maximum time allowed per year for Canadians visiting USA

I cannot find anything in writing and I get mixed stories at the boarder and from Nexus and from friends. Are Canadians allowed 6 months less a day in a calander year total ? Or is it revolving, ie. 6 months backwards from the day you are entering? Or is it 6 month continueously , in other words, you could spend 6 months come home for a day, and then return for another 6 months?
My wife and I own a condo in California and are worried she may spend more than 6 months during a calendar year.
Last question, is there anything in writing?

6 months per year. Be that 2 months here and there, or 6 months at one time. Why is she staying so long would be the major question. If you spend more time in the USA than in Canada, then you would be living in the USA.

In fact, there is no maximum time allowed to be in US on visitor status. Each entry however can only be for a maximum 6 months. So a visitor could enter for 180 days, go back for one day and re-enter again for another period.

That is why even our friendly POE-lurker is under that misconception.

Cdn are usually advised to not be outside Canada for more than six months per year (7 months if resident of Ontario) due to risk of losing prov healthcare.

Even once in US, a visitor is free to request CIS (by I-539) for an extension in B-2 status for an additional 6 months, which in most casesd will be approved.

So long as the visitor maintains his foreign abode and does nothing else to violate visitor status he cannot be denied entry just for having been in US "more" that lawsr likes.

Ah very good. But you forget that us Port-lurkers will not allow her back in if we feel that she is spending too much time in the USA.

"So a visitor could enter for 180 days, go back for one day and re-enter again for another period." This is great advice. agnelson must be an immigration Lawyer. (they know everything)

Doing so will likely get you refused, but us port-lurkers don't know anything.....lol.

Touchy, touchy, lawsr. I never doubted you were CBP, and now I'm even more sure.

Your supervisor would likey overturn your decision in a heartbeat if the Cdn has documantary evidence of domicile, or indeed if she took a lawyer.

But glad to see you went form "6 months per year" to "will will likely be refused". Careful, your heart is melting.

"Your supervisor would likey overturn your decision in a heartbeat if the Cdn has documantary evidence of domicile, or indeed if she took a lawyer."

Wrong. And Lawyers have less than no say at the border. You should not give advice to someone that may get them hung up at the border. She can indeed file for an extension, and that would be the way to go. Assuming that we would let her stay here by continuing to leave for a day and then return is completely wrong, as most Officers would not believe that she was actually maintaining a foreign residence.

My heart is melting? Its people like you that make people fear coming to the Border. I am here merely to to guide people in the right direction and not get hassled when they make entry. If you don't like my opinion, fine, im not here for you. The way USCIS handles things and the way we handle them at the POE is usually somewhat different.

And I think I was right about you being an Immigration Lawyer, because all you can do is quote the law books, but have no idea how its handled in the real world.

So, is it lawyers you don't like or just Cdns in general? I'm not a lawyer.

But glad to know the law means so little to you. I guess laws is not your middle name, just your first and last.

If I didn't like Canadians, I wouldn't be trying to help them.

And if I am correct, your comments were the negative ones. "port-lurkers"

So is it CBP you don't like, or our laws?

CBP.

At least you admitted that your initial statement that one could only visit US for six months was entirely fictitious.

You, like me "lurk" on this board. And you work at a POE. So, you are our POE lurker.

Your probably not the worst, but in this case, your opinion, which really is the only thing you are called on to give here, was wrong.

I have known several DOZENS of Canadians who were denied entry at the border because of previous length of stay and they tried to "flagpole" back over. US CBP is quite within their right to deny entry to anyone who is spending more time in the US than in their home country, whether that person is Canadian, Mexican, British, or African. It is entirely up to the CBP whether or not you can enter the US, even if you haven't been for any visit at all! And thinking otherwise is going to get you into trouble.

I think it's on the DOS website that says visits of up to 6 months are allowed, and it is up to the discretion of US CBP whether another visit of any length will be permitted. Or maybe the CBP website, I forget.

http://www.state.gov/
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/home.xml

Not jeopardizing your Canadian health benefits if you're out of the country for extended stay is another issue entirely.