Stay time in the USA with tourist visa

[KENandJOY 0]

Hi Everyone!

My mom has a 10 year tourist visa (we are both from Chile) and she has come to the USA to visit us 3 times in the last 6 years, the last time was September 2015 and she stayed for 3 months.

We want her to come again this year and hope she can come for 6 months, but for what I understand she can only stay for 3 months at a time 6 month total in a year?

Each time she came she was granted a 3 month stay, but she only used that much time the last time.

My question is, how can she use the 6 months? can she come and stay for 3 months, go back home and come again in a short time, or she needs to stay in Chile for an X amount of time before coming back? I am not sure if the 6 months are calendar years, and if staying for this long will raise any red flags. My husband had the idea of all of us having a little family vacation in Mexico and re-entering to re-set her 3 months, but I doubt that is even a possibility since that is not her country of origin.

I am going to start my Naturalization process and hopefully bring her to the USA in a year or two (depending on how long my process + her petition take). But in the meantime we would love if she could stay here for as long as possible (we are expecting our 3rd baby in October and all she wants is to be closer to her grand-babies) but without raising any flag for the future process.

Has anyone used the 6 months without problems?

[newacct 688]

People entering on visitor visa usually get 6 months of stay each time. Getting 3 months repeatedly is unusual. Anyway, there is no such rule about how much combined time she can be in the US across multiple stays in the same year or anything like that. Whether to allow entry and how much time to give is always at the discretion of the immigration officer.

Edited March 18, 2016 by newacct

[KENandJOY 0]

People entering on visitor visa usually get 6 months of stay each time. Getting 3 months repeatedly is unusual. Anyway, there is no such rule about how much combined time she can be in the US across multiple stays in the same year or anything like that. Whether to allow entry and how much time to give is always at the discretion of the immigration officer.

I wonder if she was given 3 months because she said she was coming for that time or less? hmmm

My sister also came to visit last year and she was also granted 3 months :/

[JFH 12,191]

Chilean nationals can use the VWP since May 2014 so that may be why they only stamp her for three months each time because that's all she would get with the VWP. Did she get the visa before the VWP was introduced for Chile?

[az2014 381]

If she stays for more than 6 months in one year she may be liable for US taxes but that is another issue.

If she already came from Sep - Dec 2015 and after 3 months away wants to go back for 6 months how does that look? So she wants to spent 9 out of 12 months in the USA? That is not visiting.

That looks very much like living in the USA and visiting Chile, which is what the CBP will think and rightly so.

[texcal 9]

We visited my in-laws in the US, me travelling on a B2, for only one week and I got approved for 6 months at POE although we literally just flew there for 7 days. Not sure why she was always just approved for 3 months but it sounds unusual to me.

[Boiler 45,949]

Might want to check availability and cost of travel insurance for that long.

[AB loves AG 54]

If she stays for more than 6 months in one year she may be liable for US taxes but that is another issue.

Can you cite your source on this? I'm curious as I've never heard this.

[Boiler 45,949]

Can you cite your source on this? I'm curious as I've never heard this.

IRS substantive presence

[Dakine10 5,452]

My husband had the idea of all of us having a little family vacation in Mexico and re-entering to re-set her 3 months, but I doubt that is even a possibility since that is not her country of origin.

Trips to Mexico (or Canada) of <30 days would not reset the initial B2 entry period. She would be able to re-enter the USA for the remainder of the time left on the i-94 and it would not be considered a new entry. It is still possible to be denied re-entry if eligibility issues arise.

Edited March 18, 2016 by Dakine10

[Mollie09 1,543]

Chileans can use VWP now. If she's traveling under VWP she'll only get 90 days, if she uses her visa she's at the discretion of the IO at POE, up to 6 months.

[KENandJOY 0]

Chilean nationals can use the VWP since May 2014 so that may be why they only stamp her for three months each time because that's all she would get with the VWP. Did she get the visa before the VWP was introduced for Chile?

Yes, she received her 10 year visa before the VWP was launched, (I think it was about 3-4 years a go) so for all of her visits she has used her B2 tourist visa, I wonder if they just count it as a VWP visit anyways

[KENandJOY 0]

We visited my in-laws in the US, me travelling on a B2, for only one week and I got approved for 6 months at POE although we literally just flew there for 7 days. Not sure why she was always just approved for 3 months but it sounds unusual to me.

I'll have to ask her if she was approved for more time on her previous visits and maybe I am confused, I know for sure last time it was 3 months, but now I wonder if it had something to do with the VWP (even though she entered with a B2)

[AB loves AG 54]

IRS substantive presence

Thanks, I never knew that was a possibility on a tourist visa, I learned something new.

[KENandJOY 0]

Trips to Mexico (or Canada) of <30 days would not reset the initial B2 entry period. She would be able to re-enter the USA for the remainder of the time left on the i-94 and it would not be considered a new entry. It is still possible to be denied re-entry if eligibility issues arise.

That is good to know, I suspected that was not a possibility and I would hate to do anything that can get her (or the process we want to start) in trouble.

Thank you!