Wall Street Journal
By Laura Meckler
May 11, 2018
President Donald Trump’s administration published a new policy memorandum on Friday that would tighten enforcement against foreign students and exchange visitors who overstay their visas.
Many of the administration’s immigration moves have targeted illegal crossings into the U.S. But the new rules are meant to address people who entered the U.S. legally but then remained even though they no longer participate in approved activities.
Some experts have estimated that 40% or 50% of about 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. came legally but stayed past their departure dates.
The new rules would govern how the government calculates the length of time that someone is “unlawfully present” in the U.S.
Under the old rules, which date back to 1997, the government begins counting the days someone is in the country without authorization when the violation is discovered. Under the new rules, which are to take effect in 90 days, the clock would be set back to when the visitor first fell out of compliance.
The dates are important because after people have been unlawfully present in the U.S. for 180 days, they are barred from re-entering for three years.
Those people who have been unlawfully present for more than a year are barred from re-entering for 10 years.
The new policy memo was published by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, part of the Homeland Security Department. It affects people with F, J and M visas.
These visitors “are admitted to the United States for a specific purpose, and when that purpose has ended, we expect them to depart, or to obtain another, lawful immigration status,” USCIS Director L. Francis Cissna said in a statement.
“The message is clear: These nonimmigrants cannot overstay their periods of admission or violate the terms of admission and stay illegally in the U.S. anymore,” he said.
There is a 30-day comment period on the proposed policy.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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