Do I Have the 10 Year Ban

**sirius** · 02-22-2012, 03:56 PM

ok maybe i wasnt very clear before sorry about that...so i was 16 and i went to usa and than after 1 year i was supposed to leave but i stayed.on june 2010 i turned 17 and in july my visa expired ..and on june 2011 i turned 18 and on july i left so i left the country 1 month after i turned 18...

**cupcake** · 02-22-2012, 04:00 PM

You were out of status, but no one declared you out of status and you were not 18 and a half.

I think you would benefit from reading the I-601 illegal presence sticky and the section of law I referred you to because you still seem confused about when illegal presence starts to "count."

For the J1 visa, people have to be officially declared to be out of status as well and this didn't happen.

**Pinkpig** · 02-22-2012, 04:03 PM

Hold on to any and all paperwork you may have to prove the date you left the US.

**ktmnep** · 02-22-2012, 04:36 PM

Sirius I think you are talking about DV lottery. You sound so confident that you gonna win the Dv lottery. Do you have any formula or trick about that. I have been applying DV for 10 years and I have not been lucky. Please tell me how can you win DV please. It's like 30,0000 people selected out of 30 million. Good luck and let me know when you win.

**Coventrated** · 02-22-2012, 05:02 PM

You apply.

If you have a Spouse that qualifies they also apply.

**poppin** · 02-22-2012, 08:44 PM

ktmnep - lol!

Sirius: The unlawful presence does not apply to you, but the history of your overstay is still there. When you apply and if possible get a GC, they might find out your overstay and it could cancel your process.

If you decide to apply for a tourist/business visa, it is totally discretionary - they can approve or deny your app based on whatever facts they want - so if they find out you have overstayed in the past even though you were a minor, they can deny your visa based on they in the back of their heads, and just tell you you have immigrant intent or whatever.

Record is for life, don't underestimate the power of it! You should ask a lawyer what would be the best way for you.

**JMRJ** · 02-22-2012, 09:13 PM

Originally Posted by ktmnep

Sirius I think you are talking about DV lottery. You sound so confident that you gonna win the Dv lottery. Do you have any formula or trick about that. I have been applying DV for 10 years and I have not been lucky. Please tell me how can you win DV please. It's like 30,0000 people selected out of 30 million. Good luck and let me know when you win.

LOL!! Is that how DV lottery works? I didn't know.

OP, keep your evidence of exit like gold because as far as I know, some J1ers are subject to 2-year residency requirements meaning they have to spend 2 years outside this country before they can re-apply for admission or file a waiver. (DV aside I guess) In case you're one of them.

poppin, what do you mean "it could cancel the process" when applying for immigrant visa?

**Los G** · 02-22-2012, 11:50 PM

The law is pretty clear on unlawful presence, Poppin, based mainly on INA 212(a)(9)(B). Included in that section is language that says unlawful presence doesn't start accruing until you turn 18, and that if you accrue 180 days or more of unlawful presence, the bans get activated. But until that, there is no ban, and therefore no way that the overstay itself can "cancel the process" on an immigrant visa. For a non-immigrant visa, though, even a tiny little bit of overstay can "cancel the process" because non-immi visas are discretionary and they presume that the person intends to immigrate, so if you've previously violated a visa, they will assume you are going to violate the one you're applying for. With immigrant visas, it doesn't matter because you're expressing immigrant intent by applying for the visa (whether through a spouse or through DV lottery), so your prior overstay is only an issue if it has activated a ban.

It's EXTREMELY important to mention any overstay on the applications, though. They do most likely know about it, and if you've confirmed with an immigration lawyer that it didn't activate a ban, then you have no reason to worry. You should absolutely make sure to include it on the applications and be prepared with proof of entry and exit in case they question the length of time.