London Pete

Hi new to the site and have read a lot of info on USA visas etc. Anyway I am looking to get married to a Mexican woman sometime next year and have decided to move there. Also I have always had the desire to have a holiday home in the USA but not really live there as I know this is very difficult.

My question is, if I buy a holiday home there how often can I visit from Mexico being a UK citizen? As I have heard a lot of negative stuff at border crossings or would flying be a better option?

Ideally I would like to go to the USA frequently throughout the year, I would be based in northern Mexico near the USA border and therefore when possible, such as once a month or once every 2 months etc I would like to visit the USA for a long weekend or a week at any given time. I know this will keep me within the 3 months restriction throughout the year. Just want to know if multiple visits throughout the year are frowned upon? Any opinions on this would be most welcome.

Noorah101

I think here you mean to say each visit will be under the 90 days allowed on the VWP, right?

Could be frowned upon if multiple visits are made too frequently, too close together, etc....especially coming over from Mexico each time with a UK passport and citizenship (in my opinion).

Rene

London Pete

Thanks for the quick response. Ok My idea would be to visit for long weekends and the occasional week throughout the year. So if you added up all my spent time in the USA in the space of a year it would be less than 90 days.

If that were to be the case with frequent visits being frowned upon what is the ideal scenario? What would be seen as normal visits because I don`t fancy being interrorgated everytime going to a holiday home in USA.

Also getting married to a Mexican will mean that maybe I could apply for Mexican residency and citizenship (even though I have yet to really investigate this and what it means) Would being a Mexican resident make it easier for me to enter the USA or in fact make it more difficult? I know my Mexican girlfriend goes on frequent shopping visits to USA and never has a problem.

Noorah101

There is no such requirement. The requirement for using the VWP is that each visit must be less than 90 days. There is no limit on the number of visits per year, or total days spent in the USA per year. The general rule of thumb is to never overstay the 90 days on each visit, and to spend at least as much time outside the USA as in it, each time.

There is no "normal", it all depends on each person's individual travel needs and travel history. I mean, if you do the in-and-out type of traveling you are considering for maybe 6 months to a year, you might be just fine. If you want to do that for 2 or 3 years or longer, you will probably run into issues. Each time you try entering the USA, it's up to the POE officer to let you in or not, and they treat each entry as a new one (they will look at your history of entering the USA, of course, but they have the final say on whether you actually enter or not).

Entering as a Mexican citizen will probably be much easier than entering as a UK citizen.

Rene

meauxna

Pete, check out this thread: http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=570670

Those guys are doing it, maybe it will help.

I don't think Mexican citizenship would make a difference to entering the US, but you need the correct Mexican residency permit (FM-3).

London Pete

Thanks this is helping to clarify a lot of stuff I wasn`t sure about. So if a border officer evaluates each person do things like showing him/her that my main home is in Mexico and not in the USA help? Also would it be better to go less frequently but longer on each visit? Also are you like logged out everytime you leave the USA?

As a resident of Mexico how is this easier for me to enter? Always under the impression that Mexicans were always trying to get in illegally unless they had special permission for work etc

London Pete

Thanks will have a quick look

meauxna

While there is an element of that, there are thousands of people like your girlfriend, who have 'lazer visas' (border crossing cards) or limited tourist visas for frequent visits into the US. It has much to do with establishing where your primary residence is.
However, I was reading a recent post from a Costa Rican citizen who is living and working in Mexico for 8 years. When he went to renew his US visitor's visa in Mexico, he was refused, probably for being a 3rd country resident. You won't need a visa because you can use the VWP as a Brit, but your wife will always need a visa.

London Pete

So if I wanted to do frequent visits and had Mexican residency and obtained "lazer Visa etc" I shouldn`t have too much of a problem? By the way would it be easier to actually fly to the USA, as I have seen the prices are quite good and you have a return ticket to show as well?

scrubbedexpat099

It will be a long time before you get Mexican Citizenship.

Do you anticipate that you wife will be travelling with you?

Assuming that you move to Mexico is a given, then probably best to look at any brief trips to the US no differently than you would from the UK. Do not push your luck and you should be OK.

meauxna

You don't need a lazer visa or any visa; as a UKC you can enter the US visa-free for a 90 day (max) visit. If you're going to be making multiple visits per year, you need to show that your residence is outside the US (like your Mexican residency permit) and you do not intend to abandon it. You may not 'live' in the US in any way, shape or form, and that will be the presumption.

"Easier" is all relative.. depends on where you live etc. If you haven't done any/much driving in Mexico you'll need to get a reality check about long road travel. Land border crossings can be very busy in some cities; if you have an airport very near where you live and the fares are good, it can be more convenient. It all just depends.