Question about re-entry if I decide to leave the USA voluntarily.

[LaLaDivina]

Hi everyone, new here.

First let me clarify and say I am not asking a question about "voluntary departure." As I understand it, that is an option an immigrant can choose if DHS is starting you on deportation proceedings, that is NOT what I am asking about.

I'll try to not make this too long. I'm 33 years old and have been in the USA since I was 3. I came here on my father's student visa and he got a degree from a university here. Over the years I have grown very tired and disillusioned with congress and their lack of immigration reform. Other than arriving here on my father's student visa, I have never been in status or had any visa on my own so I have been living illegally in the country since I was young and my father's visa expired.

I am single, have not been convicted of any crimes and have a college degree. I recently applied to a very promising job in Colombia where I am from and am wondering would would happen if I return to Colombia of my own free will.

Basically, am I subject to the 10 year ban upon departure? What exactly happens at the airport when I decide to leave? Will i be detained by immigration, will they stamp my passport mentioning an overstay and issue the ban? Once I leave, will I be able to apply for a visitor's visa to the usa to visit or will I have to wait out the 10 years?

P.S. I am not now, nor have I ever been, subject to any deportation proceedings.

Thanks!

 

[cafeconleche]

There is no exit immigration control in the US, so you will not face them. The chances of you facing trouble from the airline agent are low. They could ask you about your visa, but you need not tell them anything. If you have a new passport, you can tell them your visa expired and you lost your I94, or whatever.

You will, however, incur a 10-year ban, as you've been in the US for longer than a year.

 

[newacct]

If the student visa you entered on was an F visa, it is likely that you were admitted for "D/S" on your I-94. Check your I-94. If you were admitted for "D/S", you cannot accrue unlawful presence until an immigration judge rules against you, and thus you cannot have a ban.

Not having a ban does not mean you will get a tourist visa however; that category of visa requires you to prove you will leave the U.S. once you enter, which may be hard for you. Other types of visa do not require this.

 

[LaLaDivina]

I posted a reply a couple of days ago and it said it had to be approved. Doesnt seem like it went through... let's try this again.

My passport is like 2 years old. It's one of the new machine readable ones.

I spoke with my father since I posted this to find out exactly what the visa situation was and he said that we actually came here on a tourist visa and that it was afterward that he decided to attend college here. So it wasn't a student visa but a tourist visa. So back to my original question, what exactly triggers the ban? If there is no exit immigration to check if you've overstayed your visa then how do they know if you actually overstayed?

Sorry if it sounds like a silly question, I just assumed immigration at the airport checked passports and visas to check for people who overstayed.

 

[TheRealCanadian]

So back to my original question, what exactly triggers the ban? If there is no exit immigration to check if you've overstayed your visa then how do they know if you actually overstayed?

They have a record of your entrance, with no exit record. As far as they are concerned you have overstayed until proven otherwise when you attempt to return.

 

[newacct]

I spoke with my father since I posted this to find out exactly what the visa situation was and he said that we actually came here on a tourist visa and that it was afterward that he decided to attend college here. So it wasn't a student visa but a tourist visa. So back to my original question, what exactly triggers the ban?

So it sounds like if you leave the U.S., you will have a 10-year ban. The ban comes from having at least 1 year of unlawful presence. Unlawful presence is triggered by overstaying the date on the I-94, except that time before you were 18 doesn't count.

Are you sure that no relative has ever filed a petition for a green card for you?

If you want to stay in the U.S., you would probably qualify for DACA. DACA is not a status; it does not allow you to re-enter the U.S., but at least it authorizes you to stay and work in the U.S. Do you prefer going to the Colombian job and not returning to the U.S.? Or do you want to stay and try to find a job in the U.S.?

 

[LaLaDivina]

So it sounds like if you leave the U.S., you will have a 10-year ban. The ban comes from having at least 1 year of unlawful presence. Unlawful presence is triggered by overstaying the date on the I-94, except that time before you were 18 doesn't count.

Are you sure that no relative has ever filed a petition for a green card for you?

If you want to stay in the U.S., you would probably qualify for DACA. DACA is not a status; it does not allow you to re-enter the U.S., but at least it authorizes you to stay and work in the U.S. Do you prefer going to the Colombian job and not returning to the U.S.? Or do you want to stay and try to find a job in the U.S.?

I dont qualify for DACA, I had to be 31 at the time it went into effect and I was 32 so I am over age. I already work without a problem so that isn't an issue.

Yes I'm sure that no one has ever applied for a greencard for me. My mother is currently waiting for her green card in Colombia which should be coming in by next year because her sister, who is an American citizen, sponsored her way back when, but even when my mother gets her residency and puts in an application for me, it will take another 13 years to get the green card so I dont see the point in hanging around for 13 years especially if the ban is only 10 years. In the mean time I can be visiting family and going on vacation elsewhere and living a fulfilling life instead of sitting around waiting for miracles to happen. The job is with a British company in Bogota so if I get a job offer I would be happy to go.