powerlifter

hello, a good friend of mine who has a british (english) passport has overstayed his holiday visa (90 day) by about eleven months. he is now ready to leave the usa and wants to come back next year.

what is the best way for him to do this? can he exit via car/coach into canada and fly home from there? therefore not leaving a paper trail or dealing with us customs?

or should he just fly out of the us?

please help. thanks

Bill_S

He can leave however he wants. Coming back next year is doubtful if he has violated US immigration law as you say. Tell him to see a lawyer before he approaches a US border inbound again.

britex01

Oh my goodness... As a shot in the dark perhaps he ought to have a word with someone at the nearest British Embassy to assess his position, outbound.

An overstay of eleven months is one helluva bundle of time to have remained in the States.

An ex-girlfriend of mine overstayed her welcome by two years in a country in the Med (about twelve years ago) but still managed to fly back to the UK with an expired passport! ...

Good luck

Mike

Duncan Roberts

Any way they leave there is a paper trail. What do you think he gave immigration when he originally came in? I wouldn't make plans to come back any time soon, 11 months is not a small overstay.

Ray

Persons who remain in the U.S. after their authorized stay has expired for more than 180 days but less than one year, and who leave the U.S. prior to the institution of removal proceedings, are barred from reentering the U.S. for three years from their date of departure.



Persons who remain in the U.S. after their authorized stay has expired for more than one year, and who leave the U.S. prior to the institution of removal proceedings, are barred from reentering the U.S. for ten years from their date of departure.

dbj1000

He won't be coming back next year.

And if his "about eleven month" overstay is actually >12 months then he won't be coming back for a decade.

Presumably while he was here illegally he was also working illegally. It's not as if an 11-month overstay is just a slight slip, a minor misjudgment. He intentionally broke immigration law.

One way or another, there'll be a record of his overstay, and he'll be barred from re-entering the US for some period of time.

Scouse Express

Someone's up sh*t creek without a paddle

Edit: He would not be allowed into Canada without getting out of the car and having his Passport Stamped......normally. This would mean that the Canadian Border Patrol would notice that his I-94 was way expired and would lead to his detention as he would be considered at "High-Risk" to remain in the country illegally.

He's best just getting the hell out the USA on the next plane back to Blighty and not even think about coming back in a month of Sundays.

Jim.

fatbrit

He can fly out, drive out, walk out or sail out. There's no problem with any of these methods and they won't stop him. What they will do is stop him returning.

Ray

But nothing to stop you visiting him ....

penguinsix

Even if the I-94 is not collected at the exit, visitors who have not turned one in are supposed to send them in along with prove of their travel to the immigration folks to 'prove' they left. There is always a paper trail, even when the I-94 is not returned.

Anyway, 11 months is not 12 months, and a 12 months overstay is a world of problems.

Seriously, get them out of here NOW. The 10 year ban is just around the corner. Your only other choice is to marry them and then apply to sponsor them for a GC (which I think is one of the rare cases in which the overstay is disregarded, provided they are still in the US). But they would be unable to leave until you get that was sorted (a year or two).

britex01

Judging by the posts and the knowledge they convey, your English friend - one of my countrymen - is well and truly up sh*t greek! He's burnt his own rod, matey! Time to smarten up. Been on a merry-go-round, has he? ...

To try and dodge around formalities via Canada is naive.

Jerseygirl

We've never had to get out of the car or had our UK PPs stamped when entering Canada by road. When my sister accompanied us Canadian Immigration didn't remove her I-94. Upon entering the US the immigration officer asked where it was because it had become detached from her PP and dropped to the bottom of her handbag.

tonrob

Having crossed over several times they never removed the I-94, presumably as many crossing over would be re-entering the US at some point. However I've been grilled by Canadian immigration in ways that the US seldom do (at least to me) so I think there's a good chance they'll notice the US overstay and not be happy to allow entry.

tonrob

Ah... but I have a British (Welsh) passport so it's probably different...

Jerseygirl

I'm a little confused by your 'paper trail' comment. Do you not realise computers are used at airports and border crossings? That's why they swipe your PP. Clever things computers they can store all your travel details without it being written down on paper.

He will not have to deal with US customs when he leaves the US...however if he tries to re-enter he will have to deal with US Immigration.