Post Brexit British couple wanting to tour USA and Canada for 12 months

[jackiemac]

Hi and welcome Heather.

Good info so far, I'll add a few things to consider

1. Was going to be the Visa wait time which Tony has beaten me to.

2. Note that from around October travelling in the northern states will be more difficult if not impossible due to the cold and snow so take that into account. I am not sure about Canada as we have not been there but suspect most of it will be ever more cold.

3. Related to an above point. When you are going through the process of applying for a Visa, keep the information short and to the point. The reason you want a Visa is because you want to be able to travel for more than 3 months at a time. At your interview you say the same. Only answer the questions you are asked, do not elaborate. Same applies when you enter the country. Don't be tempted to go into too much detail. I know this sounds counter intuitive but I saw this on a lot of forums before we went. For example, If asked, say you are going to travel with an RV, you don't need to say you are buying one.

We get asked how much cash we are bringing in, it is always less than $100. They ask how we are you going to pay for our trip so I say with bank cards. I don't mention that we have a US Bank Account or that we own our truck and trailer. I think if you say the wrong thing it ends up with lots more questions. We are not doing anything wrong or trying to hide anything but it makes the process simpler. I believe they are looking for people who plan on staying and not leaving. Having a bank account and a trailer would be red flags.

4. You will need health insurance to cover you for a whole year. I know that ours only allows us 180 days in any one trip which has to start and end at our home in the UK. I suggest you start getting quotes now as being over 70 with health issues might make the process more challenging and it may be expensive.

I can't recommend ours as they no longer sell travel insurance but luckily they are continuing ours.

There are several others you can try:

Allclear - we used for short trips previously
Big Cat
Staysure - these 3 Tony Lemon has used I believe
Avanti

There will be others, just make sure you clearly read and understand your coverage and excess etc. Being sick in the US is not a cheap affair.

5. Are either of you on medication? We can manage to persuade our Doctor to give us 6 months worth to bring with us. If you are planning on longer you will need to research how to get medication in the US or Canada. I am not familiar with the process but @Tom might have some info.

Like Tony if you want to chat over the phone, drop me a PM and we can have a chat. Happy to help.

 

[TonyL]

Jackie is correct about the three insurers for travel we have used, said she was good! Big cat will be no use, they do not cover people over 70 for long travel periods.
Jackie is also spot on about what information you volunteer, don't lie, but just be precise. Don't even think of mentioning travel for 12 months, it's another red flag. You can begin your visa application online and submit the same way. Once they have the application, you can look at what interview dates are available and book accordingly. For the first year we used a "Wise" bank account for currency exchange and purchases in the US, it worked very well.

 

[Tom]

Don't be tempted to go into too much detail.

Good point Jackie. When our DIL came ahead of our son for a vacation, she mentioned that her then-partner would be coming in 2 weeks, and that catalyzed numerous questions.

We get asked how much cash we are bringing in, it is always less than $100.

The real issue is that any amount of $10,000 or more raises flags and questions of money laundering; Same issue as when transferring money to/from the US. When our VP of sales came back from a trip to Europe, he had been given several $10's of thousands in cash by our German sales manager to excercise some stock options back here at HQ. As he explained it to us, they held him in a room at gunpoint.

You will need health insurance ...

This has always been something I've drummed into visitors from the UK for many years, and even tell them not to come if they don't have medical insurance. Jackie posted good links, but a number of our visitors bought medical insurance through Thomas Cook.

I suggest you start getting quotes now as being over 70 with health issues might make the process more challenging and it may be expensive.

Several British friends had to stop visiting the US because they were over 70 &/or developed some serious health issues and could no longer get insurance.

Are either of you on medication? We can manage to persuade our Doctor to give us 6 months worth to bring with us. If you are planning on longer you will need to research how to get medication in the US or Canada. I am not familiar with the process but @Tom might have some info.

It's been a while since our UK visitors needed medications here; Getting their GP to prescribe multiple refills before they left home was the best option. I suspect you'd pay out of pocket (very expensive compared with prescriptions on the NHS), and try to get a refund when you get home.

If you happened to be in the area of Yuma, Arizona, you can walk across the border and buy medications at Mexican pharmacies at a fraction of the US price. They don't require a prescription, but US border patrol may ask for one when you return to US; The MX pharmacists can even write the prescription for you. Numerous forum members buy their medications in Yuma, or have done so in the past.

 

[TonyL]

Regarding prescription medications, we can personally vouch for the difficulty in getting meds sent from the UK, especially into Canada, and the cost of getting and fulfilling a prescription there isn't cheap either.

 

[Tom]

Regarding prescription medications, we can personally vouch for the difficulty in getting meds sent from the UK, especially into Canada, and the cost of getting and fulfilling a prescription there isn't cheap either.

We can buy medications (mail order) from a Canadian pharmacy much cheaper than here in the US, but they still need a prescription.

 

[Isaac-1]

I don't know how much time you have spent in the US, but one thing many / most European travelers fail to grasp about the US is the shear size. Even with 6 months to spend in the US, this is not enough time to see the entire country, though is probably long enough for a coast to coast trip sampling the major points of interest in each region, keeping in mind the weather in the various regions. You would likely be better off trying to plan a pair of 6 month trips, rather than a single 12 month trip due to the winter weather concerns as your RV friendly travel destinations from about December - March will be practically limited to the the southern most states, and even then you will likely experience some freezing weather just about anywhere in the US excluding coastal Southern California, southern Arizona, the southern tip of Texas, and the south half of Florida.

p.s. we live in western Louisiana just a few minutes drive from the Texas state line, and never plan RV trips more than a week in advance in December, January and February due to the potential for a winter storm, like the one that occurred the week before Christmas where we had overnight lows of 14F (-10C) two nights in a row. Twice in the last 5 years we've had to cancel potential RV trips in late January and February due to such freezing weather, as weather is really hit or miss even in this region that time of year one week the temperatures may be in the 70's F (circa 22C), the next it may be well below freezing.

 

[Hfx_Cdn]

Welcome to the forum, as others have said, it is unlikely you will find a 34 foot diesel in that weight range. For what it is worth, the braking system on diesel vehicles is not hydraulic, but compressed air. In Nova Scotia, Canada, which is where my driver's license is domiciled, I was required to take a course and pass an exam to have the air brake rider to my license, this is another issue you should check through the proper authorities.
As a side note, you mentioned that you are off to Japan. When we went, I acquired an international drivers license so that I could drive our daughter's car. Japan would not consider my Canadian license as legal. But the most useful thing was a train pass which could only be bought from outside of the country. Thier train system is amazing and we used it extensively.

Ed

 

[Isaac-1]

Ed, not all diesel coaches have airbrakes, some smaller / entry level models have hydraulic brakes using a power steering pump powered hydrobooster system

 

[HeatherLane]

As a side note, you mentioned that you are off to Japan. When we went, I acquired an international drivers license so that I could drive our daughter's car. Japan would not consider my Canadian license as legal. But the most useful thing was a train pass which could only be bought from outside of the country. Thier train system is amazing and we used it extensively.

Yes, our son has warned us of this (he's studying in Japan). We'll take an IDL and I have the rail passes ordered. Thanks for that.

 

[HeatherLane]

Gosh, so much information, thank you. I had no idea about the braking system, I'll mention that when I do my HGV training. Great info on the Visas, I'm actually going to apply for those today from France rather than wait until we get back to the UK.
We already use Wise for our Euro and Yen travels, so no problem with USD. I'll keep my mouth shut in my interview - that's going to be the hardest thing!! I always give far too much information - we'll do practice run throughs before we go I think.
You guys are so kind and informative, thank you.

 

[HeatherLane]

Ok, I'm trying to apply for the Visas. I'm aware that many sites are third party sites which charge you so I just need to confirm I'm on the right site.
travel.state.gov
On there, I presume I need a B2 but it says it's only valid for 120 days?
Could someone just confirm that I should continue on the page I'm on please?

 

[Tom]

Ok, I'm trying to apply for the Visas. I'm aware that many sites are third party sites which charge you so I just need to confirm I'm on the right site.
travel.state.gov
On there, I presume I need a B2 but it says it's only valid for 120 days?
Could someone just confirm that I should continue on the page I'm on please?

That's the correct site. Where does it show the 120 days? I'm curious if things have changed. I've held multiple B1/B2 visas over the years, and they were always good for 10 years (or the expiration of my passport) and multiple entry.

 

[TonyL]

wrong website, you need uk.usembassy.gov

 

[Tom]

wrong website, you need uk.usembassy.gov

Since the US embassy in the UK and other countries are part of the US Dept of State, there should be no difference/conflict of visa requirements or validity. When there's been some ambiguity or need for clarification, I've always defaulted to the State Dept web site.

When I get a chance, I'll review the uk.usembassy site.

 

[HeatherLane]

Ok, all done re visas, our appointment is for the 24th May - my birthday and our Pearl wedding anniversary - it's another plus hopefully.
My only concern (after 5 hours on the site today) is that the only 2 options for tourist visas were business/tourist or tourist/medical. We went for the latter as we definitely don't want to work. Now it keeps talking about the need for medicals. I hope I haven't messed up because it's all booked and paid for.

 

[Tom]

Ok, all done re visas, our appointment is for the 24th May - my birthday and our Pearl wedding anniversary - it's another plus hopefully.
My only concern (after 5 hours on the site today) is that the only 2 options for tourist visas were business/tourist or tourist/medical. We went for the latter as we definitely don't want to work. Now it keeps talking about the need for medicals. I hope I haven't messed up because it's all booked and paid for.

Unless something has changed, all that will show in the visa in your passport will be "B2", the duration of validity, and "multiple entry". You may get asked at your interview, and you can say what you said above (i.e. there were only 2 options for B2). When you arrive at a port of entry, you'll be asked the purpose of your visit, and all you need say is "tourism".

5 hours on the site seems like a marathon. Glad you were able to stick it out. For my edification, which site was that?

 

[HeatherLane]

5 hours on the site seems like a marathon. Glad you were able to stick it out. For my edification, which site was that?

That was the visa site, it kept timing out every 8 or 9 minutes, it was driving me to drink!!

 

[Tom]

That was the visa site, it kept timing out every 8 or 9 minutes, it was driving me to drink!!

What's the address/link to that site?

 

[JudyJB]

Do you really need an HGV license for your trip? Very few states require anything more than a regular drivers license to drive even a very large RV, and the ones that do, require it only if you live there and register your vehicle there.

Or is this some sort of Canadian requirement?

 

[Tom]

Do you really need an HGV license for your trip? Very few states require anything more than a regular drivers license to drive even a very large RV, and the ones that do, require it only if you live there and register your vehicle there.

Or is this some sort of Canadian requirement?

It's needed when they get back to the UK.