• Immigration Violations

    The Meaning of Unlawful Presence

    What Unlawful Presence Means Unlawful presence is staying in the U.S. after your authorizing document (for example, your visa) has expired, or presence without being formally admitted or paroled. Admitted means you lawfully entered the U.S. after inspection and authorization by an immigration officer such as a customs and border patrol officer. Entering without inspection (aka EWI) means a person entered the U.S. without documents. Paroled means you were lawfully allowed to enter the U.S. without admission documents. This option is mainly for humanitarian reasons. How You Accrue Unlawful Presence As briefly mentioned above, unlawful presence comes (a) when you stay in the U.S. after your document expires, (b) when…