ason28

Hi guys,

I'm posting my request because I read a lot of posts about overstayers but unfortunatelly I couldn't find anyone in the same situation as mine. I'll make it quick:

I entered the US in december 2010 under the VWP with my German passport. I got in without any rare questions, just the usual. "How long are you staying"... "where are you going"... "from where do you know that person".. etc.. "Welcome to the US". I felt in love with my girlfriend and I just overstayed (wrong I know) but I did. We lived together in Miami until october 2011. My mom got sick and I had to leave the US and now after all, I really want to go back to be with my her and live together as we did.

Here the curiosity: I left the US through Mexico, in Tijuana. And then left from Mexico City to Germany. I def know that there is no register of my departure of the US. I just got a stamp at the Tijuana airport.

I also guess that if I return now, the immigration officer would probably see that I'm still in the country, right? So inmediatly they would send me to secondary interview and then deport me, right?

Another curiosity: It was the third time I entered the US. Since the first two times I got into a lot of questions because my passport had 2 stamps of my colombian vacations, I decided to get a new one before I entered the last time to the US. And everytime you request a new passport in Germany they give you a new passport with a new number. So the last time, I didn't have any issues, because my passport was blank and new and the officer didn't ask me anything about my Colombia vacation.

So my thought is that if I get AGAIN a new passport with a new number, could I get through? I heard once that all the passports are linked. But I don't know what the officer sees on his screen when they scan the passport, at least the last time (although if my old passport with colombian stamps would have been linked with the new passport) the officer didn't bother me at all. So I'm confused. Are they really linked if there are two different numbers?

Has anyone experience about reentering after leaving through mexico? Can I really get a ban if they don't know the departure date? What can I do?

Thank you guys
Andreas

avanutria

Hi Andreas,

Tijuana is not in the US, so how did you get from the US to Tijuana? I'm not familiar with US/Mexico border crossings; did you have to show your passport at any time prior to the airport?

I'm guessing you did not turn in the portion of the I-94 or I-94W that was in your passport?

ason28

When I travelled to the US in 2010 they didn't give I-94 anymore. Just the ESTA form and that's it. YEs I left to Tijuana, Mexico so when you leave there the US there is no border control. Any suggestions?

Noorah101

It doesn't matter what the POE officer knows or doesn't know. You overstayed the VWP by more than 6 months, that means you have a 3-year ban from returning to the USA. I do not know if there is a waiver available if you want to go for a K-1 fiance visa...or if you want your wife to come marry you in Germany and do an Immigrant Visa. You need to have a consultation with an immigration attorney, and be honest about your immigration history.

Plus, since you overstayed the VWP, you can never use the VWP again, even if you have a new passport.

Rene

Craig1987

It sounds like when I went to Greece. I was able to, enter and leave Greece without anyone checking my passport. That was only 6 years ago. And yes, I entered and left Greece through an airport. Sounds like the same thing happened to him when he crossed the border.

To the OP, you should be very careful with what you say or do next time you go to the US. If they find out the truth, you will be looking at a very long ban from the US.

dreamercon

Well to apply for any kind of immigration benefits the OP will either need to disclose the truth (e.g. DS-230 specifically asks about it) or lie. So essentially the US government not knowing the truth does not provide for any benefit.

katiekat

I'm interested in the thought that there is no border control on the US-Mexico border near Tijuana... I used to live in the San Diego area and my last trip into Mexico (which was... about 15 years ago granted) we were stopped bringing building supplies into Mexico for a mission. It seems odd to me that there was absolutely no registration of the fact that you left the US.

Additionally... you mention that you want to return to the US to live with your girlfriend. Are you planning to marry her? Or are you just wanting to head back into the US on the VWP so you can stay with her indefinitely again? I ask because in your post you admit to overstaying the VWP and by saying you want to live with her "as you did" that, to me, means you plan to just enter the US and over-stay again...

S Folinsky

LOL. San Ysidro, California and Tijuana, BCfa are adjacent. One drives through or walks through. One smiles at the Mexican official if you should see one. The Otay Mesa crossing is right near the TJ Airport.

Michael

We have had people on BE that claimed they had never been refused a visa when applying using ESTA even though they were previously refused a B2 (visitors) visa when applying using a non UK passport prior to becoming a UK citizen. When they got to the port of entry, they were taken to secondary and refused entry because of their false claim even though they were now using their UK passport.

So they actually had a passport from a different country and was denied entry so changing your German passport number will likely not work.

I can see the POE officer not taking you to secondary because of a new passport without the entry stamps to Columbia but I doubt a passport number change will get you by the PEO officer if you have an overstay.

Also it sounds like you are trying to do the same thing you did before by illegally living in the US. You are going to have to decide whether any attempt to enter the US is worth a possible life time ban.

ian-mstm

The moment you left, you autmatically triggered a 3-year ban from the US because of your overstay.


If you try to enter the US while you have a ban, you will immediately trigger a lifetime ban from the US.


You didn't have much to start with... and you've been subtracting ever since! No one here is going to help you break the law... and, as the Emperor said in SW:ROTJ, "Now, you will pay the price for your lack of vision!"

Ian

crg

Although I'm all for fire and brimstone when someone comes on here with a plan such as this, the lifetime ban is not so certain. It's a possibility, but such determinations complicated.

discoviking

As others have said, you have already screwed up your immigration situation badly, but it is not beyond repair - not yet, anyway.

First, you need to forget about the whole ignorant leaving through Mexico so "they" won't know, and getting a new passport so "they" won't realize I'm the same person idea. Immigration is not Burger King, you can not have it your way - you may as well realize that now, and not do anything stupid to make your situation worse than it already is, ok?

As has already been mentioned, you are no longer eligible to travel on the VWP, and it appears from your timeline that you have a 3 year bar from re-entering the US - starting from the day you left the US and entered Mexico.

Nobody here will help you get back to the US illegally, but if you want to do it the legal way, your girlfriend (if she is a US citizen and are willing to marry you), needs to either file an I-129F petition for you to initiate the K-1 fiancee visa process, or travel abroad to where you are now, marry you and start the process for an immigration visa. Either way, you will most likely also need an I-601 waiver in order to overcome your ban for the overstay. Consult with an immigration attorney who specialize in family immigration and waivers to confirm.

You (and your girlfriend) may also want to visit www.immigrate2us.net for more information on the waiver process and how to legally immigrate with a colorful immigration history like yours.

On the other hand, if your girlfriend also has no legal immigration status in the US - all bets are off and you won't be returning to the US any time soon.

edmontron

I must admit, the thought of somebody from Western Europe, with its open borders and all, being banned from entering the US for a lifetime, or the opposite, a US citizen being banned from ever setting foot on the European continent again, for overstaying a visa, somehow seems ridiculous to me...

S Folinsky

Here is a link to a recent report on the VWP to Congress from the Congressional Research Service.

Bob

Why? It's a trust thing, someone can't be trusted to abide by a countries immigration and visa requirements, what else can they not be trusted with?

Martha Stewart wasn't allowed into the UK because of her criminal convictions.