An “overstay” is in effect when a person has remained inside US grounds past the expiry date of the person’s proof of arrival which is the I-94 card. Even if that person only remained in the US for one day, it is still considered an “overstay”. Back in October of 1996, the US has implemented a policy for anyone who overstays in the US.

It was on the 30th of September 1996 that President Clinton signed the IIRA of 1996 or the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. On the first day of October, this law was implemented. The Section 632 of that law states that if any person overstays their authorized period of stay, the non-immigrant visa becomes void. At the same time, that person will no longer be eligible to apply for any kind of non-immigrant US visa from any country except their country of residence. By law, the very first day the person overstays, the visa stamp in their passport automatically becomes void. Thus, they fall out of status and are illegally staying in the United States territory.

In some cases, the consequences of overstay will continue to have effect over the years. There are some cases whereby when applying for a new US visa, the person is denied a visa because of their overstay. Thus, it is crucial that you must be aware that you have to file a change of status, a visa extension of stay, or leave the US before the visa expires.