Question:
“We are planning a trip back home to Ireland at Christmas. We have been living here undocumented for four years and we’re fed up. We’ll go home and try to come back sometime in January. We have heard of people like us who have had no problem getting back in. What do you make of this?”
 
Answer:
I agree. It’s unusual, but certainly not unheard of, for undocumented residents to leave the country, and then return without a problem, even though they would technically be subject to a 10-year ban from the U.S. if they had accumulated more than a year of illegal residence here.
 
What gives? The system fails now and again. There isn’t really any other way of explaining it. Exits from the U.S. and entrances into the country are supposed to electronically tracked through the U.S VISIT system, but given the number of people who actually slip through regardless, there are clearly faults that need to be addressed. Not that any of the undocumented who have successfully traveled abroad are complaining, though.