USA waiver for people who left USA without reporting their depature

[kamile]

Hello Everyone,
I have a disturbing issue hope i will get some help here.
I have a friend of mine who used to be in the USA sometime back. He was there for 3 years and left voluntarily and came to canada. He has been in canada for 6 years and he will be applying for his citizenship in august of this year. However his brother in graduating this may and he was hoping to attend the graduation. He went to the USA visa consulate and they adviced him to go to the USA POE and report his depature and come with the letter to the consulate for the visa. He went back but they denied him visa. Earlier on before they sent hin to the POE he wanted to apply for a waiver but the officer asked him why he needs the waiver. He said he was advice to get on. ( he never had any criminal record in the US or Canada.) At the POE they asked him the same and for real he didn\'t know if he needs a wauver or not.

So my question is...if u leave USA voluntarily do you need a waiver to go back? If so how long does the waiver take. What do i need to know to help him out with the situation. Any input will be appriciated

Thanx, K

 

[scylla]

Was your friend in the US illegally during the three years? In other words, did he overstay a visa - or alternatively, enter illegally and then overstay? If so, how long was he illegal?

 

[kamile]

Hi Scylla thank for your reply. He was legally in the USA and he never overstayed his visa after it expired. He left legally though he did not report the depature. ( IDK what they meant by that). He had the visa and after it expired he left. He applied for PR in canada and got it 3 years ago and now he wanted to go for his brother's graduation in Harvard but they told him to report his depature and come to apply for the visa. He did was he was told and he was cleared everything. But then when he came to the consulate that send him to do that, they told him that he needs to apply for the waiver and that he can't do it now coz its too early ( hea has been in canada for 6years) i don understand.

 

[scylla]

OK - thanks for clarifying what the problem is. He should have reported his departure right when he left. Too bad he didn't - but there's no point re-living the past now.

To fix this, he needs to prove that he did in fact leave and prove WHEN he left. I'm not an expert - however I understand this is easier said than done. I think this may be one of those situations where it's best to work with a lawyer.

Since this is a Canadian board, I'd recommend you head over to a good US message board and see what advice you can find there. They will probably be able to help more than we can.

Try this message board and good luck:

http://forums.immigration.com/

 

[kamile]

Thank alot for the information, i will look it up. He actually proved everything and showed details of when he came to canada (from the canadian immigration) and they actually pulled all the information from their system...lol I will let you know how things go. Let me check out the site u recommeded