Somehow I doubt that all visa offenders are made to 'spread their legs for a rubber glove search'. Methinks there was something else going on here that incited this to happen. Or, perhaps this person was irritated about being personally searched and, as frequently happens when people recount experiences to inspire listeners' emotions, what was in reality a thourough search gets exaggerated into something seemingly extreme and offensive.

Most travel info sources repeatedly warn visitors to the US that staying past a visa expiration date is a serious matter. Instead of blaming INS, perhaps this person could have avoided the incident by obeying the law in the first place.

And now that I think about it, I believe that NZ is on the US' visa waiver list? If true, then a simple passport would be sufficient to exit.... or perhaps the entire story is a fabrication?

You don't fool around with the INS. You obey the law. You don't overstay your visa. You pay your taxes legally, you don't mess with the INS. These are the two basic rules to getting along in the US. I've heard too many nightmare tales of people who've slipped up or tried to get away with something.

Agreed completely. The British travel advise webpage for US which I frequently refer to states explicitly that visas are not to be overstayed, and explicitly states that the penalty is arrest, deportation, and a potential bar against future visits to the US. It is the law, and if you break the law the penalty is to be meted out lest the INS is not doing its job.

Why does the author of this article believe that we should be sympathetic towards this woman, as opposed to other visa criminals? Is it because she is from New Zealand that we should give her a break, and instead only enforce the laws for visitors who don't speak English or perhaps don't "look" like we do? As far as I'm concerned, bravo INS for doing your job.

I think there should be a discussion of standards. No you can't anticpate every situation but there are abuses and this looks like one.

Of course everyone is comfortable cancelling out the rights of others as long as they don't risk loosing their own. Same story different day.

In my opinion, perfectly fair.

I met a woman on an airplane whose Dutch boyfriend overstayed his visa to the US by 3 wks. They were just having fun on the beaches of Hawaii, and weren't thinking of the INS. He was caught exiting the country on an expired visa and banned from visiting the US for 10 years. Any hopes of working around this punishment were dashed by 9/11, when things were tightened up. The woman is now living in the Netherlands with her boyfriend, but wants to return to nursing school in the US. She would have to leave him to do so. They are in their mid-twenties now. If she choses to marry him, she may have to forgo nursing school, and he will not be able to accompany her on trips to visit her family for several more years. It is a horrible situation.

As noted in posts above, people need to know that the INS if very powerful and having a heart is not part of their charter. I know young people can't imagine the world can be "unfair," and many don't realize that the consequences of a little harmless oversight of the rules can be severe. If everyone understood how the INS operates, they might be careful not to slip up. Be warned!

don't they have nursing schools in the netherlands or anywhere in the EU for that matter?

Not having read your message at all, just reading the subject line, I'd say..."perfectly fair."