Anthony1989

I am planning a trip to America over the summer. I have worked the past 2 summers at an activity camp on a j1 visa and have also holidayed twice under the visa waiver program in the past 2 years (two weeks in December 2011 and one week in November 2012).

I plan on visiting friends I have made whilst working over there. Originally I was hoping to stay for 3 and a half months (as that is how long my friends are on summer break from college) but having read the forums I understand that is it very risky to try for the b2 visa. Instead I was planning on staying for about 86 days, close to the maximum allowed under the vwp.

I was wondering if I might encounter any problems at the port of entry? All my other visits to the US have gone smoothly and I've always been let in without much questioning.

I have seen others have been given the advice of booking return flights to stay for a shorter time and changing the flight dates once they are in the US, which is an option for me (although a more costly one). However I am concerned that if I was to re-enter the US again after this trip on the visa waiver program they might become suspicious because my planned stay of a few weeks turned into 86 days.

Additional info: I have plenty of funds to support myself for the whole trip, in the UK I still live with my parents and I work as a freelance journalist.

Bob

Length of stay shouldn't be a problem, as long as you've got proof if asked, of funds to cover the stay and ties back to the UK.

Your ties to the UK are a bit iffy, no rental of your own, no fixed job to go back to and your job that is portable.

Anthony1989

Hi bob, thanks for your reply. So the length of stay is pretty irrelevant if I have funds? If that's the case I can go ahead and book a return flight for 86 days and not worry about getting flexible flights.

As for proving ties to the UK, I have never had a problem before, and my situation hasn't changed since my previous visits. For my j1 visa I was advised that I have my parents write a letter explaining family ties in the UK (although I wasn't asked to show it at POE).

Does having a history of coming to the US both on a J1 visa and under the vwp and returning to the UK on time help or hinder me in any way?

Bob

Well there's always a risk of being denied, if you're not a US citizen.

The VWP is for 90 days though and as long as you are not going for the full amount to soon after each visit, you will usually be fine. The rule of thumb is being out of the country long as the max of the visa before heading back in.

Your previous travel pattern helps, but then frequent trips, without a job to go back to doesn't. You've got nothing to show that you have to be back in the UK, for all POE know, you could just stay and work illegally if you wanted to.

You don't want to volunteer any info if not asked, but you want to be prepared for it if you are.

Anthony1989

Ok so my best bet it to prepare as much info as I can to support my case. I guess it's impossible to really prove 100% that anyone will return to their country, all I can do is be honest and clear what my intentions are.

kimilseung

I am only guessing........Your visits are spread out, not condensed in to one year. You have demonstrated respect for the process of both VWP and visa use. I think you should be OK.

One issue that might be a problem, is that peoples projection of how much is enough to live on (young people staying with friends can get by on peanuts) might not match with the expectations of a middle aged family guy who has not even travelled, but can make decisions on your eligibility. The more money you can present, the better, even if you have no expectation of needing to spend it in America.

Anthony1989

I believe I read somewhere that $100 dollars a day will cover the 'how much is enough' question, so that's the figure I'm going to run with. I don't plan on spending anywhere near that much as I'm staying with friends but I'm going to take bank statements showing I can afford the $100 dollars a day if I needed to.

slummymummy

You say you work as a freelance journalist. Do you get paid by UK publications? Do you write about things in the UK? IF you get pulled for questioning it might be helpful to show some paperwork to support the fact that you are working and getting paid in the UK even though it's freelance. (When I got pulled for questioning once I think it was my work stuff that saved me.)

Noorah101

I think this would be more detrimental than helpful. It would prove he can manage to work from inside the USA, which is not allowed.

Rene

slummymummy

Hmm, well I was thinking if he can show that he is covering things in the UK that you have to be there for. But if he doesn't really do that then you might be right.

Anthony1989

It's a slightly awkward situation with my work. I work from home in the UK and all my work is done on my desktop as I use specific software which I only have on my desktop. I won't be taking a laptop with me (only an ipad). The nature of my work allows me to take such a long break almost when I choose. I guess I can print off some emails between myself and the company that offers me contracts in which I inform them of my absence and that I will be ready to work again in 3 months. It's not great evidence but at least it's something.