Visitor Visa overstay question

R

rrvvg_1976

New Member
Dear all,

I have a situation where my Mother had overstayed for 3 months (reason explained below). She came to the US in September/2003. Her I-94 expired in November/2003, and she went back to India in Feb/2004. Could anyone please direct me as to what steps I need to take in order for her VISA to get accepted in Madras, and approved in Chicago/NY? I don't want her to face a situation where she would be able to come all the way to Chicago, and get deported back to India in the same flight.
-Do I need to contact INS here at the US?
-Do I need to contact a lawyer here at the US?
-Or is there no hope at all?
I am very anxious to get an answer because I'm planning on getting my Mother to the US in July/2007.

Thanks a lot.
-Vijay

Reason Explained:
Initially, my mother had gotten here VISA stamped from Sep/2003 until Mar/2004 (in India). So when she came to US in September, it did not even occur to me that I should see the I-94. I assumed it was going to be until March of 2004 (please pardon my brains). Later in December, when I was booking her ticket back to India, I caught sight of the date on the I-94, and it was Nov/2003. That means, I made her stay illegally in the US for 2 months already. So I immediately booked her a ticket back to India for Feb/2004. So by now, she had stayed in the US illegally for 3 months (90 days).
Now, would it be ok if she entered to the US because it's been more than three years? Or should I get some sort of a letter from the lawyers/INS? Or is it not at all possible for her re-entry into the US?

Thanks in advane,
-rrvvg
 
Once you overstay by even one day, your visa is automatically cancelled (section 222g)
and if you use that to enter you won't be allowed to and will be sent back.

By law , there is no entry bar if you overstay less than 180 days, which happened in her case. Even then, she will have to convince the embassy officer why she overstayed. She should be honest and say that it was a plain case of ignorance and oversight and that she had no intention to overstay.
 
INS does not issue any letters for such situation and a lawyer can only guide
and not issue any letters for the consulate.

Is that last visa she used still have a valid period left?

She can wait till that visa expires and possibly try this;

WHen she goes to apply for her visa, they won't know that she overstayed
her last visit(embassies do not get a record of overstay) unless she tells them in the app form. Or they can find out from the Indian arrival stamp after her last visit. Her last arrival stamp showed that she stayed 6 months which the officer can consider to be ok as the officer does not know that she got a stay of 3 months only. If he asks questions, she can say
she does not remember as it has been some time.
( a possible trick that she may use as she was ignorant about the peirod of stay granted to begin with, but use it at your own discretion as it will involve a bit of lying on the form.)
 
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What I'm worried is this: What if she gets a VISA in India, but once she arrives at US, what are the chances of her being sent back?

I really want to be honest in this issue. So yes, I will make sure that the application form will state that she had overstayed. Here are some details:

Visa validity: Sep/2003 to Mar/2004
I-94 validity: Sep/2003 to Nov/2003
Overstay period: Nov/2003 to Jan/2004
Reason for overstay: Ignorance of the fact that I/she was supposed to look at the I-94 date, and not the VISA dates.

So that's the best I could do right?

Thanks once again,
-Vijay
 
Embassies take overstay seriously and she should be able to convince the officer that it was indeed "ignorance".

She will not be stopped if she enters on a new visa.
 
Vijay,
Even first time visa users can be sent back from the POE. In other words, non-immigrant visa holders are never guaranteed admission (re-admission) at a POE.

rrvvg_1976 said:
What I'm worried is this: What if she gets a VISA in India, but once she arrives at US, what are the chances of her being sent back?
Click to expand...
 
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