52

Is one allowed to travel back to one's country of origin using a valid passport issued by the consular office in the US? Would that trigger detention in the airport?

Overstayed over 2 decades and have a clean record.

Uciebila
  • 9,705
  • 6
  • 66
  • 90
KnightM55
  • 623
  • 1
  • 5
  • 6
  • 52
    20 Years is a long long time, I feel sorry that you were not able to legalize your stay in those 20 years... – Hanky Panky Sep 27 '19 at 05:06
  • 8
    Answerers, please realize the OP is not asking for the effects of the overstay. Please ensure the two questions asked are answered. – CGCampbell Sep 27 '19 at 16:33
  • 3
    this is unrelated to "travel" and should be migrated to maybe expats. – Fattie Sep 29 '19 at 12:39
  • Have you gotten a new Passport from your Consular Office. I meant Passport and not Emergency Travel Certificates. – Jeff Lee Dec 11 '19 at 11:37

3 Answers3

55

The US doesn't have exit checks. You can always exit the US if you don't have a pending arrest warrant. You won't be detained or deported.

You will likely be banned for ten years from coming back to the US and it will be virtually impossible to get a visitor visa afterward.

Anish Sheela
  • 14,422
  • 3
  • 44
  • 81
  • Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat. – JonathanReez Sep 27 '19 at 22:28
  • 2
    What time could the ten year ban be based on, when the exit is not recorded? – Volker Siegel Sep 29 '19 at 02:25
  • 5
    @VolkerSiegel from the date of exit. When the person tries to get back in, they'll ask when she or he left . The ban starts then. If they can't establish that date because the person is uncooperative or not credible, then I guess they'd use the date of attempted reentry or perhaps the day before, presuming that the person just left and came back immediately. – phoog Sep 29 '19 at 07:34
  • 1
    Since there are no exit checks you can probably exit with a pending arrest warrant as well ;-). (Perhaps you want to use a vehicle which is not tied to you, or cross the Rio Grande (it's trivial in that direction if you are looking Anglo). – Peter - Reinstate Monica Sep 29 '19 at 20:57
  • 3
    RE "you won't be deported": Well, that would do no damage now, would it? ;-) – Peter - Reinstate Monica Sep 29 '19 at 20:58
  • 1
    @PeterA.Schneider deportation would make a damage, because it is not simply "go on that plane", it is a procedure and during that procedure one is, effectively, in jail. – Mołot Sep 30 '19 at 09:49
  • 3
    @VolkerSiegel The exit is not checked physically, but it is recorded. The airline will provide details of all passengers leaving the country to CBP, which will update their records, and find the discrepancy. IIRC the records are sent a first time a little bit before the flight departs (so if the passenger is wanted they could send someone to arrest them) and a second time once the flight has actually departed with the passenger onboard (though I may be mistaking that with the procedure for inbound international flights). – jcaron Dec 11 '19 at 10:04
40

There are 2 aspects:

  • Will CBP allow you to exit the country?
  • Will the airline allow you to board?

The US doesn't formally have exit controls, so no agency is systematically checking exit documents. Even if a CBP officer did spot-check you, they'd go "My job is to get you to leave. Since you're leaving on your own, can I carry your bags for you? Guide you to your gate?"

Retribution isn't coming. What is coming, is future refusal when you try to re-enter the USA as a temporary visitor. Because you'll have a 10-year ban, and after that, you will have difficulty convincing them that your next visit will be temporary.

Today, they just want you to leave.

As far as the airline boarding -- If you are a citizen of country X, you are entitled to travel there. You need to show the airline proper proof of that, becuase they have a legal obligation not to fly you somewhere you'll be refused. Your passport issued by that country will suffice. Of course, beware of situations where you select a route through a third country and they want a transit visa or something.

Harper - Reinstate Monica
  • 35,577
  • 4
  • 65
  • 144
  • 6
    Describing a later refusal of entry as "retribution" is ignoring the point of such refusals, and the meaning of the world itself. Entry is permitted given certain conditions - it is a privilege extended at the discretion of the country, not a right or a property being taken away from the person proposing entry. – Nij Sep 28 '19 at 03:58
  • 7
    @Nij Yes, I'm just saying it that way becaus OP is expecting retribution, and I fear an answer of "there's none" may not be believable. – Harper - Reinstate Monica Sep 28 '19 at 04:03
  • There are better ways to correct a misconception than continue lying to its possessor. – Nij Sep 28 '19 at 04:11
  • 3
    @nij you sold me. Please leave comment #1 in place for reference. Thanks. . – Harper - Reinstate Monica Sep 28 '19 at 04:13
  • How do they know you overstayed if there are no exit controls? – JJJ Sep 28 '19 at 14:55
  • @JJJ good question, the answer is "every other country has entry controls". Proof of USA departure is proof of other country entry. – Harper - Reinstate Monica Sep 28 '19 at 15:23
  • 3
    That doesn't make sense, how would the US know you entered another country? Many countries don't stamp passports on entry, especially their own citizens' passports. And even then, an entry stamp in another country from today doesn't prove that I was in the US before that even if I entered the US 5 years ago. Perhaps I should ask it as a different question? – JJJ Sep 28 '19 at 15:40
  • @JJJ yes! However I would start by searching for existing questions to that effect, as it comes up a lot. – Harper - Reinstate Monica Sep 28 '19 at 15:46
  • Found an answer, apparently they don't know. – JJJ Sep 28 '19 at 15:53
  • 4
    @JJJ however, your question actually is "what can I do to satisfy CBP that I didn't overstay last visit?" Or perhaps "How can I sneak out of the US in a manner that lets me conceal my overstay from CBP?" – Harper - Reinstate Monica Sep 28 '19 at 16:01
  • I am actually very happy outside of the US so I don't really have to worry about that. A more interesting question would be why the US doesn't have such controls when many other countries do, perhaps that's more suited for politics.SE though. ;p – JJJ Sep 28 '19 at 16:04
  • Let us continue this discussion in chat. – Harper - Reinstate Monica Sep 28 '19 at 16:06
  • Sorry, ai did not mean to suggest you wanted that, I am saying the question you are raising is complicatead, and those questions are where the complexities show up. – Harper - Reinstate Monica Sep 28 '19 at 16:09
  • @JJJ They will either stamp it, or electronically record it. – user253751 Sep 28 '19 at 20:59
  • @user29850 who will? The US apparently doesn't and countries may or may not (be able to) share it with the US. The airlines might, if the same document / name is used (e.g. people with dual nationality). – JJJ Sep 28 '19 at 21:13
  • @JJJ by air, they catch the data from the airlines. By land, sea or private craft, it's complicated, and yeah, there are ways you can find yourself back home with no proof whatsoever that you did depart the US. And, there are things you can do to assure you are properly recorded. Hence my recommendation to either search more broadly, or ask a question. – Harper - Reinstate Monica Sep 28 '19 at 21:43
  • 3
    @JJJ if the US hasn't recorded an exit but has a record of entry from over 20 years ago, they will presume that the person overstayed and leave it to the person to prove otherwise. So the US knows you entered another country because you have to tell them so if you want to enter the US – phoog Sep 29 '19 at 07:55
  • I'm not sure about a "legal" obligation -- I think they just pay a penalty... – Peter - Reinstate Monica Sep 29 '19 at 21:01
  • So what happened if I visited the USA 20 years ago on a tourist visa, left two weeks later, this wasn't recorded, and I tried to get back in for the first time? My passport would show that I was in various places in the last 7 years. I might have more prove that I was not in the USA for many years, but it would be very, very difficult to prove that I didn't overstay (which would be the case after three months I assume). – gnasher729 Sep 29 '19 at 22:29
  • @gnasher729 Then, aware that you need to prove timely departure (or overstay within acceptable limits), you search for documentation of those facts, e.g. A paycheck ledger from a foreign company, credit card slips for restaurants, rental contract with date and your sig, statement from DMV saying you got a driver's license photo taken on so-and-so date, whatever you can get. If you can assemble quality documents, you bring them. – Harper - Reinstate Monica Sep 29 '19 at 22:37
  • On the "their job is to get you to leave" front. This is logical... but may there not be a temptation for them to try and get some credit? – the other one Dec 11 '19 at 12:59
  • "Because you'll have a 10-year ban" We don't know that for sure, because we don't know whether the OP accrued any "unlawful presence" which would depend on information we don't know, e.g. whether they had a date or D/S on their I-94. – user102008 Jan 25 '20 at 18:44
28

Yes, you are allowed to exit US, both legally (there is no law which would prevent you from leaving) and technically - unlike most other countries, there are no immigration checks when you leave the country.

Departing US after being in US illegally for more than 1 year triggers an automatic 10-years re-entry ban, however, the duration of the ban is only important for certain type of visas (mostly immigrant ones). A non-immigrant visa is unlikely to ever be granted to such a person even after formal ban expires.

Technically, it's departing the US after accruing 1 year of "unlawful presence". One could have "overstayed", without accruing "unlawful presence", depending on what status they entered on and other circumstances.

Volker Siegel
  • 267
  • 3
  • 11
SergeyA
  • 391
  • 2
  • 5
  • 10
    "Departing US after being in US illegally for more than 1 year triggers an automatic 10-years re-entry ban" Technically, it's departing the US after accruing 1 year of "unlawful presence". One could have "overstayed", without accruing "unlawful presence", depending on what status they entered on and other circumstances. – user102008 Sep 27 '19 at 18:44
  • 3
    @user102008 that it is indeed true, but I didn't feel the need to divulge into those quite complicated areas. – SergeyA Sep 27 '19 at 18:48
  • 2
    But is it possible that the overstay won't be detected and thus not affect future entries? – WGroleau Sep 28 '19 at 04:50
  • 1
    @WGroleau yes, it's possible, but there's no way really to find out. – phoog Sep 28 '19 at 06:05
  • @phoog Could you not find out by applying for a visa? – JBentley Sep 28 '19 at 14:45
  • 1
    So, then the answer is more accurately "triggers a 10-year re-entry ban if detected." – WGroleau Sep 28 '19 at 15:09
  • @JBentley isn't there a question that asks if you have overstated before? – kiradotee Sep 28 '19 at 18:23
  • @WGroleau If the OP is in the US they must have been there since their last entry. If they entered legally, going through customs and immigration, the US knows when they arrived. – Patricia Shanahan Sep 28 '19 at 18:37
  • 1
    Yes, but since they're still hear, we presumably don't know they didn't leave, and since our exit checks are rarely done … – WGroleau Sep 28 '19 at 18:44
  • 1
    @JBentley not if you fill out the visa application honestly. If you do, you'll be telling the US government about the overstay and therefore won't find out whether they knew about It before you told them. – phoog Sep 29 '19 at 07:39
  • @WGroleau the ban is legally effective when the person leaves the US. If the person is subsequently readmitted because of recordkeeping errors or subterfuge or for any other reason other than a waiver or a diplomatic visa then they have been improperly admitted despite the ban. – phoog Sep 29 '19 at 07:42
  • @user102008 I added your comment, it seems to be relevant. – Volker Siegel Dec 13 '19 at 01:00