Multiple visits to USA
I have visited Los Angeles, USA on 3 long stays using the ESTA programme, purely as a visitor. I have a British Citizen passport. The stays began in September 2012 and I left the last time in August 2013. My stays were for 79-85 days each time. My quandary is because I was stopped the last time I entered the US in May 2013 on the 3rd of these visits as they were so frequent, but they still did not deny me entry. I was advised by the Transit Authority Officer at the airport that I should leave "6 months or even better a year" after returning home to the UK, before returning again last August, or to obtain, a Visitors visa for the next times. They said that I'd "abused" the ESTA, although still granting me entry. I had used 2 ESTAS in these 3 visits. There was 32 days and then 7 weeks or so between visits back home in London.
I would like to visit there again, this February, but because of the above, I cannot tell if I would be allowed in to the country. I know it'd be better to wait until this August, then after a year, but I'd prefer to go now and would try to obtain the visitors visa, if only I could be more sure of entry. I'd also like to stay longer than 3 months as well if I obtain a visitors visa successfully. So, if I tried to enter the USA this February, with a visitors visa do you think I'd be allowed entry?
Best Answer
Nobody will be able to give you a definitive answer on this, but I suspect that you'd still be at high risk of being denied entry even if you switch from ESTA to a visitor visa. Alternatively, you might be denied the visitor visa, which would save you the hassle of flying there in the short term, but is a major problem in the long term: you'll be disqualified from ESTA for life and will need to explain why you were denied entry in all US visa applications forevermore.
My rationale: the reason they're not happy is that you've been spending an awful lot of time -- ~240 days in a year, if my math is right? -- in the US "purely as a visitor", and that has obviously set off alarm bells. If you get a visitor visa (B-2 or equivalent, I presume), you're still "purely a visitor" and still don't have a good explanation of why you're spending so much time there, so CBP will suspect you're up to no good (working illegally, planning to elope with your girlfriend etc and become an illegal immigrant, etc) and may deny you entry. You're at particularly high risk because you've already been verbally warned, so there's definitely going to be a red flag waiting in the database for you.
I would recommend you either a) heed their advice and stay out until August, or b) apply for a different class of visa that gives you a legitimate reason to be in the US (work, study, fiance, etc).
Update: So now you tell us you were in the US for medical treatment? That's a perfectly legitimate reason to apply for and get a B-2 visitor visa (see under "Travel for Medical Treatment"), so you should definitely get one, and then you should be fine.
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Can I visit USA multiple times?
You can travel through the U.S. mostly for as long and as many times as you want. You just have to make sure you leave before your required return date.How many times can I visit USA in one year?
There is no limit on the number of times you may enter the U.S. under either ESTA of a visa. However, if reentering the U.S. using ESTA soon after staying for nearly 90 days, you can expect to be questioned in detail by the immigration officer about the purpose of your visit.How many times a year can you visit us with a tourist visa?
One of the most popular tourist visas is the US B1/B2 visa, which allows for a maximum stay of 1 year. Ultimately, however, the amount of time you can spend in the US is at the discretion of the consular officer who interviews you at the US embassy.Can a visitor stay in USA for more than 6 months?
When you enter the U.S., a customs officer will give you authorization to stay in the U.S. for up to six months. If you'd like to stay for longer, you may be able to apply to extend this for up to one year.How frequently can I visit the United States as a B-1 or B-2 visitor?
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Answer 2
Whether you can support yourself in the US without the need to work is irrelevant to this, as when you're a visitor, you are supposed to be visiting. This means you must have a main home outside the US that you intend to return to (that's what they look for).
Your lengthy US stays and short trips "home" show that you do not consider your home in the UK your main home anymore (you're hardly ever there!). So you're not a visitor, and very likely to be denied entry.
Since you don't need to work, go somewhere else for a while - Canada is nice in the summer, Mexico nice in the winter, if you want to stay in North America. Both allow a 180 day stay per entry for a UK citizen, better than the 90 days of ESTA.
New Zealand and Australia are nice also! I can understand wanting to be outside the UK (especially this winter), but California is not the only place with nice weather, good healthcare, or with an American lifestyle. Stay away from the US for a while, then just visit.
If you don't need to work or run a business, and if you don't have family in the US, there is essentially no practical route to a US residence visa (other than marriage). So give up on the idea of trying to live in the US, especially as a repeat "visitor", and explore the rest of the world. Some of it is nicer!
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