Once approved for a visa that allows you to enter the country legally, the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may also issue you Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record. This document details critical information, including the allotted length of your stay and your mandatory departure date. Now, it is important that you follow this timeline verbatim, or else you may find yourself in deep trouble with the DHS. With that being said, please continue reading to learn the potential consequences of overstaying a visa and how an experienced family immigration lawyer in Milwaukee, WI, at Sesini Law Group, S.C., can help you seek absolvement.
What are the potential consequences of overstaying a visa?
Simply put, the DHS may consider you “unlawfully present” in the United States if you stay beyond the time originally granted to you. Doing so may lead to your being barred from reentering the country for three years, 10 years, or in a worst-case scenario, permanently. The extent of your ground of inadmissibility may depend on how many days of an unlawful presence you accrued. More specific examples of this read as follows:
- A three-year ground of inadmissibility: this may apply if you accrued over 180 days but less than one year of an unlawful presence and left the country before removal proceedings commenced.
- A 10-year ground of inadmissibility: this may apply if you accrued more than one year of an unlawful presence during one continuous stay and left the country before removal proceedings commenced.
- A permanent ground of inadmissibility: this may apply if you accrued more than one year of an unlawful presence over the course of several stays and left the country before removal proceedings commenced.
What should I know about visa overstay forgiveness?
At Sesini Law Group, S.C., we understand that mistakes are made and accidents happen sometimes. So we can see how a ban from the United States for anywhere between three years to indefinitely is quite harsh. This is why we encourage you to petition for visa overstay forgiveness via Form I-601, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility.
In this application, you must show how the benefits of being granted a waiver outweigh the reasons for being denied one. That is, you must provide sufficient evidence of a valid exemption from accruing days of an unlawful presence. For one, you may prove that you are actively in the process of applying for asylum in the United States. Or, that you are classified as a beneficiary of the Family Unity program supported by this country. Lastly, that you have been made the victim of physical abuse by your spouse or the subject of severe h
To better understand your legal rights in the matter at hand, please seek the advisement of a sound and skilled family immigration lawyer in Milwaukee, WI. Please feel confident in knowing that our team at Sesini Law Group, S.C. has significant experience in handling legal cases just like yours. So call us today.