Overstay

[JuneFirst 1]

I came to America Fall 2007 to spend a High School Year and left the states Summer 2008.

I went back to the States Winter 09 and had problems getting in the country (they did not tell my why. they just kept asking

a) did you start school late B) did you overstay c) did you leave early d) did you change schools?)

While I was in the US (Visa Waiver) a college told me I could just apply for a change of status, get my F1 in the States and start going to school there.

(I would have gone back in March and applied for a F1 in my homecountry)

So I applied and -of course- got it denied, since I did not even qualify for a change of status.

I went back after 139 days (USCIS had told me to stay til the decision) and applied for a F1 visa in G.

They denied it.

Reasons were the high-school-year.overstay (which never happened!!!!), the second overstay (which was not an overstay, USCIS told me to stay!) and just not enough ties.

Now me and my fiancè are planning on getting married and we are wondering if my "past" could affect the CR1 and what we can do to avoid probelms?

[jomegared 0]

I came to America Fall 2007 to spend a High School Year and left the states Summer 2008.

I went back to the States Winter 09 and had problems getting in the country (they did not tell my why. they just kept asking

a) did you start school late B) did you overstay c) did you leave early d) did you change schools?)

While I was in the US (Visa Waiver) a college told me I could just apply for a change of status, get my F1 in the States and start going to school there.

(I would have gone back in March and applied for a F1 in my homecountry)

So I applied and -of course- got it denied, since I did not even qualify for a change of status.

I went back after 139 days (USCIS had told me to stay til the decision) and applied for a F1 visa in G.

They denied it.

Reasons were the high-school-year.overstay (which never happened!!!!), the second overstay (which was not an overstay, USCIS told me to stay!) and just not enough ties.

Now me and my fiancè are planning on getting married and we are wondering if my "past" could affect the CR1 and what we can do to avoid probelms?

Well first of all, if they are telling you that you overstayed. Then you probably did. Now we are going through the K1 process and my fiancee stayed a tab bit longer than she should have. Homeland security found her and told her to leave. When we applied for the k1 visa I asked my lawyer the same question as you. The simple answer was, my fiancee overstayed by 120 some odd days. The definition of an overstay is somewhere around 160. Find out from USCIS what dates they are considering your overstay. If its more than 160....then you are out of luck and will not be able to enter the US for a period of 10 years.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you NEED to know those dates ASAP.

Good luck to you.

[JuneFirst 1]

I read online that it is a problems if it is more than 180 days

The probelms it, that USCIS obviously does not even know how long i overstayed or why I even have a remark on my file.

AND: if i would have overstayed more then 180 days, they would not have let me in the country the 2nd time, right?

So I guess I just wanna now, if a "minor overstay" could make it difficult to get a CR1 visa?

Edited August 9, 2009 by JuneFirst

[Jonara 0]

I came to America Fall 2007 to spend a High School Year and left the states Summer 2008.

I went back to the States Winter 09 and had problems getting in the country (they did not tell my why. they just kept asking

a) did you start school late B) did you overstay c) did you leave early d) did you change schools?)

While I was in the US (Visa Waiver) a college told me I could just apply for a change of status, get my F1 in the States and start going to school there.

(I would have gone back in March and applied for a F1 in my homecountry)

So I applied and -of course- got it denied, since I did not even qualify for a change of status.

I went back after 139 days (USCIS had told me to stay til the decision) and applied for a F1 visa in G.

They denied it.

Reasons were the high-school-year.overstay (which never happened!!!!), the second overstay (which was not an overstay, USCIS told me to stay!) and just not enough ties.

Now me and my fiancè are planning on getting married and we are wondering if my "past" could affect the CR1 and what we can do to avoid probelms?

That's right. Under VWP, you are not allowed to change status while in the States. You have to apply for a real visa from your country of domicile. Did you try to challenge the first reason? What visa were you using to attend high school in the US?

Did they also impose a ban for you to come back to the US in the near future?

[JuneFirst 1]

Our attorny told us not to worry about those overstays because they would not affect the CR1.

So no, I did not try to challenge the first reason. (Well, I emailed the embassy, but the never emailed me back. Then we hired an attorny and "stopped worrying about it")

I was using a F1 Visa to attend a privat high school.

No, they did not impose a ban for me to come back.

[canadian_wife 1,822]

An overstay can affect a non-immigrant visa such as a F-1 visa, however, it should not affect your Cr-1 unless you overstayed longer than 180 days - then it is a 3 year ban unless it is over 365 days when it is a 10 year ban.

When you entered in the Winter of 2009 when did your F-1 expire? when did you apply for your change of status? When was that denied? When did you depart?

[JuneFirst 1]

F1 would have expired in 2012. Since I had left the country for more than 5months the F1 was not valid anymore when I returned, I entered as a Visitor under VWP

I applied for a CoS Jan 21st, got the denial in may and left 24 later (USCIS gave me 30 days to leave).

Edited August 9, 2009 by JuneFirst

[JuneFirst 1]

F1 would have expired in 2012. Since I had left the country for more than 5months the F1 was not valid anymore when I returned, I entered as a Visitor under VWP

I applied for a CoS Jan 21st, got the denial in may and left 24 later (USCIS gave me 30 days to leave).

Nobody out there who can help me?

[canadian_wife 1,822]

Even if your overstay is 139 days, like I said, it should not affect your immigrant visa since it was less than 180 days.

But somewhere in their system you have an overstay that you will have to answer questions about. If you are truthful, and don't place blame anywhere, then you should be fine.

Good luck.

[JuneFirst 1]

Question:

I stayed 139.

I had 90 days (VWP).

So I overstayed 49 days, right?

And my 2nd question:

When are those overstays are going to be an issue? At USCIS level, the interview at the Embassy...?

[canadian_wife 1,822]

Yes, if you have an overstay then you will certainly be questioned about it.

Have you called the US embassy in your area to determine how long the overstay is?

[JuneFirst 1]

No, I have not called.

I emailed them, but never got a response.

The biggest problems (in my opinion) is, that they are not even sure if it was an overstay or something else.

I asked US Immigration in January AND an agent at the Embassy what the problem is, what I did wrong, why I overstayed.

Nobody could give me an answer, they just aked those 4 questions that I wrote down in my first post.

And I know for a FACT, that I did not overstay. I came + left the states on time, did not break any laws or did anything I should not have done.

I got 2 visas issued within 2 months before I started my High school year (J1 for public school and then a F1 for a private school. my exchange program messed up and did not find a school for me) I wonder if that could be the problem?

help...

[canadian_wife 1,822]

If it was me, I'd be calling (not e-mailing...calling) the embassy, USCIS, filing a FOIA request, doing anything I had to, to figure out what the issues are. Then, if there are issues I'd consult an immigration attorney to figure out what to do about it.

Alternatively, you could just file the Cr-1 and wait to see if it becomes an issue later.

Good luck

[Omark 3]

Our attorny told us not to worry about those overstays because they would not affect the CR1.

So no, I did not try to challenge the first reason. (Well, I emailed the embassy, but the never emailed me back. Then we hired an attorny and "stopped worrying about it")

I was using a F1 Visa to attend a privat high school.

No, they did not impose a ban for me to come back.

If your I-94 has a D/S on it then you dont have any overstay.

[JuneFirst 1]

Our attorny told us not to worry about those overstays because they would not affect the CR1.

So no, I did not try to challenge the first reason. (Well, I emailed the embassy, but the never emailed me back. Then we hired an attorny and "stopped worrying about it")

I was using a F1 Visa to attend a privat high school.

No, they did not impose a ban for me to come back.

If your I-94 has a D/S on it then you dont have any overstay.

A D/S?

I dont have my I-94 anymore...?