US: Nearly 740,000 Foreigners Overstayed Visas Last Year

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SAN DIEGO (AP) - The U.S. Homeland Security Department says nearly 740,000 foreigners who were supposed to leave the country during a recent 12-month period overstayed their visas.

The count released Monday includes people who arrived in the U.S. by plane or boat but does not include ground border crossings.

Countries with the highest visa overstays during the period from October 2015 to September 2016 were Canada, Mexico, Brazil, China and India.

The number of visa overstays was about 200,000 higher than the previous 12-month period.

That's largely because this year's report adds students, who overstayed visas at a much higher rate than business travelers and tourists. Students were not included in last year's report.

An estimated 40 percent of the roughly 11 million people in the United States illegally have overstayed their visas.