Staying Beyond Your Authorized Stay in the U.S. and Being Out of Status

You should carefully consider the dates of your authorized stay and make sure you are following the procedures under U.S. immigration laws. It is important that you depart the U.S. on or before the last day you are authorized to be in the U.S. on any given trip, based on the specified end date on your Arrival-Departure Record, Form I-94. Failure to depart the U.S. will cause you to be out-of-status.

Staying beyond the period of time authorized by the Department of Homeland Security ("DHS") and being out-of-status in the United States is a violation of U.S. immigration laws, and may cause you to be ineligible for a visa in the future.

Staying unlawfully in the United States beyond the date Customs and Border Protection ("CBP") officials have authorized-even by one day-results in your visa being automatically voided, in accordance with INA 222(g). Under this provision of immigration law, if you overstay on your nonimmigrant authorized stay in the U.S., your visa will be automatically voided. In this situation, you are required to reapply for a new nonimmigrant visa, generally in your country of nationality.

For non immigrants in the U.S. who have an Arrival-Departure Record, Form I-94 with the CBP admitting officer endorsement of Duration of Status or D/S (ie. Students), but who are no longer performing the same function in the U.S. that they were originally admitted to perform (e.g. you are no longer attending the same school), a DHS or an immigration judge makes a finding of status violation, resulting in the termination of the period of authorized stay.