Pew: Foreign Students Account for Largest Percentage of Visa Overstays in FY16
The largest percentage of visa overstays in FY2016 were foreign nationals on student or exchange visas, according to analysis of a recent DHS report by the Pew Research Center. Around 629,000 foreign visitors overstayed their visas in fiscal year 2016.
The DHS report covered 96% of foreign visitors who arrived by air or sea, but did not include lawful arrivals over land borders.
Foreign student and exchange visitors had the highest percentage of visa overstayers at 2.74%. The report estimates that around 42,000 out of 1.5 million overstayed their student and exchange visa.
The business and pleasure visa category had a lower percentage rate of 1.18% but out of the 47 million visa holders that were supposed to leave in this category around 553,000 overstayed.
Temporary workers (their families included) had an overstay rate of 1.76% with about 33,000 visa holders staying out of the 1.9 million that were supposed to leave the country in FY16.
Read more on this story at the Pew Research Center.