Live in US lawfully without a visa? How 6 months caculated?

I am a Canadian citizen.

(1) I've heard I am allowed to stay in the states only 6 months every year? BUT HOW CAN THEY CALCULATE THIS 6 MONTHS? From each Jan.? Or from the first time you enter US, then every 6 months is counted as a cycle? Where is the official explanation for this rule? On US immigration's web site? Where's the page link? Thx!

(2) Does US border officer record the day when you enter or leave US? Stamp the day on your passport or just in their computer database? If they know you have lived in US for more than 6 months without visa will you be denied entry permanently in the future when you want to enter until you have a visa? Where is the detailed explanations for this rule?

(3) I am doing some online business like eBay. I recently find it is evident USA is a FAR MORE better place than Canada to conduct such kind of "self-employed" business. As this business has no company, no record, and is tax free, I don't think I can apply any valid visa on this that would permit me to live there long. Any non-job related visa I can apply? Is there any way out?

See the sticky thread posted at the top of the forum.

If you still have questions after reading all the website links ask away.

Hi

i still cant find answers to my specific question. Could you explain a bit here? Thx1

It's based on the number of days, IIRC, I think it's 183 days. No they can't keep track exactly of how many days you've spent in the US, which is one of the reasons behind the new passport requirement to cross the border and the machine-readable passport requirement which all goes into the DHS computer system so they can track the number of days.

If you spend more than 183 days in the US in any calendar year, you break the law essentially.

This is the reason the US is making such a stink about the whole passport issue, but they don't say it publicly often because they don't want to explain in great detail how they keep track of people in the US for security reasons.

Yes but Canadian citizens will only have their passports checked when they are entering the US, so essentially they have no way to track when you leave. So if you cross back into Canada for a visit of some sort, then enter back into the US, how would they ever determine the total # of days spent there during the year? Just trying to figure it out also.would never dream of working the system!

so essentially they have no way to track when you leave

Yet. They're working on it. That's one of the reasons for the passports at land crossings requirement that comes into effect soon. There are about 1,100 Canadians deported every year. (As opposed to 140,000 Mexicans, ).

When I lived in Florida I knew tons of Canadians who overstayed the 183 day requirement, however the big catch is that if you stay in the US for more than 183 days you become resident for tax purposes.

When you get back to the Canada side of the border and show your passport to Canada Customs they have record of that. The US can Canada have full sharing of records.

Trust me, they know when you're coming and going!

They won't record entry time or impose a passport until next Jan. 1 if you drive a car to enter with a proof of citizenship (ccc)?

Now only 3 months left for the last chance you can over stay 183 days in the states if you go NOT by air or sea.

Well it's irrelevant as you've already discovered, I was going by what my neighbours used to tell me when I lived in Florida, I've never tried staying more than 183 days without a visa. But anyway, it's 183 days maximum per visit, not total. On NBC last night they actually had a story about retirees taking advantage of the Canadian dollar so it's obviously common.

So yes I can move my tax residency to Nevada at some point and save a ton of tax, thank God.

The real question I now have is, how the heck do you get a DL if you have no I-94? Most States (including Nevada) require it. I think you can voluntarily get an I-94, it costs $6 if you go in by land. However that is useless because most States require it to be an I-94 valid for more than 183 days, yawn. So that means you have to maintain a Canadian DL, and if you do that, you're subject to Canadian tax.

Florida and Texas both have specific provisions for Canadians but Nevada doesn't.

Worth reading this too if you plan on staying in the US for any length of time: irs.gov/businesses/small/international/article/0,,id=96352,00.html

Canadians who enter in B-2 status can't accrue unlawful presence unless a determination has been made by an immigration judge. (Anyone interested in the cite: INA 212(a)(9)(B)(i)(I).)

The 183 days you are referring is actually 180 days. A person who is unlawfully present in the U.S. for more than 180 days consecutively will trigger a 3 year bar on re-entry into the U.S., when they depart the U.S. If its a year or more, then the penalty is 10 years. But again, Canadians don't trigger either bar as B-1/B-2 visitors, unless an immigration judge makes such a determination. I've never encountered this.