mrbean

how soon can i return to the usa after my 90 day visa waiver has expired? i would like to come back as soon as i can. can i nip out for a pint in canada and then return, or do i have to leave for 5 or 6 pints?

seriously though, how long does it take before i am eligible for another 90 days?

thankyou.

Johnt

"mrbean" wrote in message
news:440112.1034313407@britishexpats-
.com...
    > how soon can i return to the usa after my 90 day visa waiver has
    > expired? i would like to come back as soon as i can. can i nip out for a
    > pint in canada and then return, or do i have to leave for 5 or 6 pints?
    > seriously though, how long does it take before i am eligible for
    > another 90 days?
    > thankyou.
I am a British citizen and live in the UK. I have often travelled to the USA
more than once within 90 days. I complete a Visa waiver form each time and
the Airline collects it when I leave. A summary of the rules is at
http://travel.state.gov/vwp.html

JohnT

John Beaderstadt

mrbean wrote:
    > seriously though, how long does it take before i am eligible for
    > another 90 days?

I don't believe there is an absence requirement, it's just that visa
waivers can only be granted for 90 days maximum, and can't be renewed
within the US.

--
Beady's Eighth Law of Social Harmonics: "Avoid eye contact; shut up;
keep walking."

Keith Willshaw

"mrbean" wrote in message
news:440112.1034313407@britishexpats-
.com...
    > how soon can i return to the usa after my 90 day visa waiver has
    > expired? i would like to come back as soon as i can. can i nip out for a
    > pint in canada and then return, or do i have to leave for 5 or 6 pints?
    > seriously though, how long does it take before i am eligible for
    > another 90 days?
    > thankyou.

I've made return trips after as little as a week without any
problem. That said the INS are watching things a little more
closely than they used to and while a second trip
is almost certainly OK they may start to ask questions
if you come back for a thrid trip after a week

Note you should return to the UK between trips
crossing the border to canada doesnt reset the clock

Keith

mrbean

thankyou all for your help.

Me

In article ,
mrbean wrote:

    > how soon can i return to the usa after my 90 day visa waiver has
    > expired? i would like to come back as soon as i can. can i nip out for a
    > pint in canada and then return, or do i have to leave for 5 or 6 pints?
    > seriously though, how long does it take before i am eligible for
    > another 90 days?

You'de be foolish to take the advise of anyone on this newsgroup, esp.
since we do not even know which country's passport you hold. Call the
nearest American embassy or consul to discuss your questions.

John Beaderstadt

Me wrote:
    > You'de be foolish to take the advise of anyone on this newsgroup, esp.
    > since we do not even know which country's passport you hold. Call the
    > nearest American embassy or consul to discuss your questions.

Since he'd be entering on a visa waiver, the list of possible countries
is fairly restricted. However, the advice to consult the American
embassy is always sound.

--
Beady's Eighth Law of Social Harmonics: "Avoid eye contact; shut up;
keep walking."

mrbean

i have until end of december but going home to the uk does seem the sensible option based on this and other advice i have recieved. i have located a consulate website and will call them if needs be. this place is a great scource of advice and support. thanks again.

Pulaski

.... neither does Mexico or the Caribbean.

I friend of mine worked in the US, representing a UK office (totally legit and above board) on a visa waiver for more than a year. He would spend 90 days in the US then return to the UK for a week (I think that 72 hours out of the US is the absolute minimum). Then he would return to the US for another 90 days. He called his week in the UK a "visa hop".

The most important thing is to ensure that you can prove that you are not planning to stay or work in the US - so have a mortgage statement or rent agreement from home with you to show that you will return to the UK. Also make sure can demonstrate that you have (access to) funds to survive without working.

Fred_Scuttle

If he was working in the US legitimately why did he come in on the 90 day waiver? Could his employer in the UK with a US office not have got him a visa to work in the US for a year?

Pulaski

I would have thought so, but for whatever reason his employer didn't want to process the paperwork and was happy to pay a return air fare four times a year. I think that part of the problem was that his assignment could have been ended at any time, so it was never certain that he would have needed the visa by the time it was processed.

I'd ask my friend exactly what the situation was, but sadly the big C got him several years ago.

John Beaderstadt

Fred_Scuttle wrote:

    > If he was working in the US legitimately why did he come in on the
    > 90 day waiver?

There's nothing improper about it, although it does seem illogical. The
advantage to the visa waiver program is that the person doesn't have to
go through the visa application process, but can just hop a plane and
come over as necessary.

> Could his employer in the UK with a US office not
> have got him a visa to work in the US for a year?

A B1 or H1B would seem more sensible in this case but, again, there
doesn't appear to be anything improper about the manner of entry that
was actually chosen.

--
Beady's Eighth Law of Social Harmonics: "Avoid eye contact; shut up;
keep walking."

Miguel Cruz

Fred_Scuttle wrote:
    > Originally posted by Pulaski:
    >> I friend of mine worked in the US, representing a UK office (totally
    >> legit and above board) on a visa waiver for more than a year. He
    >> would spend 90 days in the US then return to the UK for a week (I
    >> think that 72 hours out of the US is the absolute minimum). Then he
    >> would return to the US for another 90 days. He called his week in the
    >> UK a "visa hop".
    > If he was working in the US legitimately why did he come in on the 90 day
    > waiver? Could his employer in the UK with a US office not have got him a
    > visa to work in the US for a year?

Perhaps, but it's time-consuming and expensive. If the type of work he was
doing did not require it, why bother? Presumably he would have taken
vacations back to the UK at employer expense anyway.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world:
http://travel.u.nu
New mini photo-feature: Life in DC:
http://travel.u.nu/dc/

Keith Willshaw

"Fred_Scuttle" wrote in message
news:441217.1034410855@britishexpats-
.com...

    > If he was working in the US legitimately why did he come in on the
    > 90 day waiver? Could his employer in the UK with a US office not
    > have got him a visa to work in the US for a year?

There are a number of reasons that can apply here.

I was in the same position for a while when working
for the UK Office of a California based software company.

Part of the contract with our US clients was that we'd place an
engineer on site to carry out customisation and installation. This
period could vary between a month and a year depending
on the client. I performed this service for a number of them
between 1995 and 1999. Because this would have involved
working for varying periods in different US states it was simply
far easier to continue to pay me out of the UK than get involved
in multiple tax wrangles by switching from country to country
and state to state as would have been the case had an H1B
visa been issued.

There is a visa (forget the code) that can be issued in such
circumstances and thats what I eventually worked under
but simply processing the paperwork was bad enough normally
but this happened to be the time when the US government was
being closed down from time to time so it took the best part
of a year to come through

Keith

Keith Willshaw

"John Beaderstadt" wrote in message
news:[email protected]
m...
    > Fred_Scuttle wrote:
    > > If he was working in the US legitimately why did he come in on the
    > > 90 day waiver?
    > There's nothing improper about it, although it does seem illogical. The
    > advantage to the visa waiver program is that the person doesn't have to
    > go through the visa application process, but can just hop a plane and
    > come over as necessary.
    > > Could his employer in the UK with a US office not
    > > have got him a visa to work in the US for a year?
    > A B1 or H1B would seem more sensible in this case but, again, there
    > doesn't appear to be anything improper about the manner of entry that
    > was actually chosen.

The really BIG advantage is that you dont get tangled in
the red tape that working part of the year in the US and
part in the UK. Especially the US side, sorry to say but
your tax system is arcane at best.

Keith