US Border Patrol facts

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Tom

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Know before you go.

From time to time we see questions from folks planning to visit the USA, and either rent or buy an RV here. It's clear from some of these discussions that folks are not always cognizant of US Customs & Border requirements and procedures.

We try to inject into the discussions some important facts regarding visa requirements, permitted length of stay, extension of stay, re-entry, and visa waiver provisions. We do this in an attempt to help visitors avoid some of the pitfalls which could potentially spoil the experience, or even derail their trip.These 'facts' come from personal experiences of forum staff and members, some of us travelling in various statuses, including foreign nationals travelling on tourist and business visas, resident aliens (aka green card holders), naturalized citizens, and folks who have helped numerous family members and friends visit the US over the years. We don't pretend to to be experts on US immigration rules and, in each case, we attempt to obtain the latest information &/or refer folks to an official US government web site for the most current  information. At times, the "official" web sites have been difficult to navigate, and would sometimes result in conflicting information, or send the visitor on a never-ending loop.

I'm pleased to see that the Customs & Border Patrol web site contains a lot of relevant information compiled into 'fact sheets' (pdf files) linked in one place - a  Fact Sheets page and an accompanying Travel Fact Sheets page. These fact sheets are much easier to digest than some of the earlier web sites.

Edit: Customs and Border Protecction have updated their web site, and the above links are no longer valid. See this CBP web page instead.

Prospective visitors to the USA are urged to do some reading as part of their planning for their trip. In other words:

Know before you go.
 
The CBP web site has continued to be updated, providing additional information and attempts at clarification. They have an extensive FAQ page(s) with the ability to subscribe to updates:
https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/list#

However, be prepared for added confusion and reference to extenal sites  that refer the reader back to the CBP site.
 
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