Unlawful Presence

There are 10 basic grounds of inadmissibility.  These are:

• Health related grounds;
• Criminal grounds;
• Security grounds;
• Public charge grounds;
• Labor certifications;
• Undocumented entry and immigration status violations;
• Documentation requirements;
• Ineligibility for citizenship;
• Previous removal or unlawful presence; and
• Miscellaneous

Since the new law is solely concerning unlawful presence, this article discusses definition of unlawful presence. 

Section 212(a)(9)(B)(ii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act defines unlawful presence as presence “in the United States after the expiration of the period of stay authorized by the Attorney General or [presence] in the United States without being admitted or paroled.  The USCIS has not issued regulations to further define the concept, providing only memoranda on the issue, essentially saying that a person begins accruing unlawful presence when they remain in the US past the expiration date of their I-94.