15

I was born in Brazil. When I was 3 years old, my parents decided to move to the U.S. on a visa. We overstayed, and when I was 12, I met a boy who has a green card. A month later, I was abused by my dad, and he was sent to jail. After he was released from jail, he was then deported, and my mother decided that we should move back to Brazil. The boy who I met when I was in the US and I have been in a long distance relationship ever since. Am I eligible for any type of visa, even though I have overstayed my first one for nine years?

Improve this question
2
  • 15
    Did you leave the US before you turned 18? this uscis page says that you don't accrue unlawful presence while you're a minor. It's under the "Accruing Unlawful Presence" section.
    – mkennedy
    Commented Jul 9 at 2:39
  • 3
    Assuming that 'nine years' overstayed is referring to the aged-3-years old visa, then they left when they were around 12. However, without knowing what kind of visa they originally came on, and how long that was valid for, that is a bit speculative.
    – ouflak
    Commented Jul 9 at 11:28

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
31

You never had a ban, based on what you described, assuming you left the US before age 18.5.

The ban that people worry about in such a case is the 3-year or 10-year ban under INA 212(a)(9)(B), where if you accrue between 180 days and 1 year of unlawful presence and then leave the US, you trigger a 3-year ban, and if you accrue more than 1 year of unlawful presence and then leave the US, you trigger a 10-year ban. However, you don't accrue unlawful presence for the purposes of this particular ban (INA 212(a)(9)(B)) while under the age of 18. Assuming you left before age 18.5, you could not have triggered this ban.

However, not having a ban does not mean that you will get a visa. Visa officers have wide discretion to deny most types of nonimmigrant visas for "failure to overcome the presumption of immigrant intent" if there is anything in your history they don't like. You must truthfully disclose the overstay when any visa application questions ask about it.

Improve this answer
4
  • 41
    And more specifically, being in a long-distance relationship with a green card holder is a strong indication of immigrant intent.
    – Simon Richter
    Commented Jul 9 at 10:26
  • 7
    This is of course assuming that she did in fact leave before she turned 18 – the question doesn’t say one way or the other.
    – Janus Bahs Jacquet
    Commented Jul 9 at 10:36
  • @JanusBahsJacquet: I updated
    – user102008
    Commented Jul 9 at 14:45
  • He or she. No presumptions please!
    – Michael Kay
    Commented Jul 12 at 9:27

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .