One Percent of US Visitors Overstayed Visas

AS IT IS 2016-01-25 One Percent of US Visitors Overstayed Visas

About 1 percent of visitors to the United States who arrived by air or sea last year overstayed their visas, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security¹ (DHS) said Tuesday.

About 45 million visitors came to the U.S. between October 1, 2014 and September 30, 2015. Some were business or pleasure travelers in the U.S. with visas that expired² with time. Others were in the U.S. under a program that reviews them in advance.

DHS said that by September 30, 2015, about 416,500 had not left the U.S.

Another 66,500 people stayed past their leave dates, but later left the U.S.

The number of visitors who overstayed in the U.S. was lowest among 38 countries that are part of the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). VWP allows some travelers into the United States for tourism or business for 90 days or less without a visa.

Countries with the highest rates of visitors who did not leave were Djibouti, Bhutan, Burkina Faso and Afghanistan.

The report did not include numbers of visitors that entered by land, especially visitors from Canada and Mexico. More than 200 million people entered the U.S. at land border crossings in 2015.

The department says it will try to include them in future reports.

The report did not include the kind of visas recorded in the survey. DHS says it would like the report to review more F, M and J visas.

An F1 visa allows non-immigrant students into the U.S. M1 visas are issued to students who are working in the U.S. or training for a job. J visas are issued to students in exchange programs.

Congress³ passed new rules in December that tighten⁴ the waiver program. Any citizen from Iran, Iraq, Syria or Sudan -- or anyone who traveled to one of those countries in the past five years -- is not eligible⁵ for a waiver and must get a visa to enter the U.S.

Words in This Story

expired - v. ended

reviewed - v. examined; studied

advance - n. forward movement; progress in the development of something

waiver – n. an official document indicating that someone has given up or waived⁶ a right or requirement

issued - v. giving something in an official or public way

1 security   

n.安全，安全感；防护措施；保证(金)，抵押(品)；债券，证券

参考例句：

• A security guard brought him down with a flying tackle.一名保安人员飞身把他抱倒。
• There was tight security at the airport when the President's plane landed.总统的专机降落时，机场的保安措施很严密。

2 expired   

期满( expire的过去式和过去分词 )； 文件、协议等（因到期而）失效； 断气； 逝世

参考例句：

• The period of validity of the agreement has expired. 本协议的有效期已过。
• Their licences have expired. 他们的执照已到期。

3 Congress   

n.(代表)大会；(C-:美国等国的)国会，议会

参考例句：

• There were some days to wait before the Congress.大会的召开还有几天时间。
• After 18 years in Congress,he intented to return to private life.在国会供职18年后，他打算告老还乡。

4 tighten   

v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧

参考例句：

• Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
• Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。

5 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

6 waived   

v.宣布放弃( waive的过去式和过去分词 )；搁置；推迟；放弃（权利、要求等）

参考例句：

• He has waived all claim to the money. 他放弃了索取这笔钱的权利。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I waived the discourse, and began to talk of my business. 我撇开了这个话题，开始讲我的事情。 来自辞典例句