Visa overstaying remains a serious problem in the United States. 739,450 people overstayed their visas in 2016, and almost 630,000 remained in the U.S. by year’s end, according to a new DHS report. The actual number may be higher because the report does not cover foreign visitors who entered through a vehicular or land port of entry.
The biggest offender countries were Canada and Mexico. 182,000 foreign nationals overstayed from just those two nations. By arrival category, student visa holders were the worst. Five percent of the 1.5 million student or exchange students ignored their visa terms.
Of the more than 21.6 million Visa Waiver Program, 147,282 overstayed their visa, with 128,806 suspected in-country overstays.
Only 1.5 percent of the 50,437,278 visitors who came through air and sea ports left in accordance with their visa. But due to the volume, the small overstay rate accounts for almost 740,000 illegal aliens.
The Washington Times notes that few of the visa overstays are investigated. Homeland Security officials told Congress last year that it had deported only 2,500 visa overstayers.
Read more in The Washington Times or see the Homeland Security press release.
