how many times can i go USA in one year?

[tdowsett]

boyfriend is moving to USA in couple of weeks, need to visit him regularly....if i got the Visa Waiver Pilot Program from england where i live, it says u can only stay for 90days, is that the whole year or 90days at one time, then can u go back for another month months after but int he same year.?

[filthiestfis]

i believe that is 90 days maximum for every time that you travel there but im sure other ABers know better than I do.

[dzug]

You can stay 90 days and then you must leave North America.

You can then go back for another 90 days. There is no set minimum period you must stay away - it is entirely at the discretion of the immigration officer. The longer you are out, the more likely he is to say yes.

You can carry on doing this for as long as you like. There is no legal set limit.

At some stage, however, they are likely to say you are not a tourist (and you are not, from the start, BTW - visiting a boyfriend is not a tourist activity, particularly if repeated), go home and stay there. You can't use the visa waiver scheme any more.

If you go for a couple of weeks every few months you are probably (and only probably) OK.

The visa waiver scheme is no longer a pilot btw - it's permanent.

[vicster2006]

i went 4 times in 2 months and i never had any problems

[spudqueen]

I went three times last year, for a week, a fortnight then another week.

[tdowsett]

so do you think they'd have a problem with me going a month at a time 3times a year...say jan, may and sep....

[filthiestfis]

oh of course they wont have a problem with you going 3 times a year, dont be daft! :o)
Seriously!

[JonnoGenie]

I entered using a VW 7 times over the last year, staying for between 1 and 11 weeks on each visit. My girlfriend works there.

There is something wrong on my immigration record, they won't tell me exactly what, but I think they have a record I have previously been refused entry sometime in the mid-90's (I've never had immigration breaches). So each time I turn up in the US they take me in for additional questioning at immigration re: this anyway, but it is a stressful experience....

This most recent trip, the immigration officer really gave a going over. He accused me of working there illegally, and of spending so much time there that I was 'abusing the Visa Waiver scheme', and that I need a visa to enter in future. He said he was going to 'mark my record' so that any other US immigration officer would see that I have been told to get a visa. This will take months, as I was arrested for DWI in the US in the early 90's, so need to go through 'additional processing'.

So answering your question, I'd have thought it unlikely you will have any problems the first few times you visit (thats assuming you're eligible of course). But there will be some point where they insist you get a visa.

I'm considering applying for a B2 visa, but as someone pointed out, staying (long term) with your BF/GF is not a holiday...

[JonnoGenie]

Dzug... you say that staying with a BF/GF is not a tourist activity, and I take your point.

But what if you do want to make this kind of trip very frequent and/or extended trisp, can afford to and are happy to provide evidence, do you think they can reasonably stop you.

I got 'laid-off and paid'-off a few years back and live on interest income (etc), and I own some rental property which I can run via e-mail/mobile where I am. My GF works for a foreign embassy in the US and will be there until the end of her posting in July 07, when she will return to her home country. I want to go and stay with her and am at the point of applying for a visa. New York immigration have previously suggested that a B2 visa is the one I'd need.

If not that one, which one?