Overview
- Sen. Jim Banks introduced the Visa Overstay Penalties Act on June 3, 2025, to reclassify visa overstaying as a federal misdemeanor offense.
- The bill would impose up to six months in jail for first-time overstayers, up to two years for repeat violators and civil fines starting at $500.
- Banks cited the June 1 Boulder, Colorado, terror attack by Mohamed Sabry Soliman—an Egyptian national who overstayed his visa—as the impetus for the legislation.
- The proposal references the 9/11 hijackers as historical examples of visa overstayers who posed national security threats.
- Department of Homeland Security data show over 565,000 visa overstays in fiscal year 2023 and estimate 11 to 22 million overstayers currently in the U.S.