3N1GM4

No problem, I thought I was going mad, so good to know they were there somewhere! I'll delete one of my other recent posts (if I can), which is also now a duplicate. Thanks for your help!

Jerseygirl

Sorry about that. We sometimes have gremlins here at BE...they like to play with Mods' minds.

ian-mstm

Never say "technically" when, in fact, you mean "actually".


It will, in fact, reset the clock.


The only thing I can think of is that you're not actually (note: not technically) allowed to work in the US for your employer. Doing business is okay... doing work is not. There is no official definition (see below re: documentation).


These are not actually immigration-related questions.


No.


There isn't any. This is by design - because it allows the CBP officer at the port of entry the widest possible latitude to do his job - which is, by the way, to keep non-US citizens out of the US. The laws are often non-specific, the regulations are vague, the rules are vague... all by design.


I suggest using Google!


See above re: documentation.

Ian

3N1GM4

Thanks for your response Ian, although it's obviously not what I wanted to hear!

I did Google for the relevant information with regards to driving in the States I will be visiting, but the DMV websites for these states did not appear to hold any information regarding this and searching specifically for the terms used in the original post didn't yield anything either.

It sounds like driving is the least of my concerns anyway.

So on the basis that it sounds like I cannot complete this trip under the VWP, what visa would I likely require? B-1? H-2B? L? Does anyone have experience in applying for these visa from the UK in a similar situation who could offer any advice?

Thanks again to everyone who's taken the time to respond - I'm sorry if I'm asking "stupid" or naive questions - I'm just working from the situation in front of me as I see it.

Jerseygirl

This forum is for visa and citizenship questions only. Please address any other questions you may have, i.e. Rental car, driving etc in the US forum. Thank you.

Edit: If I was in your shoes I would ask an immigration lawyer...not the lawyer your company may or may not be using. If you fall foul of US Immigration it is your neck on the block...not your company's.

ian-mstm

That's a good question - and you're probably not going to like the answer... but there may not be a visa suitable for your purpose.


I don't think any of these are suitable.


The questions are fine - this is how we learn. However, I think your premise may need adjusting. You're working from the assumption that what you want to do is possible. That may not be a valid assumption.

Ian

Twinkle0927

I am struggling to see why your presence is required in the USA. Please could you elaborate what exactly you would be doing that: a) cannot be done by any USC and b) cannot be done remotely. I'm not at all IT literate but the Ex-Husband in the U.K was a network administrator and almost everything could be done remotely. Even if the job requires something physical (such as cable A needs to pushed into port B) there are plenty of USCs that can do that.

Attending meetings and conferences, signing contracts and so on are permitted on the VWP but it's not possible to transplant your job for 90 days.

Regarding resetting your clock, I once entered at Blaine, WA by land and it was 6 weeks since my previous visit. They refused to give me another stamp and said I was still on my original 90 days because I was entering through Canada. Anything within the North American geographical area won't re-set the 90 days. I showed my ticket that proved I'd arrived at Vancouver airport from the U.K. a few hours ago but to no avail. So if you are looking at flight options for the weekend trip home, routing through Canada isn't a good idea. That's if the whole thing ever happens anyway.

Re travel insurance. If you take out a regular travel insurance policy and something happens at the office the travel insurance company might use the fact that you were not a bona fide tourist to deny a claim.

scrubbedexpat099

You can certainly get Travel Insurance for work visits, been there done that.

Used to be quite common for the big financial institutions to bring in Indian IT workers for 6 month stints on a B, not all made it but many did. A numbers game.

Orangepants

B-1 in lieu of a H-1B?