Simple visitor visa question - please help

[kedrex]

Hello,

My parents are in the US with their visitor visa. The visa validity is for 10 years with the current I-94 stamped until October. We plan to visit Canada for Niagara Falls.

Question is: While coming back to US, would they have any problem - something like there needs to be a certain gap before a person can re-enter on the visitor visa although it may be valid for 10 years? I was worried about it because this could be a simple workaround for people on visitor visa to extend their stay beyond 6 months at a time - just go to Canada/Mexico and come back.

They do have their return ticket to India set for August.

Thanks for the help.

[imbond707@yahoo.com]

My Mom has 10 years visitor visa. Last year we drove to Canada while her I-94 was still valid for couple of months. While coming back she was not issued a new I-94. So I guess short trips outside US by road doesn't count as departure so there is no need to issue a new I-94 while coming back.

This is my personal experience. This is not a legal advice.

[vactorboy29]

I think to enter into Canada other tan US CITIZEN or green card holder needs visa. If you have Canadian visa then ignore my message.

[m306m]

Originally Posted by kedrex

Hello,

My parents are in the US with their visitor visa. The visa validity is for 10 years with the current I-94 stamped until October. We plan to visit Canada for Niagara Falls.

Question is: While coming back to US, would they have any problem - something like there needs to be a certain gap before a person can re-enter on the visitor visa although it may be valid for 10 years? I was worried about it because this could be a simple workaround for people on visitor visa to extend their stay beyond 6 months at a time - just go to Canada/Mexico and come back.

They do have their return ticket to India set for August.

Thanks for the help.

If your parents are from India (and the dont have a GC) they will need a visa to enter Canada. Please refer to the Canadian consulate to determine which citizenships require Canadian Visa. Also, there is no stipulation that a visitor must be outside the US for 'x' days before they can re-enter (my Mom is an Indian Citizen visiting me on a US visa and she just returned from a trip to Canada - she was in Canada for 6 days).

To answer your work around question. You will not get a re-entry stamp of 6 months when you get back from Canada. So suppose your parent got a 6 month stamp when they initially entered the US. They stayed with you for 2 months and then decided to visit Canada for 4 days. When they re-enter the US, the IO will most likely stamp the I-94 for the remaining 4 months not for an additional 6 months.

Now if your parents were to stay in the US for the 6 months that they were allotted then went back to India for 6 weeks and decided to comeback to the US. There is a significant possibility that that IO at the port of entry in the US will not grant them another 6 month visa. With sufficient Convinceing a 1 month visa is more likely. So there is a implicit time frame that you need to be out of the US after finishing you 6 month stay before you can request an other 6 month visa. My parents usually visit me every year and stay for 6 months. Based on this I would speculate that the implicit time frame to get a 6 month visa stamp (after completing a prior 6 month period) is to stay outside the US for 9 months to a year. [I have added this information to clarify my comments in the first paragraph]

Hope this helps.

[reddog]

Originally Posted by vactorboy29

I think to enter into Canada other tan US CITIZEN or green card holder needs visa. If you have Canadian visa then ignore my massage.

I have a valid US Visa, can I get a free massage?

[vactorboy29]

thanks for pointing that (message)