QUESTION
One day overstay on J-1 Visa (I-94 stamped D/S) what are the consequences?
Asked on Dec 08th, 2012 on Immigration - New York
More details to this question:
I recently found out that due to a miscalculation on my part I left the US after 5 months of studying and 31 days (I thought the grace period was one months and thus 31 days, I found out later it is actually 30 days), this was about a year ago. Meaning I overstayed by 1 day. My I-94 said D/S instead of a expire date. Will this 1 day overstay have any consequences on my future travels to the US? Either through ESTA or a Non-immigrant VISA. I hope someone will be able to help me.
2 ANSWERS
If your I-94 was D/S that means you did not overstay and there should not be any consequences.
Answered on Dec 13th, 2012 at 8:46 PM
Civil Litigation Attorney serving New York, NY
at
Havens & Lichtenberg PLLC
Update Your Profile
Legally, you did not become inadmissible for overstaying just 1 day: the law would have barred your re-entry for 3 years if you overstayed 180 days or longer. On the other hand, a U.S. consul has a nearly unfettered discretion to deny a visa application, and does not have to state a reason for a denial to the applicant. One can suspect that a consular officer might wish to have a reason for a denial of a visa that he/she could articulate to his/her superior (just in case). If so, your 1-day overstay might be useful as an excuse for a denial, even though it is, without a doubt, a very minor violation. I guess, there is only one way to find out - by applying for a visa: if you get it, you will know that your overstay went unnoticed or disregarded; if you don't, you will know that you have a problem. At your visa interview, be ready to explain candidly what caused your overstay, but do not bring up the subject if the consular officer does not say anything about it.
Answered on Dec 11th, 2012 at 10:04 PM