max cumulative duration of stays in USA
Nov 24th 2001, 7:35 pm
#1
Guest
Posts: n/a
OK, it's like this. I'm Canadian. I've just spent the last six months in USA. Last
year I spent five months in USA, and the year before that around five months.
Is there going to come a time when the officer at point of entry is going to say,
why are you spending all this time down south? Is there a maximum proportion of time
INS will let you stay in each twelve month period, or is there a maximum number of
years in ten? or is it meaningless and they allow Canucks to get away with it and
not worry?
year I spent five months in USA, and the year before that around five months.
Is there going to come a time when the officer at point of entry is going to say,
why are you spending all this time down south? Is there a maximum proportion of time
INS will let you stay in each twelve month period, or is there a maximum number of
years in ten? or is it meaningless and they allow Canucks to get away with it and
not worry?
Nov 24th 2001, 7:46 pm
#2
Guest
Posts: n/a
There is no actual limit providing you are entering and departing according to what
you specify on entry and your reasons are provably bona fide.
BUT the more often you do it, the longer you stay, the more suspicious the INS
officers will get. That said I have to wonder how you're spending so long in the USA
as a visitor ? The INS will want to know what you're doing, how you're supporting
yourself ? Do you have a residence in Canada that you're keeping ?
Never ever assume that the INS allow Canucks to get away with it. The day you do that
is the day you're caught and raked over the coals.
Stuart
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you specify on entry and your reasons are provably bona fide.
BUT the more often you do it, the longer you stay, the more suspicious the INS
officers will get. That said I have to wonder how you're spending so long in the USA
as a visitor ? The INS will want to know what you're doing, how you're supporting
yourself ? Do you have a residence in Canada that you're keeping ?
Never ever assume that the INS allow Canucks to get away with it. The day you do that
is the day you're caught and raked over the coals.
Stuart
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Nov 24th 2001, 8:42 pm
#3
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Yes, I do have a residence there.
Do INS keep an exact record of flights into and out of the US? I would guess they do,
but do they even keep info on flights out for undocumented aliens? I am curious as to
how much info they have on people visiting the country. Presumably for land crossings
they have little or no record.
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Yes, I do have a residence there.
Do INS keep an exact record of flights into and out of the US? I would guess they do,
but do they even keep info on flights out for undocumented aliens? I am curious as to
how much info they have on people visiting the country. Presumably for land crossings
they have little or no record.
Nov 24th 2001, 10:05 pm
#4
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Posts: n/a
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When you fly into the USA from Canada are you required to fill out a long green form
( Visa Waiver pilot program) and a customs declaration ? Then they stamp a
counter-foil from that long green form and stamp&staple it to your passport ? And
when you leave the USA from an airport, does the airline employee (at check-in) take
that piece of stamped green paper away from the passport and staple it to the ticket
stub they keep ? These are the via media of keeping track of travels of aliens. Your
Canadian passport is also machine readeable: next time watch the INS person swipe the
edge of the passport through a slot in a machine reader. That records the passport
holder as entering the USA on a certain day, flight, airport etc..
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aliens? I am
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Presumably
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In some major busy crossings car plates are recorded. But in remote inland crossings,
you are correct.
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When you fly into the USA from Canada are you required to fill out a long green form
( Visa Waiver pilot program) and a customs declaration ? Then they stamp a
counter-foil from that long green form and stamp&staple it to your passport ? And
when you leave the USA from an airport, does the airline employee (at check-in) take
that piece of stamped green paper away from the passport and staple it to the ticket
stub they keep ? These are the via media of keeping track of travels of aliens. Your
Canadian passport is also machine readeable: next time watch the INS person swipe the
edge of the passport through a slot in a machine reader. That records the passport
holder as entering the USA on a certain day, flight, airport etc..
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aliens? I am
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Presumably
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In some major busy crossings car plates are recorded. But in remote inland crossings,
you are correct.
Nov 24th 2001, 10:13 pm
#5
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Sorry to labour the point, but.... do they also make a record of the date and details
of when you fly out of the USA? There is no exit control, and as an undocumented
Canadian you do not have an I94, so I don't know if they would do that.
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Sorry to labour the point, but.... do they also make a record of the date and details
of when you fly out of the USA? There is no exit control, and as an undocumented
Canadian you do not have an I94, so I don't know if they would do that.
Nov 25th 2001, 12:14 am
#6
Guest
Posts: n/a
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[usenetquote2]>>> Do INS keep an exact record of flights into and out of the US?[/usenetquote2]
[usenetquote2]>> When you fly into the USA from Canada are you required to fill out a long green[/usenetquote2]
[usenetquote2]>> form ( Visa Waiver pilot program) and a customs declaration ?[/usenetquote2]
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Canadians are NOT members of the VWP (no longer PP ... it's no longer a pilot
program!). Canadians are fortunate and for all but E statuses do not normally require
a passport visa. For casual B1/2 entry, they do not complete an I-94 ... for other
status they need a white I-94 and not a green I-94W)
Whether the INS garner information from customs forms as a matter of course is not
known ... but gov't agencies can and do share info.
It is also worth noting that there are plans to share CIC and INS databases.
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Not at LAND crossings ... no ... but they often do at airports.
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They swipe; they type in your name quite hiddenly under the counter; at a land port,
they type in the license plate. They can get passenger lists ...
There are plenty of gov't sources of info. Also, there are lots of non- gov't
sources. Some people on re-entering the US are asked to provide proof they left ...
such as a passenger stub of a ticket, credit card or other receipts for a few days
following your exit etc.
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Retiree snowbirds tend not to have problems, but even that has changed somewhat in
recent years.
Stuart
[usenetquote2]>>> Do INS keep an exact record of flights into and out of the US?[/usenetquote2]
[usenetquote2]>> When you fly into the USA from Canada are you required to fill out a long green[/usenetquote2]
[usenetquote2]>> form ( Visa Waiver pilot program) and a customs declaration ?[/usenetquote2]
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Canadians are NOT members of the VWP (no longer PP ... it's no longer a pilot
program!). Canadians are fortunate and for all but E statuses do not normally require
a passport visa. For casual B1/2 entry, they do not complete an I-94 ... for other
status they need a white I-94 and not a green I-94W)
Whether the INS garner information from customs forms as a matter of course is not
known ... but gov't agencies can and do share info.
It is also worth noting that there are plans to share CIC and INS databases.
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Not at LAND crossings ... no ... but they often do at airports.
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They swipe; they type in your name quite hiddenly under the counter; at a land port,
they type in the license plate. They can get passenger lists ...
There are plenty of gov't sources of info. Also, there are lots of non- gov't
sources. Some people on re-entering the US are asked to provide proof they left ...
such as a passenger stub of a ticket, credit card or other receipts for a few days
following your exit etc.
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Retiree snowbirds tend not to have problems, but even that has changed somewhat in
recent years.
Stuart
Nov 25th 2001, 12:18 am
#7
Guest
Posts: n/a
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No, Canadians are not part of the VWPP. The VWPP only allows a 90 day stay with no
extensions.
Technically, Canadians enter with a B1/B2 visa - which allows a 183 day stay. They
just don't actually have to get the visa.
Take Care. Shelley
No, Canadians are not part of the VWPP. The VWPP only allows a 90 day stay with no
extensions.
Technically, Canadians enter with a B1/B2 visa - which allows a 183 day stay. They
just don't actually have to get the visa.
Take Care. Shelley
Nov 25th 2001, 1:52 pm
#8
Guest
Posts: n/a
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[usenetquote2]> >> Do INS keep an exact record of flights into and out of the US?[/usenetquote2]
[usenetquote2]> > When you fly into the USA from Canada are you required to fill out a[/usenetquote2]
long
[usenetquote2]> > green form ( Visa Waiver pilot program) and a customs declaration ?[/usenetquote2]
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You mean Canadians do not participate in the Visa Waiver Program (it is no longer a
pilot program by the way).
Canadians enter the US under different legislation which does not require that their
entry be documented.
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The customs form is required by all persons flying into the US. You don't have to
state how long you plan on staying in the US, on a customs form. Non-US citizens
other than Canadians visiting or in transit, green card holders, and immigrant visa
holders, are also required to complete an I-94 or I-94W immigration form.
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[usenetquote2]> > Then they stamp a counter-foil from that long green form and[/usenetquote2]
stamp&staple it
[usenetquote2]> > to your passport ?[/usenetquote2]
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That's true. They sometimes do and sometimes don't. For that matter, the INS
sometimes stamps the passports of US citizens entering the US.
[usenetquote2]> > And when you leave the USA from an airport, does the airline employee[/usenetquote2]
(at
[usenetquote2]> > check-in) take that piece of stamped green paper away from the passport[/usenetquote2]
and
[usenetquote2]> > staple it to the ticket stub they keep ?[/usenetquote2]
They're supposed to turn over that I-94 Arrival Departure record to the INS. The
INS is supposed to match it to arrival record as proof that the passenger has
left the US.
Stephen Gallagher
[usenetquote2]> >> Do INS keep an exact record of flights into and out of the US?[/usenetquote2]
[usenetquote2]> > When you fly into the USA from Canada are you required to fill out a[/usenetquote2]
long
[usenetquote2]> > green form ( Visa Waiver pilot program) and a customs declaration ?[/usenetquote2]
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You mean Canadians do not participate in the Visa Waiver Program (it is no longer a
pilot program by the way).
Canadians enter the US under different legislation which does not require that their
entry be documented.
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The customs form is required by all persons flying into the US. You don't have to
state how long you plan on staying in the US, on a customs form. Non-US citizens
other than Canadians visiting or in transit, green card holders, and immigrant visa
holders, are also required to complete an I-94 or I-94W immigration form.
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[usenetquote2]> > Then they stamp a counter-foil from that long green form and[/usenetquote2]
stamp&staple it
[usenetquote2]> > to your passport ?[/usenetquote2]
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That's true. They sometimes do and sometimes don't. For that matter, the INS
sometimes stamps the passports of US citizens entering the US.
[usenetquote2]> > And when you leave the USA from an airport, does the airline employee[/usenetquote2]
(at
[usenetquote2]> > check-in) take that piece of stamped green paper away from the passport[/usenetquote2]
and
[usenetquote2]> > staple it to the ticket stub they keep ?[/usenetquote2]
They're supposed to turn over that I-94 Arrival Departure record to the INS. The
INS is supposed to match it to arrival record as proof that the passenger has
left the US.
Stephen Gallagher
Nov 25th 2001, 3:42 pm
#9
Guest
Posts: n/a
[usenetquote2]> > These are the via media of keeping track of travels of aliens. Your Canadian[/usenetquote2]
[usenetquote2]> > passport is also machine readeable: next time watch the INS[/usenetquote2]
person
[usenetquote2]> >swipe the edge of the passport through a slot in a machine reader. That records[/usenetquote2]
[usenetquote2]> >the passport holder as entering the USA on a certain day, flight, airport etc..[/usenetquote2]
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Belabour ? Yes. The machine records the time and date when the passport is swiped.
Even a post like this when sent to a modern computing machine, records the time and
date of this event. The cost of adding time and date is miniscule and the need for
such data is great. Most countries now belong to the same convention and have created
the machine readable versions of the passport.
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would do
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[usenetquote2]> > passport is also machine readeable: next time watch the INS[/usenetquote2]
person
[usenetquote2]> >swipe the edge of the passport through a slot in a machine reader. That records[/usenetquote2]
[usenetquote2]> >the passport holder as entering the USA on a certain day, flight, airport etc..[/usenetquote2]
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and
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Belabour ? Yes. The machine records the time and date when the passport is swiped.
Even a post like this when sent to a modern computing machine, records the time and
date of this event. The cost of adding time and date is miniscule and the need for
such data is great. Most countries now belong to the same convention and have created
the machine readable versions of the passport.
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would do
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