visa waiver 90/180 calculations

[narnia 24]

i have a question about the, so to speak, border marks of the 180 day period.

the last time i have been to the U.S. was from 28th of november 2012 to 21st of january 2013. which was a stay of 55 days.

this means i still have 35 days left until 180 days passed on the 26th of may.

now, if i would leave in the middle of may, could i also only leave for a maximum of 35 days? or does the "new" 180 day period start automatically on may 27th and any time spent in the U.S. from then on accounts for that?

so for example, if i leave from may 15th to june 15th. do the days from may 15th to 26th count for the old 180 day period and the days from 27th to june 15th count for the next 180 term?

i think this idea sounds too crazy to be true.

any enlightenment would be greatly appreciated! thanks!

[Penguin_ie 5,996]

You will almost certainly be allowed your months stay from mid May to mid June.

The "more time out than in" thing is a guideline. While your chances of being allowed in if you have spend 180 days in a rolling year in the USA and want to spend more are slim, it is possible, depending on the CBP agent you get.

[narnia 24]

You will almost certainly be allowed your months stay from mid May to mid June.

The "more time out than in" thing is a guideline. While your chances of being allowed in if you have spend 180 days in a rolling year in the USA and want to spend more are slim, it is possible, depending on the CBP agent you get.

thanks for the reply!

but would i be able to stay longer than just a month?

i still don't understand how the 180 window functions. some say it's a floating window that starts with the last point of entry, but moves with the next trip's point of exit. so 180 days are counted backwards from when the country is left again. is that true? or is it a fixed timeframe that started at the point of entry and goes by calendar days?

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Your post is confusing.

You said you were in the US from "28th of november 2012 to 21st of january 2013. which was a stay of 55 days."

Then you mentioned "i still have 35 days left until 180 days passed on the 26th of may.". Are you in the US right now?

"could i also only leave for a maximum of 35 days? or does the "new" 180 day period start automatically on may 27th and any time spent in the U.S. from then on accounts for that?". Leave where? Are you in the US? Or are you asking if you can visit the US for 35 days?

----

Please explain your situation. Are you in the US?

Any time in the US counts on the "more time out than in", and a 12 month period isn't Jan to Dec or anything like that. It's a period of time counting from now. So in the last 12 months from today, have you spent more time inside the US than out?

That would mean that if your post is saying that on the 26th May you've been in the US for a total of 6 months in the last 12, then yes, you are risking denial of entry. Some people have had no issues, some people do. It really depends on the agent admitting you.

[Penguin_ie 5,996]

There isn't really a 180 day window- there is a rule that you should be out of the USA more than you are in in any rolling year.

[narnia 24]

Your post is confusing.

You said you were in the US from "28th of november 2012 to 21st of january 2013. which was a stay of 55 days."

Then you mentioned "i still have 35 days left until 180 days passed on the 26th of may.". Are you in the US right now?

"could i also only leave for a maximum of 35 days? or does the "new" 180 day period start automatically on may 27th and any time spent in the U.S. from then on accounts for that?". Leave where? Are you in the US? Or are you asking if you can visit the US for 35 days?

----

Please explain your situation. Are you in the US?

Any time in the US counts on the "more time out than in", and a 12 month period isn't Jan to Dec or anything like that. It's a period of time counting from now. So in the last 12 months from today, have you spent more time inside the US than out?

That would mean that if your post is saying that on the 26th May you've been in the US for a total of 6 months in the last 12, then yes, you are risking denial of entry. Some people have had no issues, some people do. It really depends on the agent admitting you.

i am not in the U.S., no. i have been back in austria since january 21st.

i have spent more time outside of the U.S. in a 12 month period from today i have spent 145 days in america.

i was asking how the days will be calculated. if there is a fixed 180 day time frame, as in calendar days. or if the time window moves with travel dates.

i think that if i was to leave before the end of may, i could only spend 35 days in the U.S., since my past trip is within 6 months from then. but that would only be the case if the half year time frame is fixed to calendar days.

i am sorry about the confusion. this system confused myself too much already.

[narnia 24]

There isn't really a 180 day window- there is a rule that you should be out of the USA more than you are in in any rolling year.

i noticed that i got a full 90 days visa stamp upon entering the U.S. before, even though i had been there before for a month less than half a year ago from then.

this would explain what you are telling me.

so. in a full year you can't spend more than a maximum of 180 days in the states within a full year. but the 90 in 180 day rule is not that strict, as long as you make sure to have decent gaps between your stays? just so no suspicion arises with the officials.

in my case, i will have spent 111 days in the U.S. within a full year counting backwards from the middle of may. which means, i could stay for a maximum of 69 if i was to travel to the states again in may. am i getting this right?

[Penguin_ie 5,996]

Yes-ish. It is always up to the immigration officer at the border. You are not entitled to spend 180 days a year in the USA, they can deny you for any or no reason. If you spend a lot of time there, you'll be best off to show how you can afford this without working there illegally.

[narnia 24]

Yes-ish. It is always up to the immigration officer at the border. You are not entitled to spend 180 days a year in the USA, they can deny you for any or no reason. If you spend a lot of time there, you'll be best off to show how you can afford this without working there illegally.

hm. i heard that before. i think they want to assure that you will return to your country. i never had trouble with immigration officers before. i think that's also because my nationality does not usually arise any suspicion.

thanks for clearing that up for me!

[Boiler 45,993]

There is no time limit maximum you can spend as a visitor in the US in a given year.

Now spend to long and you may have tax issues, but that is a different item.

There are certain recommendations, but none of them are official.

[Penguin_ie 5,996]

Yeah exactly, Western Europeans often have no issue. But you never know... to a certain extent it also depends on the mood of the immigration officer you happen to get.

[narnia 24]

Yeah exactly, Western Europeans often have no issue. But you never know... to a certain extent it also depends on the mood of the immigration officer you happen to get.

yeah right. isn't it lovely how legal matters are in the hands of how good or bad of a day somebody is having. seems completely fair.

this helped me figure things out. thank you again!