I have been living illegally in Texas for about 6 months now and am due to fly home with my american girlfriend in sept.
Can anyone tell me the worst case senario when ileave. Will i get put in prison with the terrorists?? Will i be able to come back in after my 3 week visit?? If anyone has had a similar experience i'd love to know and would like to know what the law is in this situation. Thank you and all have a wonderfully american day.
Rob
I should say worst case scenario - you get arrested, but as you are leaving the country they might just let you leave. HOWEVER I should think it highly unlikely that you will be allowed back in after three weeks. Theyll have you on their computer and will not likely let you come in again without visa.
That's if they allow you a visa! I would have thought, from my understand of breaking the law over here, they will have you on record to never allow you back into the country no matter what! Not even for a holiday.
The US take it very seriously living in this country illegally. And after Sept. 11th they are clamping down even more.
Before Sept 11th, if you left after living here illegally they wouldn't give you a visa for 5 years. I imagine it's much tougher now.
But what can the poor guy do now?
Jan ???
What happens if you "lose" your passport then? The original I-94 or visa waiver form with the expiry date would be in it...so what happens in cases where the British Embassy in Washington DC replaces a lost/stolen/missing passport?
I did hear that it takes many months for the embarkation cards to be processed in the US.
However, I guess it would look fishy if you haven't made a police report re missing passport, then additionally go and buy a new *return* air ticket, with travel originating in the US rather than the UK.
Maybe a one-way trip to Canada might be the easiest way out of the situation, with a return ticket for international travel being issued with departure from a Canadian airport. cool
Rob - I think you are a bit screwed mate.
Overstaying a visa was always punished in the past but as others have pointed out, since 9/11, INS are supposedly clamping down even harder now.
It was my understanding that leaving the us when you are between six months and one year past your visa expiry date means a 5 year ban on returning to the US. Going over one year means a ten year ban!
If you think you are going back for a three week break, I think you will be very lucky indeed if you get let back in. Dawn's Canada idea might be worth a shot but if the INS have a record of your passport number anyway, then the record will also have information on the type of visa you were granted on entry.
I can't really remember the procedure but I do recall something getting typed in to a computer system when I last entered the US without a green card.
Good luck - I think you are really going to need it.
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by pilgrim_007 on 2002-07-31 1951 ]</font>
Can't do the Canada run anymore. Someone we know was told to go to Canada by a Lawyer and they were very close to being arrested! thankfully, because he could prove the lawyer sent him, the let him off.
I just want you to know first off, britishcousin, what you have done is illegal and wrong. A lot of people here work very hard to get their visas and do things the legal way.
BUT, I do have one suggestion that might work. But again it may be different now because of 9/11. Try Mexico. Don't fly, drive. Go over the border into Mexico, and plan to stay a few days. Then, you may be able to get back in.
The only down side to this is it might cost you a lot of money. There are lawyers who specialise in visas this way but charge thousands of dollars for the privalege.
I know someone who did this to get a new visa (E visa) but their visitor's visa (3 month one you get on the plane)in their passport had not run out.
Leaving the country will initiate a 3 - 10 year ban, so it's a bad idea to go to the UK, Canada or Mexico if you want to get back in. When you enter the US, you need to make a declaration on the visa waiver form - admitting to the overstay and illegal working - the INS will then detain you briefly and begin immigration proceedings against you which will result in your being denied entry and a ban. You should never, ever lie to the INS - this only can make matters worse.
But all is not lost. If you marry and file for adjustment of status, they forgive the overstay and illegal working. Once you have filed for adjustment of status, you can then go about working legally (you need a work permit and social security number), and you can leave the US for short periods and still get back in (with Advance Parole - a re-entry permit). It is worth getting a lawyer to file the papers since you are out of status and working illegally.
If you decide to trigger the ban by leaving the US without marrying and adjusting status, you would have no problems living in the UK. If you decide to marry your girlfriend, she will be welcome to settle there, subject to getting the correct visa from the British consulate in the US beforehand. You would then be able to wait out the ban in the UK.