overstayed?

[canadian_wife 1,823]

have you been traveling on the same passport you overstayed on? Or perhaps you were traveling on a Canadian passport if you received your citizenship?

good luck

[britishdakota 18]

It sounds like you have been traveling on a Canadian passport which is the only reason you have been let in as it is the only country not to require a visa or visa waiver.

On the forms for the I-130 there are sections about other passports held, other citizenship and US visas. They will also ask if you have overstayed.

[pushbrk 12,979]

Any advice? Is it even worth trying if the I-601 will be denied because my partner lives in Canada with me.... .?

My advise is to consult a qualified immigration attorney who is specifically experienced with waivers and family based immigration. Based on my understanding your 10 year ban started over again every time you leave the USA, so 10 years from the last time you left, not ten years from when you left after the overstay.

[Lolote 0]

I only have 1 passport - the European one and is the one I have been using to cross the border and take flights into the US. I have been going on my B2 since 2009 and being stopped at the border every 6 months in order to get a new form but this is normal. And once I have that white paper in my passport, they never stop me until it's time for a new one.

have you been traveling on the same passport you overstayed on? Or perhaps you were traveling on a Canadian passport if you received your citizenship?

good luck

[Lolote 0]

I didn't know about the ban rule thing. And since I had left on my own and had been able to go back and forth for years, it never crossed my mind to look it up until now. It's not like I knew about it and was trying to violate my ban.

The fact you have a 10 year ban and have been violating the ban by visiting may actually make things worse for you

[Avery Cates 1,141]

I didn't know about the ban rule thing. And since I had left on my own and had been able to go back and forth for years, it never crossed my mind to look it up until now. It's not like I knew about it and was trying to violate my ban.

Not knowing unfortunately is not going to make and difference in the grand scheme of it all.

[Hypnos 6,577]

The fact that you have continued to enter the US after you were barred could be a problem.

An immigration attorney is certainly the way to go.

[VickyP 34]

Can it be that they really never flagged her passport or captured her overstay?

Edited May 29, 2014 by VickyP

[snugglebug2014 0]

Wait you overstayed in the US or canada?

[pushbrk 12,979]

Not knowing unfortunately is not going to make and difference in the grand scheme of it all.

This person has not been banned. They are simply subject to a ban that has not yet, but probably will be imposed, if they apply for an immigrant visa.

That's WHY they don't know. Being subject to a ban is not the same as being banned. They have violated nothing, since the departure at the end of the overstay, because there was no "ban" to violate.

[Hypnos 6,577]

The OP has a ten year bar from overstay and is therefore inadmissible, but has somehow managed to keep reentering the US for short visits. They are barred from entering, but CBP have not added up all the dots to enforce this. The embassy, however, will.

Continually reentering the US after being barred could well cause the OP additional problems. Either way, this is far from a DIY case, and an attorney's expertise is required.

[pushbrk 12,979]

The OP has a ten year bar from overstay and is therefore inadmissible, but has somehow managed to keep reentering the US for short visits. They are barred from entering, but CBP have not added up all the dots to enforce this. The embassy, however, will.

Continually reentering the US after being barred could well cause the OP additional problems. Either way, this is far from a DIY case, and an attorney's expertise is required.

There is no bar without the dots being connected first. They haven't been but they will be. The bar that is not currently in existence WILL be imposed and it's begin date will be the last US exit date. NO BAN has been VIOLATED, as one has not yet been imposed. It will be, to be sure, but has not yet been.

[Hypnos 6,577]

I believe the bar is triggered upon the first departure after the overstay occurs. The bar has already been activated, it's just not being enforced by CBP.

The OP is inadmissible to the US in any capacity, immigrant or nonimmigrant. CBP should have denied her entry due to her inadmissibility, especially if the same passport has been in use.

Edited May 30, 2014 by Hypnos

[pushbrk 12,979]

I believe the bar is triggered upon the first departure after the overstay occurs. The bar has already been activated, it's just not being enforced.

The OP is inadmissible to the US in any capacity, immigrant or nonimmigrant. CBP should have denied her entry due to her inadmissibility, especially if the same passport has been in use.

Your second statement is absolutely correct and that's really what is critical to understand. However, unless dots have been put together, no bar has "been activated". The person is subject to a bar. It should have been activated, but clearly, their repeated entries are clear evidence the bar has not yet been "activated". It has been "earned" but not "received".

[Hypnos 6,577]

I think we're arguing semantics here. If anything it sounds more like a CBP screwup to me than anything else.