No-one is advocating ignoring or breaking any rules. We are discussing how the rules should be interpreted and how they are enforced in practice.
If what you are saying is correct Bzookaj, why then does CBP on direct question advice travelers that a return ticket is not required+ ? Why does the internal CBP rule book say that +a return ticket is not required ?
"Please be advised A round trip ticket is not required to apply for ESTA or apply for entry, however upon entry you will need to provide proof of residency, solvency, and intent to return."
Do you have a link for that Max. Maybe bjookaj will believe his own eyes.
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1719825&messageID=18500764#18500764
No, he doesn't believe it since it's not from a government website. I've linked dozens of first hand travelers reports in the past, but they're apparently worth nothing.
In this case, the reply by CBP was whisked away as follows by another poster on this board: Methinks the reply was concocted by someone in a back office who didn't understand the rules - and possibly didn't know where Mexico was.
LOL.
In fact, I have now emailed CBP and asked them about what Smartcookiee wrote in #18, which is a method that I've often seen Bzookaj and others here recommend, namely:
You can also buy a cheap ticket to Guatemala or Costa Rica from the USA and thus reset your visa waiver if you don't mind spend 3 days flying somewhere.
I've always felt like this is wrong. While it might comply with the rules on paper, it is a method deliberately designed to "game" US immigration rules, and as such I've questioned it's legality. Here is the verbatim email and response:
Max
Dear CBP. Suppose I'd like to stay in the US for longer than 90 days and am traveling on the visa waiver, would it be OK for me to after close to 90 days in the US, buy a ticket to Guatemala or Costa Rica and return after 3 days, thus resetting my visa waiver and getting another 90 days?
CBP officer
NO you can not reset the visa waiver by going to another country. The terms of the Visa Waiver Program VWP are very clear - it is only to be used for occasional, short visits to the US. If the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer thinks you are trying to "reset" the clock by making a short trip out of the US and re-entering for another 90-day period, you can be denied entry. (If that happens, you will have to obtain a visa for any future travel to the US)
Huh, it seems bzookaj considers himself an expert on the subject. I'd like to hear the answer to my question bzookaj. What is your nationality and what is your experience of entering the US on a Visa Waiver?
Try this one on for size. My wife, a UK passport holder at the time but living in Canada repeatedly got 90 day VWers back to back over the course of a 3 year period (2007-10). According to the 'rules' as you interpret them that is not allowed. We used to drive across (lived 5 miles from the border) some days just to go to lunch at a Mexican restaurant we liked.
Or this one. On entry into the US with the intent of spending 3 winter months in S. California, I asked the agent what we should do as we might return to Canada after the 90 day period. The reason was we were renting a place for 3 months and to return within the 90 days we would have to cut our stay (at our paid for accommodation) short. He told me to just drive across the border into Mexico. Hand in the VW when we crossed then make a u-turn and re-enter the US and get a new 90 day waiver. So we did. No hassle, no major questions. When getting the new VW for my wife we just told the agent what we were doing. All he said was, 'so you will be in California another week and then drive back to Canada?' I said yes, he gave her the VW.
According to the rules this is simply not allowed. But since we wife was resident in Canada and since it was obvious we had no intent other than to vacation in the US, the rules were simply ignored. Did you know that the rule for Canadians entering Canada is generally understood to be 6 months (not 90 days). But in fact there is no maximum for a Canadian. You just have to be able to explain why you want to stay longer than 6 months and be BELIEVED.
Thank you Travelinstyle for sharing your knowledge. Stories like yours are so much more useful for travelers than copy and pastes from some random and outdated "official" website. I have copied your experiences into my archive of truths.
Try this one on for size. My wife, a UK passport holder at the time but living in Canada repeatedly got 90 day VWers back to back over the course of a 3 year period (2007-10). According to the 'rules' as you interpret them that is not allowed.
This is ridiculous ... have you actually read the provisions? You can go back and forth to Canada (or Mexico or Adjacent Islands) if you are a resident there.
No, he's right, according to the rules on some "official" websites, and some posters on this forum, even residents of Canada/Mexico should have a B2 visa if they intend to spend more than 90 days in North America. You might recall all these discussions we've had here about whether exchange students and long term visitors of Canada/Mexico need a visa or not. My opinion, and that of many CBP officers and consulate staff I've spoken with, and many many sources I've heard from, is that a visa is often not required. The only thing residency in Canada/Mexico buys you is that you can officially travel there on a one-way ticket via the US. For reference, below are the official rules the airlines go by. As you can see, they will allow you to travel to Canada/Mexico via the US on a one-way ticket even as a non-resident as long as your stay in the US is a transit -- this is not quite in line with official US immigration rules. As with the immigration rules, the airlines seem to apply these rules at their discretion. I have written before about Icelandair who are very lax about allowing people to travel to the US on one-way tickets on the visa waiver.
IATA rules used by airlines:
Visitors must hold return/onward tickets. Exempt are holders of a valid US visa.
A return/onward ticket (or electronic ticket record) must be to a final destination country other than Canada, Mexico or contiguous (adjacent) countries or territories situated in or bordering the Caribbean Sea . If passenger holds proof of residence in, or is transiting the USA to such a country or territory, an onward/return ticket to that country or territory is accepted.
Compare with information from US Embassy:
If entering the United States by air or sea, you will qualify for travel under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) if you are holding a return or onward ticket. If traveling on an electronic ticket, a copy of the itinerary must be carried for presentation to U.S. immigration at the port of entry. Note: Travelers with onward tickets terminating in Mexico, Canada, Bermuda or the Caribbean Islands must be legal permanent residents of these areas.
Not sure all of that applies to this case.
Canadian residents can enter the US by land, sea, or air under the VWP if they don't stay in the US longer than 90 days continuously, and if entering by air, they can have an outbound ticket to their North American country of residence (unlike myself - I need an outbound ticket further than North America). So under these conditions, each time our example returned to Canada (after that lunch at the US Mexican restaurant) the VWP 90 days are stopped/reset. But for me as a non-resident of Canada, the clock keeps ticking from the US point of view. No?