advice - USA visa waiver - visit Canada ok?

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Batman

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#300638 24-Sep-2022 08:52

I have read on the US Gov website that if you leave USA while on the Visa Waiver (NZ Citizen), you could be declined re-entry to the USA if you visit another country

I have also read on the US Gov website that you can visit Canada on a short trip and generally be allowed to re-enter under the Visa Waiver

Has anyone got experience in this?

Linux

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#2972437 24-Sep-2022 09:53

I have traveled between US and Canada and back to US on NZ passport zero issues

wellygary

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#2972499 24-Sep-2022 16:02

The 90 day visa waiver admission to the US is typically not reset by a visit to Canada/Mexico most of the Caribbean.... so the 90 day clock will keep ticking ... re-entering the US is normally a formality as long as your time has not expired.

US customs will look on you suspiciously if you spend 80 days in the US, fly to the UK for a Weekend and then head back to the US and try to start a new 90 day waiver period ...

Batman

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#2972500 24-Sep-2022 16:05

i see that explains it

nztim

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#2972508 24-Sep-2022 16:47

Rules are: you if you enter the USA on an ESTA the 90 days keeps ticking when you exit the USA to visit Canada or Mexico, re entry within the 90 days is fine also.

DO NOT under any circumstances fly out of Canada/Mexico directly back to NZ Always re-enter the US and exit back to NZ from there - Reason being there will be no record of you Exiting north America and you will be marked as an overstayer

Buy a ticket to/from the USA and then visit Canada/Mexico as much as you like within 90 days and then exit back to NZ from the US

Any views expressed on these forums are my own and don't necessarily reflect those of my employer.

Nate001

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#2972515 24-Sep-2022 17:13

nztim: DO NOT under any circumstances fly out of Canada/Mexico directly back to NZ Always re-enter the US and exit back to NZ from there - Reason being there will be no record of you Exiting north America and you will be marked as an overstayer

So if I get a multi-stop ticket NZ-US-CA-NZ, I would be considered an overstayer? Surely not. Thats crazy if so.

Does crossing into Canada not count as you leaving the country? I thought it would only be an issue if you re-entered the USA with the 90 day stuff.

lxsw20

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#2972527 24-Sep-2022 18:30

nztim: DO NOT under any circumstances fly out of Canada/Mexico directly back to NZ Always re-enter the US and exit back to NZ from there - Reason being there will be no record of you Exiting north America and you will be marked as an overstayer

I've had no problems going back to the US after flying in to the US and out from Canada.

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Brunzy

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#2972663 25-Sep-2022 07:54

Does crossing into Canada not count as you leaving the country? I thought it would only be an issue if you re-entered the USA with the 90 day stuff.

No it doesn’t, as already mentioned, Canada & Mexico don’t reset the clock on your esta.
In the past people used to circumvent the process by going to one of those countries near the end of their 90 days, and it would start over again, so they plugged the loophole.