US Embassy in India has issued a stern warning to all Indian immigrants and visitors to America that if they remain in the United States beyond their authorized period of stay, they could be deported and could face a permanent ban on traveling to the United States in the future.
The X post of the US Embassy in India reads – If you remain in the United States beyond your authorized period of stay, you could be deported and could face a permanent ban on traveling to the United States in the future.
Indians holding employment permits or H-1B visas, study (F-1) and tourism (B-2) visas must exercise caution and refrain from overstaying in the US.
Staying beyond authorized time and out-of-status in the U.S. is a violation of immigration laws and may result in future visa ineligibility for return travel. Overstaying the end date of authorized stay, provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) or USCIS, can result in visa voiding or cancellation.
Upon arriving at a port of entry, the length of your visit to America will be decided. On the Form I-94, the U.S. immigration inspector records either an admitted-until date or “D/S” (duration of status).
If your admission stamp or paper Form I-94 contains a specific date, then that is the date by which you must leave the United States. If you have D/S on your admission stamp or paper Form I-94, you may remain in the United States as long as you continue your course of studies, remain in your exchange program, or qualify for employment.
Students should be aware that they cannot use the visa expiration date in determining or referring to their permitted length of stay in the United States, if the duration of status is mentioned.
Over 7,000 Indian students and exchange visitors overstayed their visas in the United States in 2023.
An overstay is defined as a nonimmigrant who was lawfully admitted to the United States and remains in the United States beyond the authorized period of admission.
Overstaying amounts to unlawful presence, which is any period of time when you are present in the United States without being admitted or paroled, or when you are present in the United States after your “period of stay authorized” expires.
However, visa extensions are also allowed under US laws. A person may receive a six-month period of admission upon entry and then subsequently apply for and receive an extension for the period of admission of up to six months from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
In 2023, a total overstay rate of 1.45 percent, or 565,155 overstay events, was recorded. In other words, 98.55 percent of the nonimmigrant visitors departed the United States on time and under the terms of their admission. For India, there were 3,822 overstays recorded, with a total overstay rate of 1.58%.
A visa by itself does not grant entrance into the United States. A visa simply shows that a consular officer at a US Embassy or Consulate has reviewed your application and determined that you are eligible to travel to a US port of entry for a certain purpose. The port of entry could be an airport, a seaport, or a land border crossing.
As part of the Admission procedure, a US immigration officer from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) chooses whether to admit you to enter and how long you can remain for each visit. Only an immigration officer in the United States has the ability to allow you to enter the country.
The visa issuing date and expiration date are both shown on the visa. Your visa validity is the time between when it is issued and when it expires. The visa validity period determines how long you are permitted to visit a port of entry in the United States.