Hitchhiking, wildcamping in the US and mentioning I'm planning to hitchhike during visa application

Hey guys! Next year I will graduate high school. After finishing university application proccess I'm planning to go to the for 1,5-2 months. I have some family in Tampa and New Jersey but I want to spend just few days with them, my plan is to arrive in NYC, then go to Doyelstown -> DC -> Tampa -> ABQ -> Denver -> Chicago -> Detroit -> Toronto -> flight back home. That's quite an ambitious plan, I realize I might have to remove some points from my list, anyway, I ain't a millionaire, that's why I'm planning to hitchhike and find accommodation on couchsurfing, few days by my family ofc and outside the citites I'd wildcamp, not camp, WILDcamp. Do you guys think that if I act quiet and wise, I will successfully avoid getting into troubles? I'm not even asking whether it's legal, I know one never knows what's gonna happen but is it generally safe if I rely on common sense? I have no idea what it's like in the US, in Europe it's safe to wildcamp unless you're quiet and well hidden. The second thing, I'm not sure if it's a good place to ask this, but as a Polish citizen I need a visa to get into the US. In visa application form there are questions about places one is willing to go to. Do you think it will be ok if I say that I'm gonna hitchhike? Or I should rather say that I'm going to stay with my family for those two months and then, after passing immigration control at the airport, do what I planned to do (hitchhike the country)?

You want to visit friends and family for 6-8 weeks, then do some travel. ILf asked, western travel, on their recommendations.

Hitchhike DURING visa application? How does that work? You should know that hitchhiking in the U. S. went out of fashion in the 1980s. I won't pick up a hitchhiker in my worst nightmare. "Wildcamping" never was in fashion here. I think you need to rethink your whole trip.

Lying on a visa application is not the best idea you've had today. If you haven't heard, we have a new "sheriff" in town.

I know golden age of hitchhiking in the US has already ended but there are people who hitchhike and wildcamp and they are pretty successfull.

Lotsaluck.

One of the things that officials look at when deciding whether to approve your visa is "do you appear to have sufficient funds for your travel?" Declaring that you plan to hitchhike will very much sound like you do not have enough money to travel without working illegally.

Once you have a visa, you are not guaranteed admission into the US. What you have is permission to arrive at a US border and ask for admission. A border official can deny you entrance for insufficient funds. Again, this is not the place to mention hitchhiking.

You do not have to have a very fixed itinerary when you apply for a visa; in fact the US cautions people not to buy plane tickets until the visa is approved. However, having a prilminary plan for where you will go does sound like you are more reliable than someone who just says "oh, I don't know."

Do a search on couch surfing reports. I have seen a lot of reports that many hosts are males looking for young women, and not for conversation. Young men report problems finding a host who will accept them.

The thing about trying to wild camp in the US is not that, if you are discreet and quiet, you are OK. It is that if you are found, no matter how quiet you are, you may not be OK. It may simply be that you are told to leave. It may be that you are arrested. In a city, especially, you may be in physical danger. It may be someone who wants to rob you; it may be someone who wants to sexually assault you; it may just be a crazy person. Your age will make you particularly vulnerable to assault ether while hitching or while camping. (By the way, will you be 18 or older when you arrive?)

You may hear stories about people who are successful, but you probably don't hear about people who had serious trouble. One of the biggest problems with trying to hitch is that you make wait hours or even a couple of days to get a ride. Your couch surfing host may not look vet anywhere near public transit, so you have to consider that.

The drinking no age in the US is 21, so you won't be able to buy alcohol.

You might want to see if there is someone else on ntetedted in that Kate nod of trip on the Travl Companions branch here.

Yes, I will be 18 when arriving and I know that legal age to drink and buy alcohol is 21 in the US but it's not a problem for me since I dont drink alcohol (and Im not going to as an adult). So are you suggesting that I should just tell that I'm visiting family in NJ area? I wouldn't mind finding a travel companion, I'd even prefer to be with someone but it's barely possible to find someone Polish to go to the US with me for 2 months, it's rather more possible to find someone out here I guess.

In order to "wild camp" you would have to rent a car. It is possible to rent a car if you are 18 but the cost will be a little higher. Wild camping here is like camping in a national forest which is possible for up to 14 days in any vacant and suitable spot (not in a campground).

I "wild camped" once in a city park in Pensacola and was evicted by a police officer in the middle of the night. That's what you would face.

Visiting family in New Jersey or Florida is a perfectly legitimate reason to come to the US. It would also be reasonable to assume that someone going to New Jersey would also visit New York City and possibly Boston or Washington DC.

Another thing they care about is that you definitely plan to return to Poland. Having applied to university shows that intention. So would the fact that you have friends and family in Poland. Be sure you have a good answer about how you plan to support yourself while in the US, such as savings or a graduation gift of money.

Do you guys think that if I act quiet and wise, I will successfully avoid getting into troubles? I'm not even asking whether it's legal

Well, you should be asking if it's legal. In many areas, it is not. As noted above, you may be arrested; many towns and cities have ordinances against sleeping in public spaces. Even if there isn't an ordinance, you could be accosted for other reasons (ever seen First Blood?). In other areas, you may find some irate landowner with a shotgun coming after you for trespassing. Or you may not see them coming before they let you know you're not welcome.

In the limited areas where it is legal, namely certain federal lands like national forests--but not national parks--you may not be able to reach them, and even if you could, you could potentially find yourself very far out of the way such that getting back or beyond will be very difficult. Those areas tend to have very low traffic.

Also, it is against forum guidelines to advise on illegal activities, so I suggest sticking to couchsurfing or other legal options.

People in the USA have a high degree of firearms aka gun ownership. They shoot you dead if you camp on their land.
You are asking about a illegal and totally stupid plan. Do something like greentortoise.com. We really don´t want to promote a tragedy.

In poker and visa/immigration situations, don't try to bluff the professionals. These pros can read your "tells" of body language, appearance, type of baggage, and general emotional state, and it will not be to your advantage. If they have any doubts they can have you open your luggage or do a thorough search. They can absolutely turn you around. As nuktraxforthenerves points out in #5 above, your visa simply allows you to present yourself for examination at a border point and request entry to the US by the customs/immigration authorities. It also protects the airline for being fined for bringing an unauthorized person to the US.

Hitchhiking is just not done in 2017, for excellent reasons, especially by the young and female. Unfortunately for the nomadic and romantic, times have changed since Kerouac and "On the Road." Picking up hitchhikers is also , again unfortunately, a bad idea now. For me it gets parked, along with riding freight trains, on the list of "Kinda dumb stuff I did once but don't do anymore."

So, your are visiting friends and relatives. Be able to tell them which people, and provide phone numbers. Yes, they can call the numbers you provide, so don't try to surprise those friends and relatives.

Greentortise sounds like a good option.

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