# Visa Waiver Program



## funkmeisterdude (Jul 2, 2008)

1 - How long will I permitted to stay in the US on the visa waiver program? 90 days I believe?

2 - Is there a limit to how many times I can enter the U.S. on this visa? Must there be a minimum period between one period of travel on the VWP and the next? 

3 - Is there any reason I could be denied entry?

4 - What can I do/prove that would not cause me problems? Not including working for US companies because I already know that this would land me in big trouble. And I do not need to do this because my Internet Business provides me with regular income.

5 - I am thinking about going over on the visa waiver for 6 weeks, return to UK, then head back to the US for less than 90 days again on the visa waiver. Will there be any problems with this? If so, how can I overcome them?


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

First of all, you need to understand that the visa waiver program isn't a kind of visa, it is the government waiving the need for a visa for a short-term visit where there isn't any real danger of your overstaying. (Vastly oversimplified, obviously, but that's the essence of it.)

1. Under the visa waiver program you can stay for a period UP TO 90 days. Precisely how long is up to the immigration official who greets you at your port of entry.

2. Each time you enter the US on a visa waiver is a "new" period - you don't enter and re-enter on the same document. Each time you fill out the green form. And the question of how long you have to wait between visits is not at all cut and dried. If the entry officer pulls up your record and sees that you've been spending alot of time in the US lately, you can be denied entry just for that reason alone. The rule of thumb has always been that you should leave the US for at least as long as you were there last time - but there are also some "rules of thumb" about cumulative time spent in the US over the last six months or a year.

3. Yes - with heavy emphasis on the term "any reason." No matter what visa you're on you can always be denied entry just because the immigration officer thinks something isn't right about you or your situation.

4. Working for a US company isn't a problem in and of itself. (My husband has always worked for US companies and never got hassled about that on his many trips over and back.) Various things they might ask for to prove your intention not to overstay your welcome include: a return ticket within a reasonable period of time, any evidence of "strong ties" to your home country (you own property, you have strong family ties, you have appointments - with doctors, lawyers, hairdressers - booked shortly after your return date, your bank accounts are all back home).

5. Depends how long you return to the UK for and lots of other factors. It's probably best if you aren't doing work for your Internet company while you're in the US. (Tends to "prove" you're on holiday if the business is handling itself in your absence.)

One tip - on departure make very very very sure that the airline people take the little green receipt part of the visa waiver form out of your passport. Once in a great while they may forget, and if the receipt thingee doesn't get turned into the immigration authorities, they may think you're still in the country. If you ever discover you've gotten home with the green slip still in your passport, mail it with a letter explaining what happened (and a copy of your ticket stub or boarding pass) to the USCIS so you can prove you didn't overstay your visit. It's a very rare error - but you can wind up in tons of trouble if you don't correct it.
Cheers,
Bev


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Bev - hair appointment a binding tie? That is a new one:>)

Why not apply for a B1 which might give you 180 days continued stay. But again - your actual stay will be dermined at point of entry by the immigration officer.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Hey, you use what you got! 

If you made appointments for even personal stuff like haircuts, manicures or whatever, it shows intent to return. What you're trying to show is that you have your "real life" going on back home and that your trip to the US is "just a visit."
Cheers,
Bev


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## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

*1 - How long will I permitted to stay in the US on the visa waiver program? 90 days I believe?*
Correct.

*2 - Is there a limit to how many times I can enter the U.S. on this visa? Must there be a minimum period between one period of travel on the VWP and the next? *Could I leave and return back in 1 week? 2 weeks? 1 month?
Yes to all -- but you might be denied entry. Note, you cannot reset the clock by visiting Canada, Mexico or the Caribbeanean islands.

*3 - Is there any reason I could be denied entry?*
Plenty of reasons. It is at the sole discretion of CBP and there is no judicial review.

*4 - What can I do/prove that would not cause me problems? Not including working for US companies because I already know that this would land me in big trouble. And I do not need to do this because my Internet Business provides me with regular income.*
Nothing will prove it. The following may help:
* Maintain home residence with strong ties.
* Spend more time outside the US than inside.
* Always be truthful but do not volunteer information.
*
5 - I am thinking about going over on the visa waiver for 6 weeks, return to UK, then head back to the US for less than 90 days again on the visa waiver. Will there be any problems with this? If so, how can I overcome them?*
How does anyone know since we don't know which officer you're going to bump into nor whether s/he was loved by their partner the previous night -- there are simply no guarantees. The longer you build up a record of spending time here rather than there, the more tricky your situation will become. America is the land of 2-week annual vacations.


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## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

twostep said:


> Why not apply for a B1 which might give you 180 days continued stay. But again - your actual stay will be dermined at point of entry by the immigration officer.


Could be a step backwards rather than forwards if denied. Careful planning required if you're going to attempt this.


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## funkmeisterdude (Jul 2, 2008)

Thanks for all the replies everyone!

What a nightmare! How else can I be there?

Is there a freelance visa that I can get? I can do freelance web/graphics/internet marketing and consulting whilst I am there if it can stop me having problems. Is there one available?


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

The answer is unfortunately very simple - NO.
Without going into details - marriage, depending on your country of birth lotterie, employment, investment, education.

USCIS Home Page

I had planned on never getting married:>)


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## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

What twostep said.


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## synthia (Apr 18, 2007)

The whole idea of a work visa is to keep you from doing any job that will take work from Americans. If you get freelance work, an American does it. That's why it's not legal to work in without a proper visa. If you do work, and are caught, you will be deported an be in a much worse situation.


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## funkmeisterdude (Jul 2, 2008)

Thanks Synthia.

It's crazy as to how difficult everything is made. I don't want to take any work away from the Americans or even do any work for a US company/business, I am just fine and dependent upon the business I have built and am continuing to build from the UK.

Just appears that the VWP is the only available option for me right now, but as long as I abide to the rules and requirments, and not irritate the officer upon arrival I should be fine in theory.

Has anybody visited the Special Consular Services Unit at the US Embassy before? Would this be something that would be recommened by anyone?


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

They cannot change the rules:>(


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## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

funkmeisterdude said:


> Has anybody visited the Special Consular Services Unit at the US Embassy before? Would this be something that would be recommened by anyone?


The Special Consular Services Unit provides emergency assistance to U.S. citizens visiting and residing in the country where the embassy is located. I fail to understand the question, I'm afraid.


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## synthia (Apr 18, 2007)

Are you going to be working for UK clients while in the US, and were you thinking that would give you proof of income and make it easier?

The whole area of what happens if you are working while on a tourist visa but aren't actually doing anything in the country or for anyone in the country is such a gray area. There really isn't an accepted set of case law or legislation anywhere that covers it.

If countries get really strict, and for example, tell me I can't write an articlefor a client who lives in Australia while I am in Thailand and using a US server to write the article, and the Australian I am writing for has his business based out of the UK, then they are going to have to tell novelists they can't work on their novel while there, and forbid people from writing songs or making notes on a business idea. No one would be able to take business trips.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

There isn't really any problem in doing some work while you're in the US on a holiday, so long as your intention is to return to wherever you came from. The problem the OP is going to run into is that repeated "visits" do tend to indicate that his intention is to stay "for the long-term" (as the French put it).

So, if he's there for the long-term, it doesn't matter where his business is if he's using it for his source of revenue while living in the US. It's that difference between "living" and "visiting" that creates the gray area.
Cheers,
Bev


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