Will this VWP stamp be reset upon returning to the US?

Upvote:2

In addition to Traveller's correct answer:

In 2002 my (European) family travelled to Australia via Canada and Hawai'i; the Air Canada flight left Vancouver, landed in Honolulu in the middle of the night, passengers disembarked, passed through immigration, went back to the same gate and boarded the same plane onto Sydney. The same happened in reverse on our flight back. I was still in high school so I don't remember all of the details exactly.

As we are eligible for the VWP, we got the same stamps into our passport. There was also some additional paper slip in there. On our outbound trip, somebody at the gate noticed that the stamp and/or slip said '90 days', asked us when our return flight was scheduled (in about 12 days) and came to the conclusion that it's fine, they'll leave the slips in there so we can re-use them.

However, when we came back through Hawai'i on our return trip, the immigration agent was, let's say, very unhappy about this, asked us a lot of questions about whether and when we actually left the US and concluded that said agent 'is in for a big fine'.

So basically, you leave the US and your VWP entry is completed; new entry, new stamp.

Upvote:16

The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) allows eligible nationals to stay in the US for up to 90 days without applying for a visa. The 90 days resets each time a VWP visitor is granted entry. So unless he is currently in Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean, he will get a new stamp next time, assuming he is granted entry.

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