How long can I really stay in the US?

Where do I start?????
Do I really need to say this every other day because someone from Canada feels they are above US Laws?

PORTICO, sure you can stay six months, leave for a couple of weeks, and then re-enter for another six months. Only problem is, I will eventually catch you and ban you from coming to this country forever. I enforce our LAWS and do not care why you are coming down, I only care about enforcing our LAWS. If you do not like the fact that you cannot live here, don't come here. Our country will survive just fine without your great financial support that you give us. I'm truly tired of listening to people say they are doing the USA a favor by spending their money here...it really doesn't boost our ecomomy. So in ending, if you wish to ignore the advice here and ignore an Officer who tells you that you cannot live here, you will eventually be barred from the USA.

Maybe I can answer this a hundred more times. People only listen to what they want to hear.

101 times maybe & a strong arm "I will ban you"

OK, so you enforce based on a pure black & white law - the state dept laws, is that it - which law is that?

Is it the US state department & its immigration law that wont allow a Canadian who is self sufficient, is not dependant on any social welfare of the US, does not take any jobs, does not invest - are you telling me & everyone else 102 times that a under those circumstances - the US wont, whatever, ever, under any circumstanes let a Canadian in on a rotating 183 day pass?

And why would you LAWS ban someone that doesn't appear to have broken which ever law that is?

I woud like to see or get the reference link to that law of the department of state.

As for the chump change comment - was that your personal opinion?

It is quite simple! It really comes down to the POE officer. Some may just keep u letting you in , then during 1 visit they don't!! And just like here--they don't have to give you a reason or back it up! You can sit and scream at the POE officer, but it won't help! You get the nice denied entry or worse a ban! You then get to choose if you want to fight the ban! And you can probably guess they take a Long time! You can type away at the computer all you want. Its not really going to change anything. People have posted and tried to assist you. You can do as you please with the info.

One just never knows what going to happen at the POE. Friend of mine had some kind of criminal record, can't recall what it was. By the book, he should NOT have been able to enter the USA! he was a new long haul trucker and he made a fair # if trips into the USA. Then, you guessed it, on 1 visit a POE officer, noticed his criminal record in the system and denied him entry into the USA.

No 1 on here truly cares what you do. Posters provide the info and we carry on with our life. Best of luck

Amen. One needs to weigh the risk of a ban in order to do something stupid (or vitally important, or for true love) vs. a long-term ban. Weigh the "need" to be with your newly found internet boyfriend, vs never being able to go for vacation/job/marriage in US (without a $$ legal remediation).

And the laws that would be broken, is visiting US for purposes other than visiting, and misrepresenting oneself at the border while doing so.

"Is it the US state department & its immigration law that wont allow a Canadian who is self sufficient, is not dependant on any social welfare of the US, does not take any jobs, does not invest - are you telling me & everyone else 102 times that a under those circumstances - the US wont, whatever, ever, under any circumstanes let a Canadian in on a rotating 183 day pass?

You just don't get it, and never will. You think it's okay to break the Law because in YOUR eyes you are harmless. Under this idiotic belief, everyone in the world should be allowed to live here as long as they are self sufficient. I don't need to give you the section of law as you would only express your own idiology that your self sufficient, thus allowed to live where ever you want. I did not strong arm you, only give you the facts that clearly do not want to hear. Keep searching the Internet until you get someone to agree with you, then you will feel that your right. If you do not like the correct info, go to a site where you can get the wrong info.

And why would you LAWS ban someone that doesn't appear to have broken which ever law that is?

I think the most common reasons why someone would be barred would be if either they have accumulated too much unlawful presence time (staying beyond an I-94 expiration date) or they lie in attempting to gain entry to the USA.

If someone is honest when attempting to gain entry, but simply doesn't qualify for the status being applied for, they usually will be denied entry but not permanently barred.

One thing Canadians often don't understand is that the USA has traditionally had very strict entry requirements as compared to other Western nations. Canadians have traditionally had a lot of special privileges at the USA border that other countries do not enjoy but, as always, a privilege can be lost if it is abused.

Prior to the late 1980's, Canadians were the only nationality to not require a visa to enter the USA. Indeed Canadians required neither a passport nor a visa whereas all other countries--including very close US allies--all required both a passport and a visa. In the late 1980's the USA introduced its Visa Waiver Program allowing some other countries to enter without a visa. But a passport was still required and the privileges were still much more limited than for Canadians.

Post-9/11 the rules have gotten tighter again, so that Canadians do need a passport to enter the USA (or an enhanced driver's license by land). However, Canadians still enjoy many privileges at the border that no other country enjoys:

--Canadians in many occupations can apply for work permission in so-called "TN" status and have it issued on the spot.

--Canadians who qualify to stay longer in the USA (eg student and work status holders) can apply for that status directly at the border without going through the more cumbersome consulate visa procedures.

--Canadians can stay for up to 6 months as tourists without a visa (as opposed to 3 months for visa waiver countries).

--Canadians entering as tourists usually don't need to be fingerprinted.

--Canadians entering as tourists usually don't get I-94 cards--a courtesy which affords more flexibility on the departure date but, again, this courtesy should not be abused.

--Canadians entering as tourists don't need an ESTA authorization--thereby avoiding a cost and minor inconvenience that most other countries have to go through.

--Canadians from at least four provinces can enter by land with an "enhanced driver's license" which is less expensive and easier to get than a passport.

The days when a Canadian could just show up at the US border and be waved through without even showing ID are, likely, forever behind us. But Canadians still enjoy a lot of privileges at the border which most countries do not have. Some Canadians seem to feel that because of the tradition of friendship between the two nations, it should be OK to just stay indefinitely in the USA without rules. However, IMHO part of being a friend means that you don't overstay your welcome. Although occasionally an overzealous CBP person does go overboard in enforcing the law, most regulations seem reasonable in the post-9/11 era. The attempt is to strike a balance between the US need to protect itself from those who might use Canada as a steppingstone on their way to do harm to the USA--and the need to keep travel as convenient as possible between the two countries.

Cdns don't get visas, they get status. Status can be extended by filing an I-539 with USCIS.

here is another senerio....I left Canada for the US on oct 18th 2011...then on Jan 18th 2012 went to Mexico ...Feb 11th 2012 returned back to the states...normally i would have been back home on april 18th..my question is... can I stay in the US 24 days longer for the time i was in Mexico. thanks

Technically, you can stay another 183 days from the time you last entered.

The time you stayed in mexico has no bearing on how long you can stay now. The fact you left, wipes out all previous time, and re-starts it.

Now, if you stay very long this time, counting since February, then this will impact the NEXT time you re-enter, but for now, on this entry, you have been in US less 35 days of a new maximum of 183.

Also, you are getting close to thelimit on your provincial healthcare

Thanks for you advice.....I am thinking of staying till middle of may.....then return for nov and dec . this yr.
hopefully that will be no problem . Have a great day

I heard from a friend, who learned through the Canadian Snowbirds Association, that CPB does not recognize interruptions in a visit to the US unless the traveller is absent for at least 30 days. Can anyone enlighten my on this subject? In my case, I entered the US mid October to winter in Florida, returned to Canada for 10 days in December and another 10 days in February. To conform with the 183 day rule, should I return to Canada mid April, or could I stay in Florida until early May if I chose? I have searched through the CPB website and cannot find anything to substantiate the 30 day rule.