EU citizen, working in Canada, visiting the US

score:7

Accepted answer

if I visit for three weeks in the US and then live in Canada for 3 months then I couldn't visit the US again without having left Canada in between since this would overstay the 90-day rule

No, that’s incorrect. Only if you are still within the 90-day VWP admission period (I.e. the validity of your I-94) can that previous admission be re-used.

So if you arrive on date X, leave on X+60 and come back on X+70, you can only stay until X+89. That’s indeed to prevent actual “visa runs” where you just do a short hop across the border hoping to reset the max duration.

But if you arrive on date X, leave on X+20 and come back on X+100, your original I-94 will have expired, and you’ll get a new one.

Note that this is only one of the rules governing your stays in the US. One of the other rules is that you should not live in the US, so you can’t arrive on X, leave on X+85 and come back on X+95 hoping to stay 80 days. Even though your original I-94 will have expired, you probably won’t be granted a new one at all.

Contrary to Schengen which has a very clear 90/180 rule, there is no explicit rule about this in the US, but the rule of thumb is that you should stay out of the US as long as you stayed in.

So a 3 weeks in, 3 months out pattern should not be a problem.

3 weeks in, 2 months out should not be a problem for the second rule but can be a problem for the first one (they don’t have to readmit you on the original I-94, they can issue a new one if they feel you‘ve been out long enough, but this is really up to the CBP officer and their mood of the day, so I wouldn’t chance it).

Double check your current/last I-94 each time to make sure you’re not planning to stay across its end of validity. Also check that your exits are properly recorded.

Also beware that the word “girlfriend” can trigger additional scrutiny. Do not lie about it, but be aware that this probably requires you to have clear evidence of your intentions.

Upvote:6

I originally thought there was an exception, but on closer investigation it turns out there isn't, but one isn't necessary.

The first point is that if you leave the US and go to Canada and stay there for 90 days plus, that doesn't count as overstaying. That's true whether or not you are resident in Canada. When people say "going to Canada doesn't count as leaving the states" that's only for VWP re-admittance purposes. You can't be overstaying in the US unless you are actually in the US.

Second, showing plans to exit the US by going to Canada are perfectly acceptable if you are resident in Canada. It isn't if you are not. Arriving in the US and only having a ticket to Canada as your exit would not be acceptable normally, but if you are resident in Canada it is.

Third, US Immigration officials are familiar with normal patterns of visitation, and visiting a partner in the US from Canada every so often is normal. For the first 90 days after your first visit they will re-admit you on your original VWP, and after that will probably admit you on a new one (as long as you haven't misused your privileges the first time).

"Visiting my partner" is going to cause them to do a bit of digging on your situation (since a partner in the US is often a reason to try to stay) but if you have stable work, and home, and a permit for Canada you are probably going to be OK. It is probably a good idea to have your partner visit you a few times if they can get that visa.

I was PR in Canada for three years and while I didn't have a US partner I visited the US pretty frequently and never had a problem.

More post

Search Posts

Related post