Over 21,000 Indians overstayed visas in US last year
Over 21,000 Indians in the US overstayed their visas last year, the Homeland Security Department said today. While the percentage of Indians overstaying and not leaving the US after the expiry of their visas isn't very high compared to some other nations, but India ranks among the top 10 countries whose citizens come to the US legally and continue to stay illegally. Here's more.
Data from the DHS's 2017 Entry/Exit Overstay report
DHS's 2017 Entry/Exit Overstay Report shows there were 52,656,022 in-scope non-immigrant admissions through air or sea port of entries (POEs) with expected departures occurring in fiscal 2017. Among these, the total overstay rate was 1.33% or 701,900 overstay events. For India, it was 1.32%.
Over 14,000 Indians overstayed under B-1, B-2 visas
In 2017, over 10.7L Indians visited the US on the popular B-1, B-2 visas, which is issued for business, visit, or tourism purposes. Of these, 14,204 overstayed in the country. 1,708 of these left the US later after their visas expired, while there is no record of 12,498 Indians leaving the US. This could be presumed that they continue to stay as illegal immigrants.
4,400 Indian scholars, students overstayed under F,M,J visas
In 2017, 27,435 Indian students and researchers came to America on F, J, and M visas. Of these 4,400 overstayed. 1,567 left the US later, while 2,833 Indians are still there. Among other categories, over 4.5L Indians were expected to leave in 2017, of which 9,568 overstayed their visas. Among them, 2,956 left America after their visas expired, while 6,612 might be staying illegally.
Report gives details on in-country overstay
At the end of fiscal 2017, there were 606,926 suspected in-country overstays (individuals already living in the US). The overall suspected in-country overstay rate was 1.15% of the expected departures, the DHS said. For non-visa waiver program (VWP) countries, the FY 2017 report suspected in-country overstay rate is 1.91% of the 14,659,249 expected departures. It was 1.16% for India, which is a non-VWP country.
What is a Visa Waiver Program?
The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) enables most citizens or nationals of participating countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa. India is not a participating country.
