How to Handle People Overstaying Their Visas

Based on the fact that nearly one-third of the entire illegal immigration population are in the United States from an expired Visa the debate surrounding immigration laws and reform must include the problem of US immigration visa overstays. This concern has been further exacerbated by the findings that several of the hijackers involved with the attacks that occurred on September 11th gained residence through Visas, of which some had been expired.

Due to this notion, many law-makers have pushed forward the idea of a large guest-worker program that would allow individuals to change the illegal nature of their current status. American immigration laws are notably weak in several areas. For one, the illegal population only continues to grow and based on this fact alone, the current system of immigration laws fails the country. Also, the polarized nature of immigration laws fail to consider reasonable extraneous situations to allow non-criminal aliens to receive a path to citizenship. Rather, it threatens otherwise safe and beneficial immigrants with deportation, effectively creating a curtain on an enormous section of American society.

US immigration visa overstays can be addressed in a number of fashions. The first measure is to get the majority of these individuals back on the grid by offering incentives and for some, a path to citizenship. By changing the status under immigration law, it would push the dangerous illegal immigrants on the fringe of society as they would be the only immigrants without any chance of gaining American citizenship.

Although many non-immigrant visa-holders decide to return home after their allotted time in the United States, some remain to pursue better opportunities in education and occupation. Unlike those that cross the border illegally, many that overstay their US immigration visa are from around the world and it is often assumed that they are in large part better educated and more economically sound.

Few statistics exist on the exact number of individuals that overstay their Visas, and even though they are in direct violation of immigration laws, they are often in compliance with all other standards of an admissible American immigrant.