The United States offers a wide range of visas to meet the varied needs of foreign nationals. Each type of visa comes with its own set of regulations and permitted activities. As such, if you receive a U.S. visa, it’s crucial to understand these restrictions to ensure you don’t violate the terms of your conditional stay and place your legal status in jeopardy. Unfortunately, many people don’t see the harm in extending their trip past the date their visa expires. However, if you overstay your U.S. visa it can have severe consequences. Please continue reading to learn the potential consequences of overstaying your visa and why connecting with an experienced New Jersey Immigration Lawyer is in your best interest.
What Are the Long-Term Implications of Overstaying a Visa?
If you overstep the boundaries of your visa’s expiry date, even by just a day, it can trigger an automatic void of that visa. This means you won’t be able to use that same visa to re-enter the U.S. in the future, ultimately, rendering it useless.
In addition, if you overstay your visa, you will face additional hurdles when it comes to future visa applications. When applying for a new visa, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will review your record. A history of overstaying can lead the consular officer to question your intentions. This can make it much harder to obtain subsequent visas.
If you overstay your visa by more than 180 days, but less than a year, you can face a ban from returning to the U.S. for three years. If you overstay your visa by more than a year, that ban extends to ten years. It’s important to understand that the stakes get higher for repeat offenders. In extreme cases, it’s possible to face criminal charges, which can result in a criminal record that will haunt you for the rest of your life. Furthermore, you may not be allowed back into the U.S. if you have accrued more than one year of unlawful presence throughout several trips.
What is Visa Overstay Forgiveness?
In some cases, individuals can receive visa overstay forgiveness by applying for a waiver. This is a complex process as individuals must demonstrate that their overstay was the result of an extraordinary circumstance beyond their control, such as a medical emergency. Nevertheless, you should not rely on this strategy.
If the duration of your stay has expired and you are still in the country, it’s in your best interest to enlist the help of an experienced lawyer from the Law Offices of Aditya Surti, LLC, who can help you navigate your legal options. Connect with our firm today to learn how we can help you during these tough times.
