ESTA- Brain melt.

Take a look at the Visa Waiver/ESTA sticky post at the top of this branch. It covers all this in better detail.

ESTA and the Visa WaiverProgram are two different things. Many people are confused by it.

ESTA is a pre-approval that determines that you appear to be eligible to enter under the Visa Waiver Program and that you are not on some list of undesirable people. You must have ESTA pre-approval if you plan to enter under the Visa Waiver Program and will be entering the US by air. Your airline will not let you board without it. ESTA pre-approval is good for two years or whenever your passport expires, whichever comes first. ESTA pre-approval does not guarantee admission to the US.

You actually enter the US under the Visa Waiver Program. This allows certain people to enter the US without the need for a full visa. You may stay in the US for no longer than 90 days. Time spent in Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, after you first enter the US, counts toward the 90 days.

If you plan to live in Canada and to make periodic visits to the US, then a full B2 tourist visa may be more appropriate for you.

See Visa Waiver Program from the US Embassy in London, for more details.

Thanks for your reply.

I can't see the sticky post you mentioned above?

A visa would involved a trip to London which we would like to avoid. We don't want to go for long periods of time so don't really feel a visa is for us from reading up on it.

Since we are going to USA and then Peru does this 'offset' the 90 days which means it'll start again? If we go to Mexico next does it start again or does it mean if went to America and then Mexico all of those days would add up? If we just bus to Seattle/Portland from Canada in the next few months to visit family will it leave the 90 days intact until we fly into America again say in January when our Canadian six months might be up (if we don't get work visas)?

We have no intentions to stay in America just city breaks.

The sticky.

We don't want to go for long periods of time so don't really feel a visa is for us from reading up on it.

Be careful with this.
Your first entry under the VWP ends when you head to Peru. However when you enter later from Canada, a new 90 period will begin. If the border guard you get decides to follow the rules, you could end up denied entry, which makes any future visit require a via.
If you don't want to go to London, you can apply in Canada.

What does 'follow the rules' entail if it's multi entry?

Thanks for link to sticky. The tourist visa really doesn't seem common but it's good to know we can get it in Canada also. London is a large trip for us.

What does 'follow the rules' entail if it's multi entry?

The ESTA pre-approval is multi-entry, NOT the Visa Waiver, which is where you are getting confused. To follow your original plan of popping over the border every so often while living in Canada you really need the tourist visa no matter how inconvenient that is.

Since we are going to USA and then Peru does this 'offset' the 90 days which means it'll start again?

If you mean by "offset" that you have met the USA 90-day limit re-set rules, then yes, you can re-enter with a new 90-day limit.

If we go to Mexico next does it start again or does it mean if went to America and then Mexico all of those days would add up?

Your 90-day counter does not re-set with just a visit to Mexico, so 30 days US and 40 days Mexico means you only have 20 days legally remaining on your return to the US from Mexico.

If we just bus to Seattle/Portland from Canada in the next few months to visit family will it leave the 90 days intact until we fly into America again say in January when our Canadian six months might be up (if we don't get work visas)?

It will leave the 90-day limit intact (meaning it doesn't re-set), since a return to Canada does not re-set the clock. I know it sounds like a pain, however the rules are that travelling to Canada after entering the US does not count towards re-setting the 90-day limit, if you then choose to re-enter the US under the VWP*.

Either you do all your visiting in Seattle/Portland within the first 90 days of your time in Vancouver (and fly home without entering the US at all), or you apply for a visa that will allow multiple visits to the US over a number of years.

* There has been anecdotal comment on here that a "substantial" period in Canada (say 30 days +/-) is sufficient for the immigration authorities to understand your situation, and not deny your re-entry to the US, since they are convinced that you haven't simply done a visa run, but are actually based more in Canada.

So every time I go to America or Mexico it takes time off the 90 days?
We will have 11 days in NOLA/Austin; go to Peru (no days effecting ESTA/VWP up until May but does not reset 90 days?) Mexico May/June add on 35 days estimate (46); Cuba (did she just say Cuba and is going anywhere near America, yes she did, 21 days then up to Canada (no transit in USA). 67 days used. My three months would be up so we couldn't enter America again?

This isn't what I've read on other forums. I've been advised that you can fill out i94w at the border if you travel by bus from Canada and use internal flights within America without an ESTA/VWP obviously we will have one but the length of time we are away is the issue.

This is all 'just in case' I plan to get IEC, everyone on that thread says they've been border hopping to go shopping etc and not had issues.

So every time I go to America or Mexico it takes time off the 90 days?

You need to be fairly precise with your language here.

Your 90 days start from the first time you enter the US - and then if you visit Canada or Mexico, the days spent in those countries are also counted (ie, taken "off the 90 days" you're allowed.)

As I said previously, if you're in Canada having been in the US on a VWP entry in the recent past then time spent in Canada or Mexico is added to the the total, in working out your required exit from the US, and any attempt at re-entry into the US.

However this is all about re-entry into the US - if you had 88 days in the US under the VWP and then went to Canada or Mexico for as long as you like, and then flew to - say - Switzerland without touching the US in transit, then you would meet the requirements of the VWP. But that sort of scenario is not your situation.

The 90 days VWP limit in the US includes time in Canada, Mexico or Cuba between the first entry to the US and the last departure from the US, it does NOT include time in Canada, Mexico or Cuba before the first entry to the US or after the last departure from the US. Going anywhere south of Mexico, such as Peru, for a reasonable period resets the 90 day clock so that your next 90 day VWP entry to the US starts with a clean sheet, forget about the initial 11 days in the US before Peru, it is not relevant. As your flight to Vancouver does not stop in the US it does not start the 90 day clock. If you are in Canada for a year on an IEC WHV or just 6 months as a Visitor, going strictly by the book you must fit all your US visits within one 90 day period, although there is considerable evidence that people often do get a second 90 day VWP entry to the US if they have spent several months in Canada, the chances of a third 90 day VWP entry during your period in Canada are probably very low.