Perhaps you are waiting on the results of another immigration application you have submitted, you need to find out if you can extend your current visa, or you may have entered on the Visa Waiver Program. Whatever your situation, if you are fast-approaching your visa expiration date, you need to be aware of your options, and the potential consequences of overstaying your visa.

Extending Your Visa

Some visas have "grace periods" that let you stay a bit beyond your visa before you leave, and the majority of United States visas will let you get an extension at least one time. If this is an option for you, then you probably need to fill out Form I-539 to get the extension. If your visa expires before you get an answer on your request for an extension, you can still stay inside the country legally. There are some visa holders who cannot get extensions, however, such as:

• Those in the United States under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), since they do not have a visa
• Crew members who have D visas
• Someone in transit with a C visa
• Someone in transit who does not have a visa (TWOV)
• The fiancé, or dependent of a fiancé, of a U.S. citizen

Visa holders may also have the option of getting an adjustment of status, which could get them a green card, or they may be able to apply for a different kind of visa than the one under which they are staying.

If You Have an Immigration Application Pending

If you submitted all your paperwork on time, you should probably see how your application is going, and you can probably do this on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service's case status page. If that site does not work for you, you could check in person at a nearby USCIS office after you schedule an appointment. An in-person visit could help in some cases where a decision has been made, but somehow you did not get notification, such as if the notice was lost in the mail.

What happens if your visa expires before you hear back about your application? You do not have to leave the U.S., for one thing; you will not be accruing unlawful status. If your visa included a work permit, however, you will have to stop working. You would be in limbo without an official immigration status, which can actually happen a good deal, as the USCIS is pretty good at responding slowly. But the bottom line is that usually speaking, a visa overstay in this situation is legal. You could be running a huge risk though, because if your application is denied, then the overstay could be penalized.

If you were late on your paperwork, however, and your visa is about to come to an end, it is usually advisable that you leave the country on time and apply for a new visa overseas. Consult an immigration attorney about this situation right away.

What Could Happen If You Overstay Your Visa

If you are not waiting for the results of an immigration application, then the results will depend on the specifics of your situation, and on how long you outlasted your visa. If your unlawful presence was for less than 180 days (or six months), then you could still legally return to the United States. If you stayed on an expired visa for more than 180 straight days, however, you could face time bars. If this overstay was for less than a full year and you were not deported, you cannot reenter the United States for 3 years. If your unlawful presence was for more than 365 continuous days and you were not deported, then you would face a 10-year bar, during which time you cannot enter the U.S. If you have unlawful presence on your record of more than one year or if you are deported, and you try to reenter the country without a visa, then you could be barred for at least 10 years, possibly life.

That being said, there are waivers to three- and ten-year time bars, though they are extremely hard to get. There are exceptions to the time bars as well, however. If any of the following was true of your overstay, then you might not face a time bar:

• You were younger than 18
• You had pending immigration applications
• You were a battered spouse or child
• You were under Temporary Protected Status (TPS), Deferred Enforced Departure (DED), Deferred Action (DACA), or Withholding of Removal under the Convention Against Torture

It is absolutely vital that you understand your rights and options when it comes to immigration. Get the advice and legal assistance you need when you contact an immigration attorney on our directory today!