Overstayed a visa in US, is it relevant to mention in a Schengen visa request?
One of my friends plans to visit Switzerland. He had overstayed a performing artists visa in US for a period of five years. While he went to the U.S. he had a permanent job in India. Now he is back in India and has been working in the same Engineering college for three years.
When he applies for the Schengen visa should he show all these details, even if it is not known that they will know. Will it lead to rejection?
Best Answer
- Never lie to immigration.
- Never give information not asked.
- Given that the Schengen transit visa can be "replaced" with a valid USA visa my educated guess is that the visa department of Schengen area countries must have access to the USA immigration databases. This is nothing more than a good guess, however, see next bullet point.
- We are not Schengen visa officials and we do not even play one on TV. We do not know what factors do they take into consideration. Also, even if we would know we do not have the completed form so we can not answer your question.
Pictures about "Overstayed a visa in US, is it relevant to mention in a Schengen visa request?"
Do embassies know about visa refusal in other countries?
As long as there is no visa rejection stamp on your passport none will know that another country has denied your visa. Except for Schengen countries as they use the same system and they will be able to pull you information. In the Western world all of the embassies are linked into common computer networks and systems.How do immigration know if you overstay your visa?
Travel Records It's pretty easy for foreigners in the U.S. to know if they've overstayed their visas. All they need to do is look at their I-94 arrival and departure cards, which clearly state how long they can stay.What happens if you overstay your visa in America?
If you have more than 180 days of unlawful presence, meaning you overstayed your visa by 181 days or more, you will be barred from returning to the United States for a certain amount of time. If you were unlawfully present for between 180 and 365 days, you will be barred from entering the United States for three years.Can I leave the US if I overstayed my visa?
If you entered the United States legally and overstayed your visa, and your green card sponsor is a U.S. citizen, you can apply for Advance Parole. You'll be able to go abroad and return to the United States without facing re-entry bars.Overstaying in the Schengen Zone - How to Extend Your Stay in Europe UPDATED
More answers regarding overstayed a visa in US, is it relevant to mention in a Schengen visa request?
Answer 2
As someone who travelled to the US and exited after my visa expired (but it was not as long as 5 years) - when I went to apply for my Schengen visa I noted the following:
The application doesn't ask if you have ever been to the US or been deported from the US. This is only asked on the US applications for a visa.
The officer at the embassy only asked the following (as it was my first time applying for Schengen):
Have I ever been to Europe? - I answered this as "only in transit through the UK" - which is how I used to travel to the US.
Have I ever been to the United States? - "Yes".
That was it. Volunteering extra information is rarely a good idea.
You did not mention what type of visa your friend would be applying for (I was applying for a tourist visa to attend a conference). I do not know if this meant that my application was subject to fewer/different checks than say if I was applying for immigration or business or study - each application type requires a different set of supporting documents and evidences.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Nataliya Vaitkevich, Pixabay, Porapak Apichodilok, Karolina Grabowska