On Oct 28, 5:54 pm, "J. J. Farrell" wrote:
> On Oct 28, 3:07 pm, For ePlay wrote:
>
> > Say a guy from Europe came to US two years ago on a (6 month) tourist
> > visa. He overstays his visa only to come to the conclusion that US is
> > not for him: too much work, stress and no fun (which seems to be the
> > way over 90% of the Europeans think about America). So he decides to
> > buy a one-way ticket back to Europe and to leave US for good.
>
> > Now how does that work?
>
> > Can he just buy the ticket and go to the airport and board the
> > transatlantic?
>
> Sure, why not?
>
> > Would the immigration officers in the airport just let
> > somebody with an expired visa go?
>
> His visa's not relevant to anything once he's in the USA. It's the
> I-94 card he was given when he entered the USA which says whether or
> not he is legally present in the USA. Neither of them have anything to
> do with leaving the USA. Common sense needs to be applied here - what
> are they going to do if they stop him? Deport him? Isn't it obviously
> just cheaper and easier for everyone to let him leave?
>
> > Can the guy (described above) decide
> > today that he wants out of here and two days later just land in
> > Europe?
>
> Of course.
>
> > Common sense would tell me that he has to hire an immigration
> > attorney to take care of business, and that takes way longer than two
> > days.
>
> Why? What would an immigration attorney do?
>
> > Also: are there different legal consequences for self-deportation as
> > opposed to plain deportation?
>
> He's automatically banned from re-entering the USA for 10 years either
> way. If he gets deported, he might end up spending a while in jail
> until he's brought before an immigration judge. He'll also have the
> deportation on his record which may cause problems later.
>> Common sense needs to be applied here - what
are they going to do if they stop him? Deport him? Isn't it obviously
just cheaper and easier for everyone to let him leave?
It's "easier and cheaper" indeed and it wouldn't make any sense to
arrest him, jail him, and two month later pay for his airfare. That'd
be quite stupid, but, as you said:
>> He's automatically banned from re-entering the USA for 10 years either
way.
A. "10 years EITHER way" it's silly; the self-deported should get a
bonus (like 5 or maximum 7 instead of 10);
B. my common sense tells me that the would-be self-deported would be
invited in a certain office for an interview. Some INS officers should
make sure the guy is not a criminal just trying to flee the scene of
his crime/s. That might take enough time for "the guy" to lose his
plane. That's why I assumed that any sane individual in the above
situation should use an attorney BEFORE stepping in an airport for an
outside US destination.
But what do I know? I just heard a story about someone (absolutely
clean, but with an expired visa) that suddenly decided US is not for
him, so he bought his ticket and two days later he was in Europe. I
couldn't believe it.
Now don't take me wrong, I hate shrinks MORE THAN Shakespeare did -
HEY, I'M IN NO WAY ADVERTISING LAWYERS HERE! --, but the most
important thing in this universe is my comfort. I'm a US citizen, but
I have the brains/imagination to put myself in (almost) anybody's
shoes: I wouldn't risk going to jail (and losing my airfare) stepping
in an airport where I could be arrested and jailed for some stupid
technicalities. For my comfort I'd just ask somebody knowledgeable to
take care of my business BEFORE I'd step in the airport.
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