Overstaying in the U.S ,need an advice!

starchef75
New Member


vancouverite

Joined: 14 Sep 2008
Posts: 5
Location: VANCOUVER

Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2008 12:58 pm

 

---

Hi i live in vancouver,i got a huge"?" rounding my head and havent got an answer, not even in the web

THIS THINQ ABOUT IF ITS 6 MONTHS CALENDAR OR 180 DAYS IS KILLING ME!

i went to the states on 2006 from jan 4 till dec 31,,i left voluntarely,never caught,never interogated,,,,this is my doubt ,your overstaying period starts counting when you passed your 180 days or the 6 months calendar(july 4)? now i left on december 31 so i overstayed less than 6 months but more than 180 days,,so am i barred for the 3 years to re enter the states? do you think i'll have any problems at the airport?

PLEASE HELP

---

Reba
Moderator


Canuck in NC

Joined: 16 Jul 2004
Posts: 1451
Location: North Carolina

Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2008 3:16 am

 

---

How did you enter and exit? Did they scan your passport, or did you drive over and you were just waved thru?
_________________
I miss Shreddies!

Are you in the US or Canada? Want to make some extra money? Check out My Watkins website for some awesom products and business opportunity.

---

Steven
CanuckAbroad VIP



Joined: 28 Sep 2007
Posts: 1592
Location: Calgary

Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2008 10:06 am

 

---

You're not barred from anything, in fact there is caselaw saying that a Canadian citizen who merely overstays in B-2 status (providing they maintained that status) cannot be denied re-entry merely for that. (And of course if you lied about how long you were going to stay and it wasn't merely an innocent mistake and they can prove it, no court is going to look upon that favourably, I would think).

However USCIS probably aren't that familiar with the caselaw.

Basically they only let you in for six months, and if you say: "I want to stay seven months" they probably won't let you in, but if you do overstay and then try to re-enter, LEGALLY there is nothing they can do about it but that doesn't mean they won't (unless of course you show up with a knowledgeable immigration lawyer at the POE, which I'm guessing you won't).

At the moment it's not a terribly big deal, because they only started writing down everything you say at the POE in January of this year, they're in the process of building RFID checks at the POEs so they know when you leave, but going back to 2006 all they have is the date you entered when they swiped your passport. They don't know when you left, short of a full-scale investigation.

So really it boils down to the questions they ask when you enter.
_________________
Steve.

---