Hi AllJust found this great site, first post.My wife and I are here on vacation from the UK to escape our rubbish winter (cold and wet). We are in a rented Class C 28 footer. All very nice, going great so far. Currently sat writing this in the sunshine in Palm Springs. :)We are here on the usual 90 day visa waiver program entry. But we would dearly love to be able to stay longer, as long as possible really, without becoming a permanent resident. We would happily up-sticks and live here but i doubt the U.S. government would be as happy about it as us!So I wondered if anybody here on the forums has any experience or knowledge of how we might go about getting visas to stay longer. B2 I think is the tourist visa we would need. But it is all very vague on the immigration web site. There is no indication of how long a B2 would actually give you, how long it lasts or what they would be looking for to go ahead and issue one. Other points are things like going out of the U.S. (say to Canada or Mexico, both of which give UK citizens a 6 month stay by default) and then returning to the US.Thanks in advanceHappy HolidayMark

Mark, Can't help on the visa issue, But I welcome you to the USA. May you truly enjoy your visit. And, Good Luck on getting an extension.Merry Christmas, Jim

Hey, Merry hohoho. We are also in Palm Springs for Christmas. We are Canadians and are on B2 visas otherwise known as the snowbird visa. Good for 6 months. Thing is, the way I understand it, (and I'm not an expert) you have to be outside the country to initiate any visa. I'm also not sure the eligibility of UK citizens for the B2 visa. I would recommend going to the immigration folks and asking there. I think you can do this in Palm Springs, otherwise pop down to Mexicali and talk to them there. When is your 90 day visa up. There are certainly nice places south of the border to visit, depending on the time of year your visa is up it might be a good place to hang out for the winter if you run out of time in the winter. Once spring comes there are certainly lots of places to visit in Canada and its an easy entry with a commonwealth passport. Where are you staying in Palm Springs? John and Angela.

Citizens of the UK can extend their B2 up to one year, the form (used to be?) I-539. The extension can take 45 to 60 days to process

n7bsn wrote:Citizens of the UK can extend their B2 up to one year, the form (used to be?) I-539. The extension can take 45 to 60 days to processThat's kinda cool and should work out well for these guys. I wonder why they don't do the same for Canadians. We haven't had the need to stay longer but I can see wanting to hit some of the more summer destination national parks and then returning for the standard winter stay. No big deal for us as the years we did that we just spent some time touring Mexico. But I can see where it might be handy. I remember the border guard explaining that the visa that Canadian snowbirds are on something they call "an implied B2 visa". No idea what that means but I remember him saying 6 montgs was Max. It also gets goofy for taxes after that as the IRS has their own criteria unrelated to the immigration folks. Do you know if they are able to extend their B2 from inside the USA?

I'm British and have lived in the US as a Permanent Resident (Green Card) since 1988.Not sure I know the answer to your question, but if you go here:Homeland Securityand open the link in the right for the pdf file that says: "How Do I Extend My Nonimmigrant Stay in the U.S.? (545 KB PDF)"...you may get some of the answers you need.Best of luck, and Merry Christmas from snowy Colorado!

UK Citizen, visas etc... | Good Sam Community

15 Replies

Martyn
Nomad
Dec 25, 2014
I'm British and have lived in the US as a Permanent Resident (Green Card) since 1988.

Not sure I know the answer to your question, but if you go here:
Homeland Security

and open the link in the right for the pdf file that says: "How Do I Extend My Nonimmigrant Stay in the U.S.? (545 KB PDF)"

...you may get some of the answers you need.

Best of luck, and Merry Christmas from snowy Colorado!
John___Angela
Explorer
Dec 24, 2014
n7bsn wrote:
Citizens of the UK can extend their B2 up to one year, the form (used to be?) I-539. The extension can take 45 to 60 days to process

That's kinda cool and should work out well for these guys. I wonder why they don't do the same for Canadians. We haven't had the need to stay longer but I can see wanting to hit some of the more summer destination national parks and then returning for the standard winter stay. No big deal for us as the years we did that we just spent some time touring Mexico. But I can see where it might be handy. I remember the border guard explaining that the visa that Canadian snowbirds are on something they call "an implied B2 visa". No idea what that means but I remember him saying 6 montgs was Max. It also gets goofy for taxes after that as the IRS has their own criteria unrelated to the immigration folks.

Do you know if they are able to extend their B2 from inside the USA?
n7bsn
Explorer
Dec 24, 2014
Citizens of the UK can extend their B2 up to one year, the form (used to be?) I-539. The extension can take 45 to 60 days to process
John___Angela
Explorer
Dec 24, 2014
Hey, Merry hohoho. We are also in Palm Springs for Christmas. We are Canadians and are on B2 visas otherwise known as the snowbird visa. Good for 6 months. Thing is, the way I understand it, (and I'm not an expert) you have to be outside the country to initiate any visa. I'm also not sure the eligibility of UK citizens for the B2 visa. I would recommend going to the immigration folks and asking there. I think you can do this in Palm Springs, otherwise pop down to Mexicali and talk to them there. When is your 90 day visa up. There are certainly nice places south of the border to visit, depending on the time of year your visa is up it might be a good place to hang out for the winter if you run out of time in the winter. Once spring comes there are certainly lots of places to visit in Canada and its an easy entry with a commonwealth passport.

Where are you staying in Palm Springs?

John and Angela.
rv2go
Explorer II
Dec 24, 2014
Mark,
Can't help on the visa issue, But I welcome you to the USA. May you truly enjoy your visit. And, Good Luck on getting an extension.
Merry Christmas,
Jim

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