What are the penalties for remaining in the U.S. past the expiration date on ones latest I-94 card?
Anyone who has overstayed (remained in the U.S. past the expiration date on her/his latest I-94 card) – even for a single day – is not eligible to apply for a nonimmigrant (temporary) visa from a country other than the home country. This is because the law automatically voids the visa stamp in the passport as soon as one continues to remain illegally in the U.S. or falls out of status. If a person has a visitor’s visa and unlawfully remains in the U.S. for 180 consecutive days or longer (up to one year), and then leaves voluntarily, there is a three-year bar to reentering the United States. If one stays unlawfully in the U.S. for an entire year or more, and then leaves voluntarily, there is a ten-year bar to returning to the U.S. A person who is out of status and wishes to apply for permanent resident status cannot complete her/his case without leaving, unless a petition or labor certification was (a) filed for him/her before January 14, 1998 or (b) filed by April 30, 2001, if s/he was
