Department of Homeland Security Releases Fiscal Year 2017 Entry/Exit Overstay Report
The Department of Homeland Security released the Entry/Exit Overstay report for Fiscal Year 2017, outlining the departures and overstays by country for foreign visitors to the United States who entered as nonimmigrants via either an air or sea Port of Entry and were expected to depart in Fiscal Year 2017. Included within the group accounted for are temporary workers and families, students, exchange visitors, temporary visitors for pleasure, temporary visitors for business, and other nonimmigrant classes of admission.
DHS announced that Fiscal Year 2017 saw 52,656,022 nonimmigrant admissions which fell into the group examined, with a total of 701,900 overstay events or 1.33 percent of the total. The report also specified the number of those who stayed in the United States past their period of admission without any indication of departure, extension of admission, or transition to another immigration status. The report stated that 606,926 individuals were suspected to be in-country overstays by the end of Fiscal Year 2017, representing 1.15 percent of expected departures.
Within the report, Visa Waiver Program (VWP) country overstay figures were distinguished from Non-Visa Waiver Program countries. The Fiscal Year 2017 suspected in-country overstay rate for VWP countries was .51 percent of the 22,472,710 expected departures, while non-VWP countries’ in-country overstay rate was 1.91 percent of the 14,659,249 expected departures. The report also examined the number of nonimmigrants who entered on an F, M or J visa and stayed longer than the time they were allowed. The report concluded that 4.15 percent of the 1,662,369 students and exchange visitors remained in the country after their authorized window for departure after the conclusion of their program.
Within the report, the overstay rates for individuals from the countries of Mexico and Canada was also identified. This differentiation was rationalized based on the much smaller percentage of air and sea travel for individuals from these countries. The Fiscal Year 2017 suspected in-country overstay rate for Canadians traveling via air or sea was 1.01 percent of the 9,215,158 expected departures. For Mexico, the Fiscal Year 2017 Suspected In-Country overstay rate for individuals travelling through air and sea points of entry was 1.63 percent of the 2,916,430 expected departures.
For more information, view the full report.
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USCIS Must Adjudicate Asylum Seekers’ Employment Authorization Within 30 Days
A judge has decided that United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) must adjudicate the work authorization applications of asylum seekers within 30 days of the filing of the application. In Rosario v. USCIS, a Seattle based federal district court judge found USCIS’ delay of asylum seekers’ applications to be unreasonable, ordering USCIS to adjudicate the initial employment authorization application of asylum seekers within 30 days of filing.
Immigration law requires that all asylum seekers wait 150 days after filing asylum applications to be eligible to apply for work authorization. After this, USCIS must act on the applications for work authorization within 30 days of applying. USCIS has consistently failed to adhere to this deadline, causing hardship by leaving asylum seekers in a difficult situation, without the ability to work legally during the often months-long delay caused by USCIS.
For more information, view the judgement.
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