Unfortunate Overstay on Tourist Visa Due to Covid19

[Mimicherie 142]

Hi all! 
 

I know a lot of people who ask questions for friends or family on here get told to have the actual person create their own profile to ask their own questions, but in their current situation they can’t, so I’m here asking for them. 
 

Long story short, a family friend from Haiti was out here on a tourist visa since late January. He was due to fly back to his home country The 2nd week of March when all the travel bans started taking place. He unfortunately got stuck here due to the ban & couldn’t fly out before his return date. During this time of him being in limbo and waiting for the ability to travel again, he unexpectedly got really sick and had a near death experience where he had to be rushed to the hospital & have emergency brain surgery. He was admitted into the ICU & fortunately he had a successful surgery & he is now going through physical therapy before they release him. It’s been about 3 weeks now since all of this transpired. His family is already planning his travel back home once he’s released & physically able, but our question is, what happens next with his visa? Will they penalize him for overstaying even though it was caused by the travel ban put in place? Also, now that they are allowing people to travel to certain areas, is he able to justify his reasons for not traveling immediately with proof from the hospital? 
 

 

Side-note: He has no insurance since he isn’t from here, so if they do not approve him for emergency medical assistance or the hospitals charity program, he’ll have a bill. Does this impact any future endeavors with immigration? For example: Being petitioned for by a family member/spouse.

[Russ&Caro 1,549]

Others with more knowledge will likely chime in but based on my 6 year history reading stories and posts on here, this is what I would guess be the answers.

 

His tourist visa will probably be revoked due to the overstay. If he overstays less than 6 months then I don't believe there will be a ban, which means he can re-apply at some point in the future.

 

I haven't heard that USCIS is accepting Covid as a reason for overstay, yet.

 

If he doesn't pay his hospital bill, or whatever bill is remaining after emergency medical assistance/hospital charity program, then he'll have problems with future immigration applications. Those problems might (emphasis on "might") be lessened if he pays the bill at a later date.

[bradoony 54]

28 minutes ago, gsdc23 said:

Hi all! 
 

I know a lot of people who ask questions for friends or family on here get told to have the actual person create their own profile to ask their own questions, but in their current situation they can’t, so I’m here asking for them. 
 

Long story short, a family friend from Haiti was out here on a tourist visa since late January. He was due to fly back to his home country The 2nd week of March when all the travel bans started taking place. He unfortunately got stuck here due to the ban & couldn’t fly out before his return date. During this time of him being in limbo and waiting for the ability to travel again, he unexpectedly got really sick and had a near death experience where he had to be rushed to the hospital & have emergency brain surgery. He was admitted into the ICU & fortunately he had a successful surgery & he is now going through physical therapy before they release him. It’s been about 3 weeks now since all of this transpired. His family is already planning his travel back home once he’s released & physically able, but our question is, what happens next with his visa? Will they penalize him for overstaying even though it was caused by the travel ban put in place? Also, now that they are allowing people to travel to certain areas, is he able to justify his reasons for not traveling immediately with proof from the hospital? 
 

 

Side-note: He has no insurance since he isn’t from here, so if they do not approve him for emergency medical assistance or the hospitals charity program, he’ll have a bill. Does this impact any future endeavors with immigration? For example: Being petitioned for by a family member/spouse.

I have heard that there is extended period of the visas if you are stuck here and cant travel because of the pandemic. He might contact the United States Department of Homeland Security and ask about it.  They hospital will bill him for sure. When It comes to the petitioning for him, I read at USCIS website that emergency medical assistance is not consider as a public charge but I can not tell you for sure. 

Good luck and Hope he will be fine!

Edited June 29, 2020 by bradoony

[Lucky2Lucky 2,526]

15 minutes ago, gsdc23 said:

Hi all! 
 

I know a lot of people who ask questions for friends or family on here get told to have the actual person create their own profile to ask their own questions, but in their current situation they can’t, so I’m here asking for them. 
 

Long story short, a family friend from Haiti was out here on a tourist visa since late January. He was due to fly back to his home country The 2nd week of March when all the travel bans started taking place. He unfortunately got stuck here due to the ban & couldn’t fly out before his return date. During this time of him being in limbo and waiting for the ability to travel again, he unexpectedly got really sick and had a near death experience where he had to be rushed to the hospital & have emergency brain surgery. He was admitted into the ICU & fortunately he had a successful surgery & he is now going through physical therapy before they release him. It’s been about 3 weeks now since all of this transpired. His family is already planning his travel back home once he’s released & physically able, but our question is, what happens next with his visa? Will they penalize him for overstaying even though it was caused by the travel ban put in place? Also, now that they are allowing people to travel to certain areas, is he able to justify his reasons for not traveling immediately with proof from the hospital? 
 

 

Side-note: He has no insurance since he isn’t from here, so if they do not approve him for emergency medical assistance or the hospitals charity program, he’ll have a bill. Does this impact any future endeavors with immigration? For example: Being petitioned for by a family member/spouse.

How many days did he over stay? That would impact what his ban would be and unfortunately I don't believe when he applies for a visa in the future the embassy will take in to account the overstay due to COVID; there is not an option as to "why did you overstay". As you know it's already so hard to get a tourist visa in the US- it may be very difficult for him to obtain again. 

Regarding the hospital bill; I'm not too sure. It's likely he may not be qualified for charity care at the hospital- I'm in Southern CT and our system only approves those who live in the US. Maybe he will be qualified for emergency medicaid?  In the future if he plans on immigrating, yes, he would have to admit to applying and using Medicaid. As of this writing, emergency medicaid does not fall under the public charge rule so that is a positive. However, if he doesn't get the hospital bill paid, I wonder if that would fall under "debts-other" as part of the I-944. 

 

[SalishSea 18,072]

31 minutes ago, bradoony said:

I have heard that there is extended period of the visas if you are stuck here and cant travel because of the pandemic.

This is not correct.

31 minutes ago, bradoony said:

When It comes to the petitioning for him, I read at USCIS website that emergency medical assistance is not consider as a public charge but I can not tell you for sure. 

Also not correct.

[SalishSea 18,072]

59 minutes ago, gsdc23 said:

Hi all! 
 

I know a lot of people who ask questions for friends or family on here get told to have the actual person create their own profile to ask their own questions, but in their current situation they can’t, so I’m here asking for them. 
 

Long story short, a family friend from Haiti was out here on a tourist visa since late January. He was due to fly back to his home country The 2nd week of March when all the travel bans started taking place. He unfortunately got stuck here due to the ban & couldn’t fly out before his return date. During this time of him being in limbo and waiting for the ability to travel again, he unexpectedly got really sick and had a near death experience where he had to be rushed to the hospital & have emergency brain surgery. He was admitted into the ICU & fortunately he had a successful surgery & he is now going through physical therapy before they release him. It’s been about 3 weeks now since all of this transpired. His family is already planning his travel back home once he’s released & physically able, but our question is, what happens next with his visa? Will they penalize him for overstaying even though it was caused by the travel ban put in place? Also, now that they are allowing people to travel to certain areas, is he able to justify his reasons for not traveling immediately with proof from the hospital? 
 

 

Side-note: He has no insurance since he isn’t from here, so if they do not approve him for emergency medical assistance or the hospitals charity program, he’ll have a bill. Does this impact any future endeavors with immigration? For example: Being petitioned for by a family member/spouse.

He will likely need a waiver due to the overstay.  There is no automatic 'extension' for authorized stay for B visas.  He could have applied for more time before his I-94 expired.  An overstay will immediately cancel the visa.

 

He will need to pay the balance of his hospital bill (whatever any charity care does not cover) before receiving an immigrant visa.  He is not eligible for Medicaid.

[geowrian 22,338]

First, the visa is automatically revoked on day 1 of overstay. This is by law (INA).

The reason for the overstay would be relevant if applying for a new non-immigrant visa. Nobody knows what they would decide, but I do think they would have some understanding of the circumstances. The bigger issue would be showing eligibility for the visa still (i.e. that he intends to return home), not so much the overstay IMHO.

The sooner he leaves, the better. The longer he overstays, the more it may look like a choice than a necessity. It sounds like this is in place already, but I just want to reiterate it.

 

If the overstay is by 180 days or more, then there is a mandatory ban (3 years for 180+ days, 10 years for 1 year or longer). He should be very careful to leave before 180 days of overstay. The reason for overstay doesn't matter in terms of the ban (but would be a consideration for a waiver..at least on another NIV).

 

Second, there is a public charge consideration. If he pays the bills back, I think he'll be fine there. If not, I would expect that to be a very negative factor for any future visa that is subject to the public charge inadmissibility (tourist visas are...it's often not an issue but certainly can be with an unpaid US debt).

Did he have travel insurance? That should cover at least some of the costs, even if it's a small amount.

 

54 minutes ago, Russ&Caro said:

I haven't heard that USCIS is accepting Covid as a reason for overstay, yet.

USCIS is being "flexible" with EOS/COS applications, even late-filed ones. https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/uscis-response-covid-19

That said, that's water under the bridge now because they are leaving. It doesn't "excuse" an overstay, though.

 

44 minutes ago, bradoony said:

I read at USCIS website that emergency medical assistance is not consider as a public charge but I can not tell you for sure. 

Emergency Medicaid is not a public benefit for the public charge consideration. That may or may not cover the OP's situations.

COVID-caused dx/tx also won't be considered. If you may be or are sick, they want people to get the necessary medical care. But it sounds like the case described by the OP was not due to COVID-19 itself. It just happened to occur while overstaying due to COVID.

 

https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-procedures/public-charge

"The Public Charge rule does not restrict access to testing, screening, or treatment of communicable diseases, including COVID-19."

"To address the possibility that some aliens impacted by COVID-19 may be hesitant to seek necessary medical treatment or preventive services, USCIS will neither consider testing, treatment, nor preventative care (including vaccines, if a vaccine becomes available) related to COVID-19 as part of a public charge inadmissibility determination, nor as related to the public benefit condition applicable to certain nonimmigrants seeking an extension of stay or change of status, even if such treatment is provided or paid for by one or more public benefits, as defined in the rule (e.g. federally funded Medicaid).   "

Edited June 29, 2020 by geowrian

[bradoony 54]

22 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

This is not correct.

Also not correct.

Well, If I am wrong reading information from USCIS website : https://www.uscis.gov/news/public-charge-fact-sheet

 

 

Benefits Not Considered  

DHS will not consider:  

• Emergency medical assistance;  

• Disaster relief;  

• National school lunch programs;  

• The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children ;  

• The Children’s Health Insurance Program;  

• Subsidies for foster care and adoption;  

• Government-subsidized student and mortgage loans; 

• Energy assistance;  

• Food pantries and homeless shelters; and 

• Head Start.    

 

[Mimicherie 142]

1 hour ago, Luckycuds said:

How many days did he over stay? That would impact what his ban would be and unfortunately I don't believe when he applies for a visa in the future the embassy will take in to account the overstay due to COVID; there is not an option as to "why did you overstay".

I believe he was due to leave a whole month before his actual visa return date. So let’s say he entered the US on January 30th, end of April would’ve been the 3 month mark. He was due to travel back home March 17th so he technically didn’t start overstaying until late April. We’re now heading into July on Wednesday so his overstay is currently at 2 months (60 days) if my calculations are correct. He was in the hospital since the 1st week of June. After all test results came back he was negative for COVID. The illness he had was one of those rare unexpected occurrences. 

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

He needs to pay back the hospital bills regardless of whether he wants future visas. Hopefully he was insured. I had a not as long hospital stay back on a tourist visa which my travel/medical  insurance covered fully.

[Mimicherie 142]

44 minutes ago, geowrian said:

If the overstay is by 180 days or more, then there is a mandatory ban (3 years for 180+ days, 10 years for 1 year or longer). He should be very careful to leave before 180 days of overstay. The reason for overstay doesn't matter in terms of the ban (but would be a consideration for a waiver..at least on another NIV).

So if he leaves before the 180 days that means no ban? He would just have to apply for another visa and fill out a waiver alongside of it to explain his overstay? 

45 minutes ago, geowrian said:

Did he have travel insurance? That should cover at least some of the costs, even if it's a small amount.

Unfortunately he did not have any travel insurance. For those coming out of Haiti, I’m not even sure they’re aware that this is an option for them. 

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

2 minutes ago, gsdc23 said:

 

Unfortunately he did not have any travel insurance. For those coming out of Haiti, I’m not even sure they’re aware that this is an option for them. 

Did he buy his air ticket on a credit card? There may be some medical insurance on that if he did, though it’s unlikely to fully cover it.
 

 

Edited June 29, 2020 by SusieQQQ

[Lucky2Lucky 2,526]

4 minutes ago, gsdc23 said:

I believe he was due to leave a whole month before his actual visa return date. So let’s say he entered the US on January 30th, end of April would’ve been the 3 month mark. He was due to travel back home March 17th so he technically didn’t start overstaying until late April. We’re now heading into July on Wednesday so his overstay is currently at 2 months (60 days) if my calculations are correct. He was in the hospital since the 1st week of June. After all test results came back he was negative for COVID. The illness he had was one of those rare unexpected occurrences. 

If it is under 180 days he will not receive a ban. However, when he comes back to visit the IO will see that he overstayed and may or may not chose to let him in. When his B1/B2 expires and it comes time to renew in my opinion it would negatively affect him regardless of the reason especially since were flying to Haiti until March 30.

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

1 minute ago, Luckycuds said:

If it is under 180 days he will not receive a ban. However, when he comes back to visit the IO will see that he overstayed and may or may not chose to let him in. When his B1/B2 expires and it comes time to renew in my opinion it would negatively affect him regardless of the reason especially since were flying to Haiti until March 30.

His B visa is already voided, on day 1 of his overstay.

[Mimicherie 142]

Just now, SusieQQQ said:

Did he buy his air ticket on a credit card? There should be at least some insurance on that if he did, though it’s unlikely to fully cover it.
 

 

Im pretty sure he probably had someone purchase his ticket for him since Haiti isn’t really on credit card level as of yet. If this air ticket insurance meant that he had to pay more money for his plane ticket, I’m pretty sure he did not include it. He flew with Spirit airlines and I’ve heard horrible things about that airline, yet people fly with them anyway because of their cheap airfare, so I’m assuming he didn’t add any travel insurance to his ticket, but I will confirm.