The United States Department of Homeland Security has released its first partial estimate of people who have overstayed their permits to be in the United States of America.
The list was as a result of heightened pressure mounted on the Department by the US Congress which has tasked the Department to improve tracking of foreign visitors.
According to the report, the expected departures for Nigerian citizens in 2015 was estimated at 183,907 with a total of 7,408 visitors overstaying their visas and 627 persons who have left the United States in 2015 after expiration of their permit. The number of Nigerians who have stayed back after the expiration of their visas in 2015 however stood at 6,781.
According to the report released in January, Canada ranked first with the most visitors who failed to leave at the end of their authorised stay, followed closely by Mexico and Brazil.
The “Entry/Exit Overstay Report containing these numbers only took into consideration the number of foreigners whose permits for stay in the US expired during the 2015 fiscal year which ended September 30.
The report indicated that the number of foreign visitors who overstayed reduces over time, it also took into consideration purpose of admission such as business or pleasure, and means of arrival, air or sea.
The report conclusively stated that of the 45 million arrivals who were supposed to depart in the 2015 fiscal year, only about 527,000 remained in the country after expiration of their permits.