More details to this question:
When I was 16 years old I went to US with a J-1 visa..After my program was over I didn't come back and I stayed one more year overstaying it, by the time I was 17 and then I decided to come back after I got my high school diploma...I booked my ticket before I was 18 years old and 2 weeks after I turned 18 I came back to my home country...So I would like to know if I have the 10 year ban or can I apply for the dev lottery...Does the 10 year ban affect me, considering my age, being less then 18 years old or not..If I am what can I do to fix my status.
3 ANSWERS
Rebecca T White
You do not accrue unlawful presence before turning 18.
Answered on Sep 12th, 2012 at 10:21 AM
You did not trigger the bar based in the information that you provide because your were under 18 for most of the time and would have accrued only 2 weeks of unlawful presence. Moreover, you were admitted in J status which is granted for duration of stay and will not lead to unlawful presence as long as there is no formal decision that your admission for duration of stay was terminated.
Answered on Sep 09th, 2012 at 4:13 PM
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Any unlawful time accumulated while under 18 is not counted against you. Since you only accumulated about 2 weeks of unlawful presence, you are not subject to the 3-year or 10-year bar.
Answered on Sep 09th, 2012 at 3:55 PM