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USA Visa

2K views 15 replies 6 participants last post by  billyruffn 
#1 · (Edited)
Hi, We are preparing for our next leg; New Zealand to Sitka. We have our Visas. What a drama. We would like to spend the winter in Juneau but have been told a visa would only be issued for 6 months. Then we would have to cross the border into Canada for a few days and then return in order to get another 6 months. There are 5 of us, so flying would be an expensive exercise. So Question 1: Can you drive across the border from Juneau to Whitehorse and get a stamp? Question 2: Can you get a 12 month stamp?
Thanks in advance Paul
 
#2 ·
Ferry to Haines? But it may have seasonal limitations that wouldn't work for you, or there may be weather cancellations, so maybe direct contact with local folks will tell you the winter situation.

Alaska Marine Highway System :: Official Site :: Alaska DOT&PF

Ferry Travel.com - Book the ferry to Haines; All major Alaska, BC & Washington Ferries plus most major European Ferry Crossings online.

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Q: Is it possible to drive to Haines in the winter?
A: Yes, the Haines Highway is well ploughed on both the Canada and USA side of the border. However it is wise to factor in the possibility of some delays in winter and always travel prepared to spend the night in your car (sleeping bags, food, water, etc)
 
#3 ·
Be careful. We had an employee (Australian citizen in the US) do this several years ago and when she tried to re-enter the US, they denied her. She sat in Canada for nearly a week sorting it out. Maybe work visas are different, because I don't recall this being necessary every six months. Still, the re-entry process to the US is not simple since 9/11. At least half the time I fly back in through customs, I feel treated like a criminal. And I live here!!
 
#4 ·
Times have changed. You can't do a visa trip accross the boarder into Canada and back again. You need to be out of the USA for two weeks. You maybe OK if it's 10 days.
I flew out of New York last year to Australia for 10 or 11 days and was fine.

The chances of getting a full 6 months when you come back is not very great. When I came back in they gave me 6 months, but I had only used 3 months of my previous 6 month entry. So my total time in the USA was 9 months. The immigration guy said I would have great difficulty getting back into the USA in under two years. Subsequently I found out they have a guide line of 9 months in 20 months.. Yes, weird amounts!
Anyway, I wouldn't bank on getting 12 months. In fact, I wouldn't plan on it at all... Plan for two weeks in Canada, and then back for a total USA time of 9 months.

Mark :)
 
#5 ·
Last time I was in Juneau I was told there were 22 miles of paved road and they did not leave town, so your only options in or out are boat or plane, unless you are hiking. FWIW.

Paul, you don't mention what citizenship(s) you all have, that will of course affect your options.
 
#7 ·
That lost something in translation. Your visa is a 10-year multi-entry type but is only good for six months?

What type of visa is it? "Type" in the formal sense, i.e. type B-2 ?

They can get quite complicated, depending on whether a visa is required, what the purpose of your visit is...and without referencing a specific visa type, there's a good chance someone won't know what applies to the one that's been issued to you.
 
#8 ·
hellosailor visa type is b1/b2 and its a multi entry visa the form is a DS160 and when it is issued it will be good for 5 or 10 years. When we arrive in the US the customs officer will
issue a stamp for an allocated time ie 6 or 12 months but I believe they have only being giving 6 months at a time but I don't know this for sure.
Regards Paul
 
#9 · (Edited)
From what I found online, apparently three to six months is the default period, which is supposed to be set to match the purpose of your trip, i.e. to give you enough time to conclude your business or tour. And knowing our bureaucrats, they wouldn't let a dangerous Australian have anything besides "the usual" simply to protect themselves from being told "that's not what we do". The phrase here is "CYA" and no, that's not a nautical club.

Country Reciprocity Schedule

But our State Department indicates they have a one-year reciprocity with Australia on visa entries, which would appear to mean that you CAN be allowed one year on the first entry, if you can explain why you need one year, why you're not a threat, and the man stamping the passport knows how to count that high.

I'd suggest corresponding with our State Department, explaining that this is a recreational vessel and your travel simply is s l o w and to a remote area, and confirm that twelve months is both appropriate "from what I have read on your web site" (i.e. prompt them along) and suitable. If you can get that acknowledged, bring the letter or printouts in with you, and let the ICE guy see it and read it before they stamp you in. Assuming that you actually get acknowledgement that 12 months is acceptable.

That doesn't guarantee they will, but usually if these folks see something in writing "from upstairs" they will go along with it. Once anything has actually been STAMPED and put in writing--these guys are extremely reluctant to override or change it. If they indicate they don't do 12 months, ask politely to see a supervisor, again show him the papers. And of course, let the supervisor know Juneau is landlocked. Most Americans have no idea how things are in Alaska and the very idea of a state capital being that isolated is unthinkable.

Then when you get to Juneau, you can let them explain why the bronze outside is of three pelicans in a state where those don't fly, either.<G>
 
#12 · (Edited)
Cruising permit is for 12 months but the humans only get 6 months at a time and I haven't heard anyone getting 2 x 6 months in 12 months.

If I had heard of it then all the Australians would have 12 months in the USA in their cruising year, wouldn't they?

The USA is not unusual in doing this. In fact the USA is more liberal than most other countries.... EU 3 months in 6 months, same with Turkey, Thailand has changed to a similar thing where visa trips over the boarder no longer suffice. Indonesia is the same with a penalty of boat forfeiture!

So getting 6 months in a block is good! Getting 12 months is not being offered anywhere that I can readily think of. Nine months is great!

So with the USA if you do 6 months in on a B2 (of the B1/B2 visa) visa then you will need to go out for a reasonable amount of time, more than 10 days (I think it says 14 days) before you go back in.... But when you get back in I doubt you'll get a full 6 months... Perhaps more like three months to take your time in the USA to 9 months in 20 months.

The only way I can think of to try to squeeze the Americans would be to stay as long as you can, do a international trip, and then go for a visa extension when back in the USA pleading to wait for the end of Hurricane season (etc). That's fine if you get it, but if you don't get it you must leave immediately.
BTW the visa extension takes 6 weeks and during that time you can stay if your entry time has expired. So one shouldn't apply for it too early! But the what happens if you are declined?

As a final point, one should never piss off the Damn Yankees because the USA is so good for flying into and out of when cruising, particularly for Australians, particularly when cruising the Caribbean and Central and South America... So if one plays silly buggers with the USA Immigration laws and you get the big red DECLINED stamp in your passport not only can't you use the USA to fly through but many other countries won't like you either! Excepts, Venuzalea, Cuba, Iran and North Korea...... :laugher
 
#13 ·
Sounds like they could only stay longer on one of those "critical business" work visas. You know, like kangaroo kontrol in Juneau. I heard the infestation is absolutely horrible, and none of the locals have any idea of how to katch them.

If you think it can't happen...when I was in grade school local shop, jokingly, wrote "alligators in basement" on their electric bill. For YEARS after that, the meter readers would not go into the basement unaccompanied to read the meter. Because it said right there "alligators in basement" and they knew that was an urban myth but IT SAID SO RIGHT THERE.

IIRC Americans are limited to two years in Oz even if they are there for critical employment so as you say, limits are not unusual. Still, sometimes it pays to contact the folks who are petty diplomats, and sometimes these things can be changed from "usual" to "a bit better". Now that overseas phone calls cost two cents a minute instead of five dollars...it doesn't hurt so much to ask.

But first I'd call around in Juneau to get the buzz about the 'roo infestation going.<G>
 
#14 ·
Sounds like they could only stay longer on one of those "critical business" work visas. You know, like kangaroo kontrol in Juneau. I heard the infestation is absolutely horrible, and none of the locals have any idea of how to katch them.

G>
LOL!
I'm not sure if that's even the B1 part of the B1/B2 visa.
The B1 bit is for doing business meetings, buying and selling etc in the USA but I think for employment, either normally, or critical trades, its something else again.

We need an immigration official who sails! But I don't think they want all their rules and guidelines published because I think they want to have a discretionary ability to filter out people who look like dills.

I comb my hair and wear non cruiser clothes! :eek:
 
#16 · (Edited)
You might consider wintering over in Prince Rupert, BC. Don't know what the visa issues for you might be in Canada, but PR is no more than a week's cruise south of Juneau, so getting back to SE Alaska is not big deal.

The only thing I found difficult about entering Canada was that they were very strict on the quantity of adult beverages permitted. When I entered from Alaska I had just stocked up on wine and beer in Ketchitkan. I also had 8-10 bottles of rum in the bilge left over from the Caribbean. I was issued a "warning" and told to NEVER enter Canada again with so much booze on board. The discussion with customs on the booze issue took 20 minutes or so, whereas the discussion on the customs entry of the rifle (bear gun) I was carrying took 2 minutes. Go figure. In the post-9/11 environment I was pleased to see Canada had their priorities right.

Have a nice (long) voyage. :)
 
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