Many travelers to the U.S. want to know more details about how long they can stay and whether they can legally extend their stay. U.S. immigration law treats differently those who enter the U.S. under the visa waiver program (i.e., without a visa, but only with electronic authorization via the internet) and those who enter with a B1/B2 tourist visa.
The visa waiver program, which many Greeks mistakenly call ESTA, has advantages but also disadvantages for the traveler. The main advantage is the low cost and convenience—the traveler can easily travel without needing to visit a U.S. consulate. Once entry into the U.S. is permitted, the traveler is allowed to stay up to 90 days. The border officer decides only whether to admit the traveler, but if admitted, the stay is always exactly 90 days. (There are two exceptions to this rule: if the traveler’s passport expires before 90 days, the border officer can allow stay only until the passport expires. Also, if the traveler was previously in the U.S. and left for a few days to Canada, Mexico, or Caribbean islands, then the traveler is entitled only to the remaining days left from the initial 90 days, not a full 90 days.) The most significant disadvantage of the visa waiver program is that it is almost always impossible to extend the stay beyond 90 days. If a traveler overstays even by one day, they will never be able to travel again to the U.S. under the visa waiver—they will need a visa for every future U.S. trip (and there is no guarantee the visa application will be approved). If the overstay exceeds 180 days, the traveler will face a three-year entry ban from the date of departure. If the overstay exceeds one year, the entry ban will be for ten full years. This ban applies even if the foreign traveler marries a U.S. citizen.
Traveling with a B1/B2 tourist visa generally allows a stay of six months. The exact permitted length depends on the border officer at entry—usually six months, but the officer has discretion to grant shorter or longer stays in some cases. Note that the visa validity period granted by the U.S. embassy refers to the time during which the visa holder can travel to the U.S., not the length of stay. For example, if you have a ten-year visa in your passport, you can travel to the U.S. for tourism anytime within those ten years, but each visit cannot exceed the time granted by the border officer when they stamp your passport or the white I-94 form completed on the plane. Unlike the visa waiver, it is sometimes possible to extend your stay in the U.S. when you enter with a tourist visa. If a traveler overstays beyond the permitted time, the visa is automatically canceled and cannot be used for future travel. As with the visa waiver, overstays beyond 180 days trigger a three-year ban, and overstays over one year trigger a ten-year ban.
For travelers who want to stay longer in the U.S., the tourist visa is clearly preferable. However, there are significant difficulties related to obtaining a tourist visa. The biggest problem is the difficulty in getting a tourist visa—unlike in the past, when the tourist visa was the only option for Greeks since the visa waiver did not apply to Greek citizens, now most Greeks can travel visa-free under the visa waiver. As a result, the U.S. embassy is more suspicious when a Greek applies for a visa, and the likelihood of refusal is very high, especially if the applicant cannot justify why they need the visa (often wanting to stay over three months is incompatible with tourist status). Worse still, the ESTA authorization form asks if the traveler has previously applied for a visa that was denied. Thus, a Greek traveler who wants to stay six months and applies for a visa risks what the saying calls “going for a haircut and coming out shaved,” meaning applying for a visa and being denied, which can also lead to ESTA denial.
A very common question among those wishing to stay long in the U.S. is how soon they can return after a previous stay. There is no exact rule, but generally, the longer the previous stay and the shorter the time outside the U.S., the more suspicious the border officer becomes. Remember, the tourist visa is for tourism and related activities, not for permanent residence. So it is generally good practice for the traveler to stay outside the U.S. longer than they stayed inside after each trip. Multiple consecutive long stays increase the likelihood of being sent to “secondary inspection,” meaning a separate area at the airport for detailed questioning. This process is unpleasant and can result in denial of entry for some travelers. There is a significant legal distinction between those entering with the visa waiver and those with a visa: a visa holder denied entry is automatically barred for five years, even if married to a U.S. citizen. On the other hand, a traveler denied entry under the visa waiver is only barred from using the visa waiver program again, not general entry. In other words, the visa waiver is better for entry into the U.S., but once inside, a visa provides more rights and options.
(Note: In some cases, instead of denying entry, the border officer may allow the traveler to withdraw their application and voluntarily leave the country. This is particularly beneficial as it helps the traveler avoid adverse legal consequences related to denial of entry.)
