Extension of Stay?

So yesterday I was doing some more research on how I can avoid overstaying and such, and came across something interesting on the CBP Q&A site.

In an answer about Canadians traveling to the US it said:
"If you are from Canada, the length of stay for tourism is 6 months. Canadians may file for an extension of stay with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services."

So I went onto the USCIS and found another page where it says the same thing, and the "apply here" link takes you to the immigration forms. The most amount of info I got on it says to fill out an I-539, so when I looked at that application, it was only the instructions on how to apply for it. It also says that you have to fill it out before your I-94 expires. I didn't get an I-94 as the site even says, most Canadians don't receive one.

So here's what I'm curious about. Will it help my frequency of visits to ask for an I-94 to fill out, then apply for an extension of stay? Does anybody know about the conditions for applying for overstays? Or any experience at all about it?

Extensions of stay in B-2 are generally only granted for specific purposes which Canadians would have a hard time proving. The two main reasons they accept for an extension of stay (as a Canadian) are: co-habiting partner, i.e. you are living with someone who has a work permit, and the other main one is that you are receiving medical treatment that prevents you from being able to physically leave the country.

You can request an I-94 at the POE, there are various US laws that require a person to give an alien registration number which you won't have without an I-94. So if you were entering as a co-habiting partner it might be worth paying $6 and getting one, but it's not required.

The problem with B-2 extensions of stay applications for Canadians is that it's hard to make out a reason why you have to stay in the US, because say you have a family reason, why can't the family just visit you in Canada? It's not that far away.

Thanks Steve, that's some good info you gave me. I checked elsewhere also and was told that I probably wouldn't qualify for an extension of stay. Basically I just want to make sure that I don't overstay. My boyfriend lives in the states, and I've been visiting him a LOT. I'm not intending on immigrating there, but I don't want to get the door shut on my face next time I try to come down to visit him. Seeing as I'm not with another Canadian who has a work permit but a USC, do you think it would still be beneficial to pick up an I-94?

If you have already visited the US for 6 months this calendar year, applying while you're outside the US for an extension is not going to help you any. You have to be present in the US, and would have to be near your expiration date on your I-94 (or 6 months allowed visit).

You can't use an extension of stay just to go back and forth and continue to visit your boyfriend, nor can you use it with intent to immigrate. And they're not likely to give it to you just so you can stay to visit your boyfriend. That will more likely get you barred from re-entry until you have some sort of proper immigrant, or dual intent visa.

If the plan is for you to immigrate to the US, have your boyfriend sponsor you for a fiancee visa, or get married and have him sponsor you for a spouse visa. Either of them will take about a year to process before you can move to the US permanently, but you can make short visits during that time, and your boyfriend can always visit Canada.