Washington, DC - "We have laws that need to be followed to keep Americans safe and to protect the integrity of a system where, right now, there are millions of people who are waiting in line to come to America to seek the American Dream." ~ President Donald J. Trump
ENFORCING A LAWFUL VISA SYSTEM: President Donald J. Trump is combating nonimmigrant visa overstays as part of his commitment to uphold the rule of law.
- President Trump is signing a Presidential memorandum addressing the high number of nonimmigrant visa recipients who stay past their authorized time in our country.
- President Trump is directing the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security to find effective ways to combat the rampant number of overstays.
- At President Trump’s direction, the Secretary of State will work to ensure countries with visa overstay rates higher than 10 percent address this problem.
- The Secretaries of State and Homeland Security will make recommendations within 120 days on actions to limit overstays.
- One action being considered would suspend or limit entry of individuals from countries with high rates of visa overstays.
- The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will explore ways to reduce overstays from countries participating in the Visa Waiver Program.
- The Trump Administration will develop measures for implementing admission bonds as a potential way to improve compliance with visas.
COMBATING VISA ABUSE: The rampant problem of visa overstays is undermining the rule of law and straining resources that are needed to address the crisis at our southern border.
- Visa overstays are a widespread problem that harm the integrity of our immigration system.
- As of March 2019, there were over 415,000 individuals in the United States suspected to still be in the United States after overstaying their nonimmigrant visas in fiscal year (FY) 2018.
- Twenty countries have overstay rates of more than 10 percent—some with rates as high as 20, 30, or 40 percent.
- Countries not part of the Visa Waiver Program accounted for more than 300,000 total overstays in FY 2018.
- The large number of aliens overstaying their period of lawful admission places a significant strain on our law enforcement and immigration officials who are needed to address the ongoing border crisis.
FURTHER REDUCING OVERSTAYS: President Trump’s memorandum will strengthen the efforts his Administration has already undertaken to reduce overstays.
- Under President Trump’s leadership, DHS efforts led to a decrease in visa overstays from FY 2017 to FY 2018.
- Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is using advanced biometrics at border crossings to confirm traveler identities and identify overstays.
- DHS has worked to strengthen the integrity of the Visa Waiver Program by notifying travelers who have overstayed their visas and informing them of the consequences for not complying.
- CBP has begun notifying Visa Waiver Program travelers before their admission period ends.
- DHS requires Visa Waiver Program countries with an overstay rate exceeding two percent to implement public awareness campaigns that warn against overstaying visas.