Can I stay longer in the USA than I said at the border but still less than 90 days? (ESTA)
I am a UK citizen with an ESTA that is valid until 2020. I am with my girlfriend (US citizen) whilst she gets her UK visa together but it is taking longer than we expected. I told the officer at the border that I was staying for 4 weeks, but can I stay here for longer without informing anyone, as long as I leave within 90 days of when I arrived?
Thanks in advance for any advice!
Best Answer
You can stay until the date that was stamped in your passport. Of course, you need a reason for that if somebody questions you.
I have been in US for business proposal and I stayed one more week that I have said when I arrived.
I already have been there after this and I do not have any issue.
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How can I stay in the US longer than 90 days?
If you want to stay longer in America, you must apply for the appropriate USA visa. For travelers looking to stay in the United States for this period of time, it is easy to interpret the 90 days as approximately 3 months; this causes some people to book the return flight exactly 3 months after the outbound flight.How long does an ESTA allow you to stay in USA?
The ESTA lasts for up to two years after it is granted. During this period, travellers (EU and UK citizens) are allowed to make an unlimited number of trips to the USA. Each stay can last a maximum of 90 days.How long can you stay outside U.S. before returning?
There is no set period you must remain outside the USA before returning but: "When traveling to the U.S. with the approved ESTA, you may only stay for up to 90 days at a time - and there should be a reasonable amount of time between visits so that the CBP Officer does not think you are trying to live here.What happens if I stay longer than 180 days in USA?
If you have more than 180 days of unlawful presence, meaning you overstayed your visa by 181 days or more, you will be barred from returning to the United States for a certain amount of time. If you were unlawfully present for between 180 and 365 days, you will be barred from entering the United States for three years.What is the Visa Waiver Program in USA | ESTA | Stay for 90 Days in the U.S.A | Zavala Texas Law
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Answer 2
They do not record your answers in a system especially because the questions are not set in stone (I crossed the US border enough times to know...), the officer listens to them and makes a decision whether to admit you and how long and then puts a stamp in your passport saying so. Now open https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/visa-expiration-date.html and read:
If your admission stamp or paper Form I-94 contains a specific date, then that is the date by which you must leave the United State.
This is the official answer: the stamp is the date. Note how it doesn't say anything else about your border interview, your presumed flight back or whatever. It plainly and clearly says: the stamp is the date. (When you have a longer term visa then and only then it will not contain a specific date, but this does not pertain to visitors, your stamp will have a date). Your admitted stay is almost always 90 days for ESTA / six months multi entry visas.
Answer 3
In principle, you can stay until the date stamped in your passport. You don't need to inform anybody if your plans change.
In the last couple of years, I've twice ended up staying a day longer than I said I would, because of flights getting cancelled. This has caused me no problems whatsoever: it's not even been mentioned on subsequent visits to the US.
Minor changes to your itinerary shouldn't make much difference. If you said you were going to stay much less than 90 days and your new plan is still much less than 90 days, I can't see you having any problems. People's plans change and you have a definite reason for extending your visit. The potential problem is if you said you'd stay two weeks and you instead stay for ten. That starts to look more like your initial claim of two weeks was a lie, even if it wasn't.
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