Overstayed but applied to be a student.....help!

So, i've been in the US for nearly 1 year now. i came in with greyhound (do they scan our passport?) im a tourist. now, i just got into school and received my i-20 and all. tomorrow, i am going on a cruise to mexico for 1 week. i'll come back on the 6th, the first day i am officially supposed to enter the usa under the student visa. my school orientation is the 8th, and the semester starts in january.

my questions:

-should i take my passport on the cruise, or my DL? Will the border patrol realized i have been here for 1 year? can i say that i had left and came back with my DL in a car?

-if i take my DL, could i still show my passport on the way back, and get my F1 stamp at the port of arrival?

-im planning to go to canada for the holidays, so should i buy my ticket right away and show that to the border patrol before and/or after boarding the boat? even if it will be a return? or should i drive back to canada?

-or should i just show my DL on the boat, then on the day im back from the cruise (in LA) go down to Tijuana border to get all my stamps? at that point the orientation will be within 48 hours, so what are the chances that they'll question me?

-i have a bank letter stating my funds that is dated from september that was mailed to me. is that a good way to show that i was home then? (even if i was not)

i have a boyfriend in california and im from quebec and i just came here last december and just stayed and stayed and stayed, but now i want to go to school and follow the law! please advise me!

thanks!

Did you hand over your passport to anyone when you first entered the country a year ago? Only you can know if you did or not, how would we know? If you handed them your passport then yes, they likely did scan it and they know when you entered.

I think you are required by law now to have a passport in order to travel by cruise ship, in case it stops in foreign ports. Check the ticket information and/or the cruise line website for definitive information. I think the law for passports is for all air and water travel right now, and ground travel will be added early next year. And if you're going to foreign countries you most definitely will not be allowed to board the boat without a passport.

Because you've stayed for more than your allowed 6 months, you do risk not being granted entry when you return from your cruise, or when you return from your trip home, or or or.and they may not grant your student visa when you apply for it. Such is the consequence of overstaying your welcome. And if you tell them at the POE when you apply for your student status that you have a boyfriend in CA, they could also deny it.

It's impossible to say, because you have no idea what they put in their system when you entered. However there is no record of departure at the moment if you use a passport or a DL. So basically they have no idea when you left from their records, although of course they can question you.

They don't actually stamp your passport, they stamp the I-20 (well, they don't have to stamp your passport, they might do).

It's impossible to say which is the "least likely to get you questioned" method to use to re-enter the country, depends on who the specific person is who deals with you. But I'd guess that leaving on a closed-loop cruise probably isn't the smartest idea, because obviously they will know that you left from the US and what date you left on, as they probably don't deal with that many cruise ships everyday. USCIS will have (should have anyway) a record in their system of the last time you entered, so they only have to put 2+2 together in that situation.

Whether they care is another question.

thanks for the info. yeah when i crossed with greyhound, they do take passport, but i wonder can i say that i did go back home after like 1 month, showing only my DL from car? and then i supposedly came back also this way, like let's say 1 month ago? ?

You can say whatever you want, and if they catch you in a lie, enjoy the possibility of a permanent ban

heh.gotta love flames for his straightforward responses

Like the man said, you can try to lie, but the likelihood of them catching you in it is more likely than not. If you follow. Especially since you've been gone a year from Canada and have absolutely no ties one would assume.