More details to this question:
My wife and I lived in New York for 4 years. After we left the States and moved to Canada on April 8th 2003 , we became Canadian residents in February 9th 2005 and decided to apply for a tourist visa at the US consulate in January 2006. At the US Embassy we were not only denied the visa but punished with a 10 year ban -section 212(a)(9)(B)(ii)(II)-supposedly for staying illegally in the U.S. When we were leaving in the States, my wife was granted voluntary departure and had to leave the country on or before May 19th 2003, and in my case my H1B was valid from February 14th 2003 to March 25th 2003. In my case, it is my understanding that you have 180 days after the expiration of lawful status to leave the country. In my wife's case she left the country a month and a half before her voluntary departure date (we have the documentation to support this). In February 13th 2008 we became Canadian Citizens and now we would like to know what would be the procedure if we want to visit the States.
2 ANSWERS
Immigration and Nationality Law Attorney serving New York, NY
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Alan Lee & Arthur Lee, Attorneys at Law
3 Awards
The consulate is not US Customs and Border Protection, and as Canadian citizens, you can attempt crossing the border to visit the US with your Canadian passports. The CBP inspectors will determine your ability to enter the US. I suggest that you document your reasons for coming to the United States and also that you were not subject to the 10 year bar when you left the country. You may or may not be asked for the documentation, but it is of course better to have documentation than not. Kindly note, however, that even though a period of voluntary departure does not count in calculating periods of illegality for purposes of the 3 or 10 year bars, periods of time spent in illegal status before obtaining voluntary departure are calculated. Further that even though you held valid H-1B status from February to March 2003, any previous periods of time in the illegal status are also calculated.
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Answered on Feb 22nd, 2013 at 5:48 PM
2 Awards
Voluntary departure does not erase a period of unlawful presence that acrued prior to removal proceedings. There is no 180 grace period after an H1B expires.
Answered on Jan 31st, 2013 at 12:05 AM