by Linda Straker
- US Department of Homeland Security reports more than 200 Grenadians with visitor B1 visas overstayed
- 11,032 Grenadians were expected to depart, but 239 failed to depart
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is reporting that more than 200 Grenadians with visitor B1 visa overstayed their time in the USA for the year 2018.
An overstay is a non-immigrant who was lawfully admitted to the United States for an authorised period but stayed in the United States beyond his or her authorised admission period. Non-immigrants admitted for “duration of status,” who fail to maintain their status, may also be considered overstays.
The authorised admission period can be a fixed period or for the duration of a certain activity, such as the period during which a student is pursuing a full course of study or any authorised technical/practical training.
The recently released Fiscal Year 2018 Entry/Exit Overstay Report provides data on expected departures and overstays, by country, for foreign travellers to the United States who entered as non-immigrants through an air or sea port of entry (POE) and who were expected to depart in Fiscal Year 2018 (1 October 2017 – 30 September 2018).
“It does this by examining the number of entries, by country, for foreign travellers who arrived as non-immigrants during this time as of 1 October 2018. An overstay is a non-immigrant who was lawfully admitted to the United States for an authorised period but remained in the United States beyond his or her authorised period of admission,” said the report.
There are 2 types of overstays: individuals for whom no departure has been recorded (Suspected In-Country Overstays), and individuals whose departure was recorded after their authorised period of admission expired (Out-of-Country Overstays).
The reports show that 11,032 Grenadians were expected to depart from US air or seaports, but 2.17% or 239 failed to depart. Of that number 219 are classified as suspected to be in country while 20 are suspected to be out of country.
DHS, the report said, has engaged in a concerted campaign to end visa overstay abuse. “For the second year in a row, visa overstay rates have declined,” said the report which gave the assurance that the DHS will continue efforts to ensure the integrity of its non-immigrant visa programme.
According to the report, in total at the end of 2018, there were 569,604 Suspected In-Country Overstays. The overall Suspected In-Country Overstay rate for this scope of travellers is 1.04% of the expected departures.
Due to continuing departures and adjustments of status by individuals in this population, by 1 March 2019, the number of Suspected In-Country Overstays for FY 2018 decreased to 415,684, rendering the Suspected In-Country Overstay rate of 0.76%. As of 1 March 2019, DHS has been able to confirm the departures or adjustment of status of more than 99.24% of non-immigrants scheduled to depart in FY 2018 via air and sea ports of entries.
