Overstaying ESTA - what now?

[Cookie82]

Hi,

We are currently on an around the world trip, and our travel plans involve some 85 days in the US, then 1 month in Antigua, before then continuing on to Costa Rica and other places. However, the flight to Costa Rica is via the US, with some 4 days in between flights in New York (separate flights).

Ordinarily we imagined this to be fine, however, we now noticed that Antigua counts in the 90 day day-count, and that the second time in the US is not a re-entry, but rather still counts in the original 90 day period, which we are clearly exceeding. We are, however, already at the end of our 85 days in the US and all flights are booked.

How bad a situation are we in? What is the best course of action now? Can we switch to another VISA? Should we risk it? Will airlines cause problems or just the Immigration Officer?

Thank you!

[nicoeppersma]

Hi,

We are currently on an around the world trip, and our travel plans involve some 85 days in the US, then 1 month in Antigua, before then continuing on to Costa Rica and other places. However, the flight to Costa Rica is via the US, with some 4 days in between flights in New York (separate flights).

Ordinarily we imagined this to be fine, however, we now noticed that Antigua counts in the 90 day day-count, and that the second time in the US is not a re-entry, but rather still counts in the original 90 day period, which we are clearly exceeding. We are, however, already at the end of our 85 days in the US and all flights are booked.

How bad a situation are we in? What is the best course of action now? Can we switch to another VISA? Should we risk it? Will airlines cause problems or just the Immigration Officer?

I would strongly recommend not to overstay, even if this means changing your flight plans and incurring cost.

Under the visa waiver program (ESTA) you can not switch to another visa since you don't have a visa.

If you overstay, you will never be able to use the visa waiver program and will need to apply for a visa. Your visa applications will most likely be denied for the coming 3-5 years if you overstay.

BTW, I could not find any information on Antigua being counted in the 90 days...