Whether you got approved for a visitor visa, student visa, a certain work visa, or any other nonimmigrant visa, you must understand that it only grants you a temporary stay in the United States. In other words, upon your visa’s disclosed expiration date, you are expected to return to your home country. The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would not like to get word of otherwise. With that being said, please read on to discover the possible repercussions if you overstay your visa and how one of the seasoned family based immigration lawyers at Lupton Law LLC can help you avoid this altogether.
What are the repercussions if I overstay my visa?
Simply put, once your allotted visa period comes and goes, you may no longer have a valid immigration status in the United States. This means that if you continue to reside in the country once this time is up, the DHS may accuse you of having an unlawful presence. Now, being labeled as unlawfully present comes with serious legal and immigration consequences. Just a few examples of this read as follows:
- You may be subject to fines, travel restrictions, and criminal charges in certain situations.
- You may significantly hinder your chances of obtaining a U.S. green card or citizenship status in the future.
- You may be subject to removal proceedings and a deportation order, if you still had not left the country at the time of discovery.
- You may be barred from reentering for anywhere between three years to indefinitely, if you already left the country before removal proceedings.
- Your visa may automatically get canceled and you may be forced to apply for another U.S. visa at the U.S. consulate in your country of nationality.
What can I do to avoid these harsh consequences?
Before all else, when entering the United States initially, you must listen carefully to an official of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) working with you. This is because this official will explicitly state the date on which you are required to depart from the country. What’s more, this date will also be disclosed on the Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record, they attach to your passport. It is important that you keep this document handy, along with learning how to access it online on the CBP’s website. This is so this date is always at the top of your mind and you give yourself enough time to get your plans in order.
On the other hand, though, if you wish to extend your stay beyond the period of authorized stay, you must apply for an extension with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) well before your visa’s expiration date (i.e., Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status). If your allotted stay has already expired, though, you must provide sufficient evidence that circumstances beyond your reasonable control caused you to file late (i.e., eligibility for extraordinary circumstances). Or else, you may be considered “out of status” according to the DHS’s standards, and you may still be threatened by the repercussions mentioned above.
To better understand your legal rights in the matter at hand, please seek the advisement of one of the sound and competent family-based immigration lawyers. Please feel confident in knowing that our team at Lupton Law LLC has significant experience in handling legal cases just like yours. So call us today.
