Official Government Website Stating 6 Months Stay Per Year

I know this topic has been beaten to death and we all know that Canadians are only allowed to stay in the US for 6 months in total every year. However my dumb employer, a Chinese tech company, is trying to have me come to the US for 6 months, leave for a week, and go back to the US. I need to show them that is impossible and stated so by the authorities, preferably an US or Canadian government website. I have looked everywhere (US Embassy website, CBP, etc) with no luck. Best I can find (on the US Embassy website) states: "Canadian visitors are generally granted a stay in the U.S. for up to six months at the time of entry" which does not help me because that sounds like every time I cross the border, I get 6 months in the States. I really appreciate the help!

6 Months in the States, 6 months in Canada, then 6 months in the States, then 6 months in Canada. One week away then 6 months in the States again won't fly at the border. Kapeesh?

If your company is suggesting you do this, then I would be weary of working for them.

Besides, that is for visitors, not workers.

Dremani thanks for the info but I know I can't do that and needs to prove it to my employer. It's an Asian company so they have no idea what they are doing. However, I need a government website link that states this explicitly. Know where I can find that?

Yes.

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/ ... 2ca60aRCRD

Not exactly it since the website says there is the possibility of staying a full year. Thanks for looking though.

Which your company would then need to file the appropriate paperwork for you to qualify for a business visa (for work) purposes.

It'd be best they did the proper research as to not jeopardize your legal status in the U.S. If not then they should consult legal counsel so everyone is in the know as to what should be done. While there is a possibility of staying for a full year, the proper legal status needs to be appropriated so you are able to travel as such without any indiscretions.

Entry is determinred by CBP, not CIS, so there si little value in what CIS says on this.

The NAFTA handbook on B1 entry (since this is business visitor entry, and better be described as such when spreaking to the offcier), can be for upto one year;

http://spatialnews.geocomm.com/features ... ftahan.pdf

This is the CBP manual, and has all the citations you need.

But, not that it is *can* be allowed in. Typically, the CBP will not admit for 1 year at a time, and unless you have an I-94 that gives you that year, you are considered undocumented B1, which is six months only (The CBP officer who posts on this board may confirm that I-94s in B-1 are or are not given for more than six months, I recall him saying that they are only six months currently.)

So, in your predicament, having entered undocumented for business purposes, you can't stay more than six months per stay.

and, yes, it is always maximum six months per stay, not total days of all stays. Those limits come from other factors, like tax and provincial healthcare issues.

I would also be looking at the activities that you were sent down to perform (given the firms lack of immigration knowledge) and see if you are indeed performing legal B-1 work (that is also described in the handbook).

Thanks for clearing that up. Typically business / visitor is a 6 month stay. But the employer would need to prove business purpose however, no?

Thanks for clearing that up. Typically business / visitor is a 6 month stay. But the employer would need to prove business purpose however, no?

Indeed. The employer, or better yet the employee.

Our poster has already questioned the integrity and knowledge of his employer, so, if I were him, I would be making sure that what I'm doing is legal, not just the duration of stay. it will be him that his locked out of US for 10 years; the employer can alwys find someone else when that happens.

For now though, he needs to leave US within 6 months of last entry. Period.