Hello, I am an illegal immigrant living in the U.S. I came here on a tourist Visa eight years ago.

If you have overstayed more than 1 year, you would have a 10 year bar and would be inadmissible into the country.  If you do not disclose that fact, you would be misrepresenting yourself and could create future problems.

Because there is no record of your departure, our government will assume you overstayed your visit and will be subject to a 10 year bar against receiving any visa to the U.S. You will not be eligible for any waiver of that penalty.

Dear Sir or Madame If you go back to your country and apply for a tourist visa, you have to disclose your stay in the U.S. for 8 years; otherwise, you would be committing fraud i.e. misrepresentation.  Try to find a way to legalize your status in the U.S. without leaving; otherwise, if you leave you would need a waiver of the 10 year bar that you will be subject to upon exiting the U.S. because you remained here illegally for over a year. I suggest that you contact an attorney that you trust to discuss your options before proceeding. Good luck.

If you depart the US, you will be excluding yourself for 10 years. The tracking systems are getting more and more sophisticated so it is possible they will learn of your departure. There are not many options open to you. However a bona fide marriage to a U.S. citizen would enable you to apply for permanent residence while here in the U.S. Once you have the green card, you could safely depart the country and then reenter later.

If you overstayed your last entry as a visitor by 7+ years, you likely have a serious unlawful presence issue.  If you depart the U.S., you may trigger a 10 year ban to returning. In addition, even w/o the unlawful presence issue, you would not likely be able to obtain a new B-1/B-2 visitor visa after overstaying your prior visit by such a long time.  You are not in a good position as you are currently here w/o status and if discovered could be put into removal proceedings.  If you depart the U.S., you will likely trigger a 10 year ban to coming back because of your unlawful presence. You should strongly consider consulting with an immigration attorney to discuss your situation.  You are in a tough situation and you may want to review everything with an attorney. Regards, Andrew M. Wilson, Esq. Serotte Reich Wilson, LLP www.srwlawyers.com awilson@srwlawyers.com