin to keep yourself safe from these legal actions and to get it resolved at once.

Speaking of consequences of staying past the departure date in the US, this overstaying can be quite troublesome for people that are working or have families in the US. For instance, your visa can be void; you will lose the right of applying new visa to any consulate other than of your home country.

In addition, you may be barred from coming back to the US for several years. Majorly, it is a common observation in the case of foreign nationals who enter the US and then overstay i.e. in excess of the allotted time as per their visa restrictions. If you, too, have been through this, then you must know the penalties against this illegal act, depending on your particular circumstances.

As per Plano immigration lawyers, you must be aware of all these consequences and the basic information about overstaying your visa before you take the assistance of best immigration lawyers in Irvin. Therefore, let us discuss this in detail.

Determine how long have you been overstaying in the US

First, you must know when you were actually expected to leave the country. This is the date that is shown on the Form I-94 – Arrival/Departure Record. You must differentiate this date from the date of the visa expiration, which is simply the last date upon which one could use the visa to enter the US. Therefore, you must count forward from the mentioned date on the Form I-94.

For instance, if you came to the US on a student visa, your Form I-94 would say “D/S” as your status duration. This means that once you finish your studies or stop complying with the visa terms, then you will be considered as overstaying in the US.

We now know the basic meaning of overstaying in the US, so let us have a look at some consequences of overstaying, as per the best immigration lawyers in Irvin.

 

Four Major Consequences of Overstaying your Visa in the U.S

Here are the four major consequences that are likely to result in overstaying in the US.

  1. You may be barred from returning back to the US for 3 to 10 years, depending on the duration for which you overstayed.
  2. Overstay may additionally put restrictions to change of status or an extension of stay
  3. Overstaying may void your current visa
  4. Overstaying put a restriction of applying for new visa except being in the country of your nationality.

For your understanding, let us discuss these consequences in detail below.

Consequence of Inadmissibility

If you remain in the United States longer than the duration, your visa permits, or if your authorized stay has been expired for less than a year but more than 180 days, then leaving the country before the removal proceedings will have you barred from returning to the US for 3 years, from your date of departure.

Similarly, if you have illegally stayed in the US, as overstaying your visa, for more than a year and you leave the US before the removal proceedings, you are barred from returning to the US for at least 10 years from your departure date.

 

Consequence of Extension of Stay or Bar to Status Change

If you remain in the United States, once your authorized stay is over, you will not be able to change the status to nonimmigrant status or extend your stay in the US. In the majority of the cases, you will also be barred from making an adjustment to your status – from nonimmigrant to an immigrant.

However, as per Plano immigration lawyers and USCIS, if you, being a foreign national, file for the status change, extension of stay or even status adjustment before the authorized stay expires in the US, you will be given a permission or considered maintaining the status until the decision is made with regards to the petition or application even if your decision comes after the expiration date of I-94.

 Consequence of Visa Voidance

Your visa, being a foreign national, becomes void if you stay more than the authorized duration of stay. As per the information given by Plano immigrating lawyers, the immigration has strict laws to ensure the application and interpretation of these provisions. Therefore, even if you overstay a single day in the US, your visa will be void. To be readmitted into the US, after overstaying your visa, you will need to apply again for a nonimmigrant visa from the country of your nationality.

Consequence of Prohibited Consulate Application

As per Plano immigration lawyers, if you, being a foreign national, overstay your visa and cross the duration of authorized stay in the United States, you must first return to your homeland to apply for a new visa as a non-immigrant. You are no longer eligible to directly apply from the consulate that is closer to the US or is convenient. In the case your country (of nationality) does not have any consulate to issue the visa, the secretary of state will designate a country specifically which will apply new visa for the overstayed foreign nationals.

Exception: There is an exception to the rule. If you can show that you had exceptional circumstances, you might be allowed to apply for visa from the third party consulate i.e. from the country which is not a country of your nationality. However, if you wish to take the advantage of the given exception, you must first take the consent of the third party consulate. And this must be attained before submitting the visa application as a non-immigrant and before making an appointment.

 

Eligibility to get waiver for the ten-year and three-year bars

The waiver is available to those intending immigrants who successfully demonstrate that in the situation of not getting a waiver or if the visa is not approved, their lawful permanent resident and US citizen, as parents or spouse, will extremely suffer. But proving this is near to impossible in a majority of the cases. It means facing more hardship than a spouse or family member would face in the situation of separation because of visa denial. To provide this waiver, there are many factors that are considered including educational, financial and medical factors.

 

Getting legal assistance for overstaying your visa is crucial

The repercussions of overstaying your visa can be handled and mitigated if you take the assistance of immigration lawyers in the US. Without having the guidance of a legal expert, you may suffer from consequences which could have been avoided.

Since in this situation, timing is crucial, therefore, you must not hesitate or think twice before taking the help of a professional immigration lawyer. While many people do nothing and continue staying in the US even after the voidance of their visa, living a life looking over the shoulder is never recommended.

In the case of living after the authorized duration of stay, there is a high risk of being caught by the immigration authorities in the US and also of being deported immediately. So it’s better not to miss the boat and get yourself assistance by hiring the best Plano immigration lawyers such as The Law Offices of LaSusa& Deb PLLC.