Multiple and extended visits to the USA

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Mick & Pat

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Joined
Feb 14, 2006
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293
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Back in UK with RV
kands said:
Are we likely to see you again in the UK soon?

Keith,

That question my friend all depends on the US Customs & Border Protection officials.

We head for the US / Canadian border tomorrow and hope to get a further 6 months on our tourist visa then ???????

Mick
 
Mick

Dont forget if you go into US tomorrow and get 6 months, you will be back in Canada in early April next year - COLD !!

Paul
 
April would be a good time to head south instead of north.
 
Tom

I would have said that - except all the poor reports coming out of Mexico (as reported by forum members) would put me off going at present.

Paul
 
Agreed Paul, although it depends on which part of MX. Then again, Mick is a retired bobby, and the banditos wouldn't dare mess with him.
 
Richard,

I was merely joking.

BTW Mick doesn't wear his police uniform during retirement, and certainly not while touring North America  ;D
 
RVOA said:
Mick

Don't forget if you go into US tomorrow and get 6 months, you will be back in Canada in early April next year - COLD !!

Paul

Paul,

I know this is going 'off topic' but we first arrived in the USA in Oct 2007 and our first 6 month visa took us to Canada in April. Now with 4? months in Canada & 1? months in the UK we were 'out' of the USA for 6 months give or take a day,when we crossed today we were given 6 months on our tourist visa with the comment,"You MUST then leave"

Now during our 6 months neither Pat or I have NOT made any social security claim,or made any claim on the US health service,nor have we committed ANY offence and we handed in our I-94 before there expiry date.......so what is the BIG problem, also how long after this 6 month  period  do we have to stay out of the USA before we request a further 6 months.......I wanted to ask but Pat stopped me fearing that any questioning could cause them to revoke the visahat they have just given us. :(
 
Now during our 6 months neither Pat or I have NOT made any social security claim,or made any claim on the US health service,nor have we committed ANY offence ...

Neither did the 9/11 terrorists. The U.S. is, IMO correctly, paranoid about people coming into the country repeatedly for extended stays.

.... how long after this 6 month  period  do we have to stay out of the USA before we request a further 6 months

Good question Mick, and I wish I knew the answer. At the end of the day, it's all up to the judgement and interpretation of the immigration officer.

I wanted to ask but Pat stopped me fearing that any questioning could cause them to revoke the visahat they have just given us.

Pat was smart. It's best not to challenge these folks; The alarm bells would ring, and their natural instinct would be to reject/eject you.
 
Mick

Did you cross into the US at Niagra Falls? - I posted when we were over there just how much hassle we had at that crossing.

Dont forget Mick, that if you book your return home in early October 2009 you can send off a Visa Extension on April 6th approx (at least 1 day before your I94 ends) and request a further 6 month extension.

I see no reason for them to refuse as long as you send them copy of flight booking, bank statement showing funds etc - oh, and send them a photo of the new grandchild too and state you will definately be heading home for that.

They will take several months to process your extension anyway, and you can stay whilst they are doing so.

Just make sure you get receipt for the date you post it.

Paul

Mick doesn't wear his police uniform during retirement

Erm - I dont think it would fit him Tom  ;D ;D ;D
 
Tom said:
Neither did the 9/11 terrorists. The U.S. is, IMO correctly, paranoid about people coming into the country repeatedly for extended stays.

Tom, IMO the persons that the authorities should target are the ones who enter the USA hidden in trucks or trains NOT those of who who present themselves at a border crossing and are prepared to bear all, don't forget we already jumped through the hoops back at the London American Embassy to get the tourist visa which don't forget also lasts for 10 years.

Paul,

Yes we did cross at Niagara Falls only because it was directly between our Canadian CG and our present US one, our friends here in Niagara also recommended it to us,the crossing wasn't that bad and I could fully understand the reason for most of the questions......I just wish I could have asked a few of my own but I have to keep chipping away on forums such as this in the hope that one day a member of a forum will also be a Border & Customs staff memberand may be prepaired to answer those questions.
 
we already jumped through the hoops back at the London American Embassy to get the tourist visa which don't forget also lasts for 10 years.

When I used to travel to the US in the 70's, the visa in my passport from the American embassy in London was "unlimited". That didn't give me the right to enter the country; It was still up to the guy at the first port of entry, and the "hoops" jumped through in London, albeit relatively minor at that time, were just part of the process. On arrival in the US, I'd get asked questions and answer politely, with a few "yes sir" and "no sir" thrown in for good measure. Admittedly, the questions were a little different back then, but the process is essentially unchanged today.

Terrorism aside, the officer at the border has to be satisfied that you don't plan to set up residence here, work here, or end up being a drain on our economy. Coming in for a second, third, etc 6-month term might suggest that your intentions are somewhat more than being a tourist, and the I-539 you filed (?) would merely add to the suspicion.

I've witnessed people at US embassies/consulates and at borders try to prove they planned to leave again, but their proof was usually little more than a return ticket. I also know what I went through to sponsor family members to come here, and what they went through on arrival. All valid IMO. Next time you fly back to the UK, check the non-UK/non-EU lines at immigration.

BTW if you go south at the end of 6 months, you can return the same day without answering any questions; Just hop over (or crawl under) the fence with the thousands of Mexicans who do it daily. If they catch you, all they do is send you back, and you can try again the following day. There's apparently no limit on the allowed number of attempts.
 
Tom said:
Coming in for a second, third, etc 6-month term might suggest that your intentions are somewhat more than being a tourist, and the I-539 you filed (?) would merely add to the suspicion.

Tom, When we present our tourist visa the very FIRST TIME at Sanford Airport, Florida on Oct 14t 2007 to a customs official we stood and took a several minuet lecture about how others with visa come to the US then leave for a few days then come back for another 6 months etc.........then just like the Jekyll & Hyde character he changed and said" Do you know that now is the time to buy American property because it is so cheap?"

Now the couple from who we bought our RV from own a villa in Florida also have a tourist visa and they also get the same treatment.........If the American Government DON'T want good honest persons to visit their country then why issues these visa's and why give them a 10 year life span why not the entry and leave dates?

This is a GREAT country with GREAT people but this visa matter continually in the back of ones mind really spoils what should be a great time  :(

Mick
 
Mick,

Understand your frustration but, if you expect to get rational answers from anyone in the US government, you'll be waiting a long time.

...the couple from who we bought our RV from own a villa in Florida also have a tourist visa and they also get the same treatment.

If they respond with "but we've got property in FL", they might get scrutinized closer.

Don't seek logic in all this.
 
You might be interested in knowing that after the very negative border entry experience of one of UK RV Forum members, I wrote to the Customs people explaining that RV owners who visit the U.S. are good for our economy, are good citizens of their own country, simply want to travel around and see our country for a while, wish to return home in the future, and should not be hassled.  As you might guess, my comments were ignored.

ArdraF
 
ArdraF said:
You might be interested in knowing that after the very negative border entry experience of one of UK RV Forum members, I wrote to the Customs people explaining that RV owners who visit the U.S. are good for our economy, are good citizens of their own country, simply want to travel around and see our country for a while, wish to return home in the future, and should not be hassled.  As you might guess, my comments were ignored.

ArdraF

Mine too.  They didn't even have the courtesy to reply.  My second letter was not at all nice and I didn't get a reply from it either.  I guess they just don't know how to respond.
 
Personally, I wouldn't try to get in the middle of this; I'd be concerned about alienating these folks to the point that they put a flag in the computer to grill incoming RVers even more or, worse still, deny them entry.
 

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