Parole Permitted for Minor VWP Violators
Posted Aug 27, 2004
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The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner, Robert Bonner, announced a change in policy regarding Visa Waiver Program (VWP) travelers. The change, announced on August 12, 2004, provides the CBP with the ability to exercise some discretion and common sense when faced with VWP visitors seeking to reenter the U.S. following a prior inadvertent overstay. The VWP is available for persons from a list of countries with very low rates of tourist visa denials. [See our March 2, 2002 article, Argentina Eliminated from Visa Waiver Program, available on MurthyDotCom.] The VWP permits a 90-day stay only, with no extensions or changes of nonimmigrant status.
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Under the new procedures, one who has violated a VWP 90-day permitted stay may be given a one-time paroled entry to the United States at the discretion of the CBP inspector. This is designed to avoid handcuffing and detaining persons who do not pose any danger to the U.S. Commissioner Bonner noted that instances had come to his attention of CBP officers denying entry of VWP visitors because of brief, prior overstays, even though the individuals were no threat to the United States. This meant that these persons would be placed in detention (sometimes overnight), placed in handcuffs when transported to and from detention, and then put on flights back to their home countries. The Commissioner opined that this treatment was grossly disproportionate in cases of inadvertent prior overstays. He noted that enforcement must be tempered with common sense.
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Regular MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers will recall that the law requires a person who overstays his/her status, even for a single day, to apply for a visa at the home country consulate in order to return to the U.S. in the future. It would appear that those who are admitted on the one-time exception under this new policy will need to apply for and obtain visa stamps in their passports at the U.S. consulate in their respective home countries, if such persons wish to travel again to the U.S. in the future.
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This is a positive decision and will allow government resources to be directed toward those persons who pose a real threat to United States security interests instead of wasting time and tax dollars on those VWP travelers with inadvertent overstays. This discretion and change in procedure is limited only to a one-time parole for persons traveling on the visa waiver program. It does not apply to persons who overstayed in any other category. Obviously, we advise MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers that everyone should take all possible precautions to avoid any overstay, even for a single day beyond the date on the I-94 card, as there are serious immigration consequences in such cases.