Help on Possible Overstay

[CapeCobb]

There is a young girl I know who is in the US on a Student Visa. It expires later in 2004 and all her efforts to get a Work Visa has failed as she has a degree, but not in a specialized industry. She has close family here in the US she lives with and they support her and would gladly keep doing so forever as she has no family or home back in her original country.

If she finds no way to extend her visa or get a new one, her only choice to stay in the US is to simply overstay her Visa. I have read alot on these boards and am left with questions:

1. If she overstays her Visa, is she an "illegal alien"?

2. If she never tries to leave the US and doesn't get arrested, what are her real chances of getting deported?

3. If someday she gets a removal letter, has a good lawyer (her family here has money) and plenty of people to appear in court on her behalf and write letters about her character, could she be allowed to stay??

4. If someday, even 10 years from now, she is still here and marries a US Citizen (for love, of course) will her overstay be forgiven?

[CapeCobb]

There is a young girl I know who is in the US on a Student Visa. It expires later in 2004 and all her efforts to get a Work Visa has failed as she has a degree, but not in a specialized industry. She has close family here in the US she lives with and they support her and would gladly keep doing so forever as she has no family or home back in her original country.

If she finds no way to extend her visa or get a new one, her only choice to stay in the US is to simply overstay her Visa. I have read alot on these boards and am left with questions:

1. If she overstays her Visa, is she an "illegal alien"?

2. If she never tries to leave the US and doesn't get arrested, what are her real chances of getting deported?

3. If someday she gets a removal letter, has a good lawyer (her family here has money) and plenty of people to appear in court on her behalf and write letters about her character, could she be allowed to stay??

4. If someday, even 10 years from now, she is still here and marries a US Citizen (for love, of course) will her overstay be forgiven?

[ardainia]

If the girls family is really willing to support her htey should see about her continuing her education in a specialized field. Also, she would be considered illegal unless she gets anotehr visa. I am not too sure about her cances of getting deported if...they would have to find out she is still here and overstayed her visa, as for marriaged based AOS Maybe in those 10 years she could actually find a USC that she truly loves that will help her adjust status.

[Karina]

If she overstays her visa it won't be a problem, but if her I-94 expires then she would fall out of status. If she has a D/S (Duration of Status) on her I-94 then she whould be considered as beeing out of status, but not unlawfully present. Therefore she wouldn't be an illegal alien.

The best thing she can do right now is to continue her education. Maybe while she is doing so she'll fell in love and get married. This way all the problems can be solved.