Extend 6 month visitor stay?

Hello anyone who can help. I am Canadian and have been in New York as a "visitor" for close to 6 months, and I've been told that if I go back to Canada that I may not be allowed to re-enter the US during the same 12-month period. Is this correct?

What if when I attempt to re-enter the US, I come with my TN visa application, and therefore will then be entering with a work visa? Then will they allow me back in - providing they approve my application and documents?

Or should I try to extend my "visitor" stay past the 6-months with the USCIS while I'm still in the US?

Do you suggest that I definitely leave at or before the 6 months are up to avoid any problems? Or are they ok with Canadians staying past the 6 months as visitors as long as we're not working and are supporting ourselves? Or do I risk not being allowed back in if I don't leave before the 6 months?

SORRY for all the questions, I really don't know what to do, and I don't want to make the wrong decision.

Thank you in advance to anyone who can help me.much appreciated!

If you stay beyond the 6 months allowed, you risk being banned from re-entering for a period of time at the discretion of the POE.

If you have an opportunity for a TN visa, take it. Leave the US before your 6 months is up, and then come back and apply for the TN. If you are properly qualified and have all your ducks in a row, you should be good to go.

It's very hard for Canadians in B-2 classification to renew that status, there has to be an exceptional reason and given that Canada is not that far away it's hard to get it. Usually it's granted because the person has fallen ill, been kidnapped or something weird like that.

The only exception that might be relevant is the "co-habiting" partner exception, i.e. if you're living with someone there on a work visa you can stay with them as long their visa is valid.

Bear in mind that time in the US in some other category counts against those six months. If you were in the US for six months on a TN-1 in a calendar year, then left and tried to enter on B-2 technically they're not supposed to let you in.

The whole thing with Canadians is very iffy, because Canadians don't get an I-94 so there is no way of USCIS knowing when you left, plus the courts have ruled that simply overstaying in B-1 or B-2 status shouldn't count towards the calculation of the term of a ban on entry for Canadian citizens.

My personal view is that as DHS continues to come up with more and more regulations under the WHTI, your odds of overstaying and getting away with it are going to progressively decrease.

Lots of employers for example never bother with the I-9, but Arizona (and I think New Mexico) now has a State law requiring the verification of social security numbers on the E-verify system. Plus ICE has been ramping up prosecutions of companies that fail to collect the I-9s.

All visa applications going through Toronto now require a DS-157, which was hardly ever required in the past.

And so on.

So be wary of people telling you their grandad retired to Florida and never got pulled up on it by INS, because I think those days will shortly be in the past.

Thank you Reba and Steven for the information.

On another note, I am wondering if I were to have gone to Canada by car while I was in the US - would there have been any record of that? If so, theoredically, I could have been in Canada for 3 of the 6 months and still have 3 more months in the US? How would anyone know the difference?.

Also, do you know if there's any restrictions on the sponsorsing company of my TN Management Consultant visa - i.e. is there a minimum of employee's, revenue per year or years in business clause?

Thank you again for the info - your time is very much appreciated!

If your passport was scanned at the crossing, then they'll have record of you. Or if it is a not very busy crossing, they may remember you.

reba: I think his point was that how would the US know exactly when he leaves since he doesn't talk to them on his way back to Canada.

The only way is if Canada shares information with the US about your entry back into Canada. Typically when I have returned to Canada via land border, there's no request for my birth certificate, driver's license, passport, etc., so other than the license plate on your car, Canada has no specific information about who is coming back in that case.

So, I think at the current time it's unlikely you would run into any problems staying more then 6 months in the US if you cross via land border especially if you're not getting into trouble in the US (speeding tickets, etc.). But as others have said, who knows how long this will be the case and it's probably not recommended.

Does anyone know if Canada and US even share this information? Every time I've entered Canada from the US the officer at the Cdn border takes my passport and I've assumed it was scanned.

BTW - I really miss Shreddies too!

Considering they share police records for criminal records, I'd think they have the ability to share border crossing information as well. I know at airports they know when you're coming and going and how often, no idea about land crossings though.

Depends on the specific law and what the purpose is, they can share things like manifests under the various anti-terrorism laws so they will at least have your name and the date you entered the US on both sides of the border. Date you came back to Canada though going through a land border? Hmm, I don't think they do. Not yet anyway. But from what I've read about the WHTI I think they will start keeping track next year.

The Border Patrol have access to the USCIS entry records too, so if you get caught in a spotcheck in the US (which can happen e.g. on ferries near the border or roads near the border) they will know how long you have been in the country.

In regards to the US having record of when Canadians re-enter Canada and vice versa via land crossing, what about when we re-enter at the airport? For example, when I fly back into Canada I don't believe that I go through US authorities that stamp or scan my passport and make record that I am leaving the US and entering Canada, therefore, when I re-enter the US, would they even know how long I was there the last time?

I'm just really worried about over staying my 6-month visitor allowance, and I would really like to stay 2 additional weeks to complete my paperwork. Therefore, I am wondering if it's feasible to think that if I fly back 2 weeks late, then re-enter with my TN application, that they won't even know that I overstayed 2 extra weeks because they wouldn't even have record of when I left - is this correct?.