May 30th, 2016
Many people have lived or are currently living illegally in the United States without realizing the serious problems they may face, such as imprisonment, deportation or denial of admission to the U.S.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the government agency that allows legal entry into the United States. People who are not U.S. citizens or legal residents need either a nonimmigrant visa or an ESTA authorization, //www.cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors/esta.
DHS inspectors decide how long you can stay in the United States. Although they could authorize a visitor to stay up to six months, in general, the person must have a good reason to stay for so long. If you are there for three to five months without a valid reason, it can be considered as “living” in the U.S.
Similarly, one should not confuse the amount of time you can stay in the U.S. with the validity of the visa. Having a visa valid for a year, or ten, does not mean you can stay in the United States for a year, and much less ten years. This means that you can legally travel, while the visa is valid.
Immigration laws are violated when a person:
– Enters the United States without a valid visa or without proper inspection by migration.
– Enters U.S. territory, by “yola” or crossing borders without inspection by immigration agents constitutes illegal entry to the United States.
– Enters in the United States with a passport, visa or other documentation belonging to another person.
– The stay in the United States, even for a day, is more than the time allowed.
– Working or studying in the United States without proper documentation or with a tourist visa. Doing so will change your legal status and create future ramifications if you want to return to the U.S.
– Some other violations of immigration laws exist but are evaluated on an individual basis.
The easiest way to avoid deportation or situations that could contribute to the revocation of the visa is to use it in accordance with the guidelines with which it was authorized for. A person visiting for two weeks or attending a conference for a few days does not have to worry about problems with migration.
