How can I return to the USA legally after the voluntary departure?

Question

Hi guys I know it might be complicated but I might need to know some more details.

I was an F-1 visa student at a college in the US but my I-20 SEVIS record was terminated due to the violation of school policy. The DSO at the former college advised me to transfer to another college and file for reinstatement. I did.

Then I did a really stupid thing.

The DSO from the new college told me that I can try to leave and reenter the US border to "reactivate" my F-1 visa, because it was during the Covid-19 lockdown and USCIS was like almost dormant. So I did as she said and I was arrested at the US port of entry and put on the removal proceedings with some charges. My attorney was very good and she won me a voluntary departure, because, according to what she said, the CBP had put some really horrible allegations against me and that was the best she can get.

She also told me that even though I can leave the US without a removal order, a five-year entry bar is still in place, and any nonimmigrant visa to the USA will be forever impossible for me. Only marriage, asylum, or investment visa can give me hope to return to the USA.

But she also told me that the advice from the new college DSO was not totally wrong, but the arrest and charges at the POE was mostly because the CBP officials were mad about the reason of I-20 termination, like the violation of school policy. She even told me that I could have gotten away with it if I did not disclose more details about the reason of I-20 termination. I did find someone online successfully reentering the US with a terminated I-20 SEVIS record.

I have also done some searches and I found that there could be no ready answer for my situation. I want to hear some more advice from guys here other than my attorney.

How can I still get a nonimmigrant visa after the five-year bar? Because I know getting an immigrant visa could be even harder.

Answer 1

Your lawyer has already given you advice.

"a five-year entry bar is still in place, and any nonimmigrant visa to the USA will be forever impossible for me."

No matter what somebody writes here, listen to your lawyer. If you are unclear about what they said, consult them again. If you think they might have made a mistake then consult a different lawyer. But it is virtually certain that you will not be admitted to the US for five years, and probably for a very long time after that. Only very exceptional circumstances, such as the ones your lawyer lists, will change that. Nobody on this site is better qualified than your lawyer who knows the details of your case.

Answer 2

You do not have an INA 212(a)(9)(A) 5-year ban for having been removed, if you were allowed to withdraw your application for admission and you departed within the time provided, or you were granted Voluntary Departure and departed within the time provided. See form I-212 instructions, page 3, in section "Who May Not Be Required to File For Consent to Reapply?":

If any of the following apply to you, you may not be inadmissible under INA section 212(a)(9)(A) or (C), or both, and would not need to seek consent to reapply for admission to the United States:

2.. You were allowed to withdraw your application for admission at the border, and you departed from the United States within the time specified for your departure;

7.. You received an order of voluntary departure from an immigration judge and left the United States during the time period specified in your voluntary departure order;

Of course, not having a ban does not mean that you will be granted a visa or be granted entry. Officers have wide discretion to deny most types of nonimmigrant visas (including student visas) or to deny entry as nonimmigrants, if there is anything in your history they don't like. Not having a ban just means you don't need a waiver or other special process. (And even if you had a 5-year ban, it would be over after 5 years, so it would not be "forever impossible" for you to get a nonimmigrant visa.)