Length of time between visits to USA

[jay preece 0]

Hi all,

This is my first post and I wasn't sure which forum to put it in, so apologies if this is the wrong place.

I came to visit my girlfriend here in America throughout March. As the trip went really well and it's financially viable for her, she wanted to buy me a ticket to come back to the US as soon as possible. So I flew home to England on June 1st and returned on June 5th. The ticket she bought was for the longest amount of time possible - 90 days. We're planning on applying for a K-1 visa but not until after this visit.

So on my arrival at Philadelphia airport, I was sent to the Secondary Inspection department with my passport. After a lengthy Q&A and a search of my bags (which I can understand), I was told that I needed to spend more time outside of the country between my visits if I didn't want to get into trouble.

Is there any legal basis to this, and can someone point me to it? I know I'm only allowed in the US for 90 days at a time on a tourist visa and I know what I can and can't do whilst here. But I'd never before heard anything about a certain length of time required between visits. Any help?

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Getting past CBP (Customs and Border Protection) is purely up to the discretion of the officer on duty with no appeal. He just uses his gut feelings whether he thinks you're a risk to illegally remain in the country. So if you're young, with no job (how can you get off so many days), a girlfriend in the US, and you were here for a month and return for 90 days three months later it makes them question you more. If you do it again in three more months for a 90 day stay, they might put you back on a plane home.

A different scenario might be somebody who came for 2-3 weeks and showed a letter from their employer saying when they were returning to work, or a student id and a letter or enrollment form from the school showing when you would return to classes. They want to see evidence that you have a reason to return home....a job, a lease, classes, a bank account, a return ticket. That's about how it goes. There are no rules other than the 90 days on visa waiver. It's your job to convince them that you are not an intending immigrant. If you want to keep up the visits, then come for shorter trips. They don't want you to spend more time in the US than your home country. If you get refused entry, then you won't be able to come visit at all until you receive the K1 visa. Your name will be in their system as somebody denied entry so coming back probably won't happen until you have the visa.

[Slightly Bonkers 0]

How long Must I be Outside the U.S. to get another 90 Days on the Visa Waiver Program?

There is no specific time limit on how long you have to be outside the U.S. to be able to go back. The point is that the VWP exists for temporary visits to the U.S., and not for enabling persons to more or less live in the country. It is thus not sufficient to just slip over to Bahamas to “charge the passport” for a new set of 90 days. Ultimately your admittance is decided on at the border. A good way to foresee whether you can go on the VWP is to ask yourself “am I here in temporary business or pleasure, or am I just trying to stay in the U.S. for a long consecutive period of time?” Please note that staying with an American boyfriend or girlfriend for a long period of time is not considered tourism.

The maximum total amount of days you may spend in the U.S. under a year is 180 days.

From - Swedish US Embassy

Did you get sent home? or were you allowed to enter?

[TayRivers 4]

Hi all,

This is my first post and I wasn't sure which forum to put it in, so apologies if this is the wrong place.

I came to visit my girlfriend here in America throughout March. As the trip went really well and it's financially viable for her, she wanted to buy me a ticket to come back to the US as soon as possible. So I flew home to England on June 1st and returned on June 5th. The ticket she bought was for the longest amount of time possible - 90 days. We're planning on applying for a K-1 visa but not until after this visit.

So on my arrival at Philadelphia airport, I was sent to the Secondary Inspection department with my passport. After a lengthy Q&A and a search of my bags (which I can understand), I was told that I needed to spend more time outside of the country between my visits if I didn't want to get into trouble.

Is there any legal basis to this, and can someone point me to it? I know I'm only allowed in the US for 90 days at a time on a tourist visa and I know what I can and can't do whilst here. But I'd never before heard anything about a certain length of time required between visits. Any help?

You were very lucky you were allowed to enter and were not put on the first flight back to the UK. The CBP officer can allow you to enter or they can send you home at your own expense.

The General rule of thumb is that you should be spending as much time back in the UK as you sent here in the US. So if you came for 4 weeks you would need to go home for at least 4 weeks before you tried to return. If you stay for 90 days then you should not return before another 90 days has passed.

If you are close to spending more time in the US than in the UK over any 12 month period then you will be denied entry.

There is no hard and fast rule about entry to the USA, it all comes down to the CBP officer on the day you enter the US. They will assume you have intent to remain in the US and it is up to you to prove you do not have intent to remain and will depart the country within the time allowed on your VWP.

The VWP is to allow for tourist visits to the USA. It is not a way of you being able to live with your boy/girl friend. Unless you have evidence of strong ties to the UK, like a Job, mortgage/rent, bank accounts, children left back home then the chances are you are going to be refused entry.

[terri and jay 0]

Hi all,

This is my first post and I wasn't sure which forum to put it in, so apologies if this is the wrong place.

I came to visit my girlfriend here in America throughout March. As the trip went really well and it's financially viable for her, she wanted to buy me a ticket to come back to the US as soon as possible. So I flew home to England on June 1st and returned on June 5th. The ticket she bought was for the longest amount of time possible - 90 days. We're planning on applying for a K-1 visa but not until after this visit.

So on my arrival at Philadelphia airport, I was sent to the Secondary Inspection department with my passport. After a lengthy Q&A and a search of my bags (which I can understand), I was told that I needed to spend more time outside of the country between my visits if I didn't want to get into trouble.

Is there any legal basis to this, and can someone point me to it? I know I'm only allowed in the US for 90 days at a time on a tourist visa and I know what I can and can't do whilst here. But I'd never before heard anything about a certain length of time required between visits. Any help?

well here's my story ,i'll try to keep it short. meet my bf on line and he is from uk , we 1st meet in sept 08 , he came here too usa,he was here 2 weeks , than he return in jan for almost 90 days, by bad advice from a lawyer,we were told to go back for a few days and come back and we will start filing to have him here forever, so we fled back to uk ,1st time for me, we were there for 4days and came back , we landed in detroit mich, they took him in to a room , 2 hour went by, i knew it was bad, then an officer talk to me several times, back and forth, then he got his boss, again back and forth,then after another hour and half they both came out and said sorry but we want him to enter , we like u and beleive u and we r behind him but their big boss said no , the reason was that my bf was self employed and that shows that he has no ties to uk and plus he didnt have a bank account , the reason for that is he was having problems with that bank, when he was here he couldnt withdrawl any money so he cancel he's account , plus he stay too short of time in uk, i tried to explain that he wanted to show uk to me but i didnt have that much time for vacation, so they said they were sorry again but their hands were tied, i ask if i could see him before i leave and they said no that they were putting on a plane now, that was the most upsettting day in my life,but one of the officer was helpful and told us about k-1 and what we needed to do, this was never told to us by our lawyer that was a waste of money, so its been 1 month and 11 days since i seen him ,,, so i guess what im saying is plez be careful of what u do cause i dont want ur gf to go threw of what i've been threw...i cry every nite missing him and now he is going to miss my 1st daughter wedding, which she adore him and was wanting him part of the wedding , that there alone is killing me, i hope u do the right thing and think long and hard , good luck with everything and keep us in your prayers!!!

[English Muffin 59]

Moving to General Immigration forum.

[Dan & Juan 12]

Sounds so painful to learn the hard way.

For me having wife live in China where it was not even likely for a visit from her, even though she is a school teacher and has lots of time off. We went 9 months apart before my last visit and that was to be with her during a medical situation. I just didnt' want to chance these kind of heartache being torn apart from my darling at the airport would have put me over the emotional edge! We knew what we were getting into when we married, and I hate it but accept that I don't want to jinx the process of visa.

Hope you can be reunited soon !

[Jonara 0]

The whole "unwritten" rule around VWP screwed us up big time. My fiance stayed with me in the US for close to 90 days then he went back to France. About 6 weeks later, he came back to the US only to be sent back. CBP talked down to him, accusing him of milking me and possibly will milk the US system too (ok let's revisit that... France social system is far more generous than what we get around here). Anyway I don't blame CBP if they are merely doing their job but they truly need to scrutinize people better (if not knowledgeably) before throwing accusations. He never in his wildest dreams anticipated to migrate to America. But he wants to because of me.

Anyway folks - be aware of that. No clear rules around this...it's all based on CBP discretion. I wish though they come up with a clear guidelines..after all plane tickets are not cheap!

[L179 1]

Sorry to hear your story but its truly up to their discretion...

Sorry to hear your story but its truly up to their discretion...