Graduated Canadian student returning to the US for a long vacation

F

Former Student

New Member
Hi,

So, I am a Canadian citizen who graduated from am American university in Dec 2008, and had an Optional Practical Training extension to my F1 visa, which just expired. I'm now in the 60-day "grace period" at the end of the visa, and about to leave.

My tentative plan is to immediately return as a tourist. I've got time to kill (the jobs I have been interviewing for are academic, and all start in August or September) and my plan was basically to hang out with my friends and travel to see the US (most of which I've never been to). As a Canadian, I am eligible for a paperless "automatic" six-month B2 "Temporary Visitor for pleasure" visa. All the resources I can find make everything seem simple. Nonetheless, I'm rather terrified that I will be denied entry and my plans might fall through.

So, my questions are the following:

1) What documentation, if any (beyond my passport, obviously) do I need when I try to enter the US? Do I need bank statements or other proof that I can afford to stay? Do I need an outbound ticket? An itinerary? Letters from friends saying that I can stay with them?

2) Do I need to even say what my plans are? Is there any difference between entering by car as "just shopping for an afternoon" and entering by plane as "I'm here to travel and mooch off my friends"? Does my mere entry into the US have me down for a six-month B2 visa by default, or must I specifically request it?

3) Is it problematic if I attempt to re-enter the US only moments after leaving it? I was thinking of perhaps just taking a Greyhound to and from Mexico so that I could exit and finish my F1, and then return immediately as a B2. Is that kind of short turnaround officially allowed? Or, perhaps more importantly, is it likely to cause unofficial suspicion? Getting stranded in Mexico would obviously be a problem.

4) It's possible that I would be offered a job interview at a US university during my stay. Do I need to request a B1/B2 "Temporary Visitor for Business and Pleasure" to attend such an interview if it comes up? Or, can I leave and return, and at that time ask for the B1/B2? If I do that, does the clock on my 6-month stay restart?

5) Can I leave the US at all and maintain my status as "already let in," or will I have to re-start a new B2 every time? If, for example, I want to go to Mexico for a week, do I return on my current B2 or do I need a new one from scratch, with a new 6-month clock on it?

So, um, there. Thank you very much in advance to anyone who can clarify these issues. Online resources make it all sound easy and automatic, but my experience has been that the US border often seems to expect more than anything officially requires. I'm absolutely terrified of the US border, and I want to have everything go as smoothly as possible.
 
A1: If you plan to hang out with friends for 6 months, you need to be able to prove you can afford it. You also need to convince officers at the POE that you will leave at the end of your visit.

A2: Do not lie and do not volunteer any information.

A3: Yes you may be denied entry. Only US citizens have the right to enter the US.

A4: As a Canadian, every entry into the US on B-2 status is a fresh entry. You can interview for jobs on B-2 status. You just cannot start working however.

A5: See A4.

Former Student said:
1) What documentation, if any (beyond my passport, obviously) do I need when I try to enter the US? Do I need bank statements or other proof that I can afford to stay? Do I need an outbound ticket? An itinerary? Letters from friends saying that I can stay with them?

2) Do I need to even say what my plans are? Is there any difference between entering by car as "just shopping for an afternoon" and entering by plane as "I'm here to travel and mooch off my friends"? Does my mere entry into the US have me down for a six-month B2 visa by default, or must I specifically request it?

3) Is it problematic if I attempt to re-enter the US only moments after leaving it? I was thinking of perhaps just taking a Greyhound to and from Mexico so that I could exit and finish my F1, and then return immediately as a B2. Is that kind of short turnaround officially allowed? Or, perhaps more importantly, is it likely to cause unofficial suspicion? Getting stranded in Mexico would obviously be a problem.

4) It's possible that I would be offered a job interview at a US university during my stay. Do I need to request a B1/B2 "Temporary Visitor for Business and Pleasure" to attend such an interview if it comes up? Or, can I leave and return, and at that time ask for the B1/B2? If I do that, does the clock on my 6-month stay restart?

5) Can I leave the US at all and maintain my status as "already let in," or will I have to re-start a new B2 every time? If, for example, I want to go to Mexico for a week, do I return on my current B2 or do I need a new one from scratch, with a new 6-month clock on it?
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Thanks for your response Triple Citizen (and for all your other responses elsewhere on this site, quite a few of which helped me).

Taken with the usual caveat that I can always be denied entry no matter what, do you have any advice or suggestions about the risk factors involved in my tentative plans? For example, is it a meaningful problem that I hope to start a B2 immediately after completing an F1? I understand that things become much more difficult if one attempts to spend more than six of the last 12 months in the US as a tourist, but is the time I was on an F1 likely to be held against me in a similar manner?

Similarly, in terms paperwork that might improve my chances of entry, what is likely to be more effective? Items that I was thinking of include an outbound ticket, bank account and credit card statements to demonstrate financial resources, letters from friends saying that I can stay with them, and a tentative itinerary of my plans. Can you suggest anything else?

I am trying to avoid returning to Canada for my exit/entry because I am in California; Mexico is closer and cheaper and my Canadian destination would be Vancouver, travel to which is very expensive right now because of the Olympics. Is there likely to be any difference (aside from which country I'd be stranded in if I fail) between entering the US as a Canadian from Mexico as opposed to Canada?

I have a pretty solid fear of the US border. Am I worrying too much about all of this (relative to my risk of being denied entry)? Am I a fairly standard case, or should I be trying extra hard (and being extra prepared) for any reason?

Thanks in advance for any responses!
 
You may not like to hear this, but here goes. The way I read into it, you do not have a concrete job offer, correct? You are hoping to land a job, right? Well if you are really keen to work in the US, ditch the idea of first bumming in the US with friends. Attend the neccessary interview(s) and depart. Hopefully you will get an offer and then you can return to the US to work.

Former Student said:
For example, is it a meaningful problem that I hope to start a B2 immediately after completing an F1?
Click to expand...
 
Thanks. Actually, I think it's most likely that I'll be accepting an offer at a Canadian university. It's just that a few of my first-stage interviews from last month (most first-round academic interviews happen over the Christmas break) still haven't outright rejected me, which could mean a possible (although probably not likely) offer for a second interview sometime soon. I just wanted to be sure that if I were already in the US as a tourist, it wouldn't violate the terms of my entry to go to an interview with a US school if one happened to come up. I do not expect to have a job in the US any time soon, though, which is one of the reasons that I want to see more of the US before I take off for good, especially since an academic position won't start until august anyway.

At this point, I'm basically worried about two things:
1) When try I enter the US as a tourist, will the fact that I was just here as an F-1 be held against me the same way it would if I were just here on a B-2?
2) What is the most effective way (in terms of documentation) to convince border personnel that I'm safe to admit?
 
A1: Your past F-1 stay may work for or against you. It will depend on the POE officer and the way he judges your stated intentions.
A2: Proof of strong ties to Canada. A recent paystub would do wonders.

Former Student said:
1) When try I enter the US as a tourist, will the fact that I was just here as an F-1 be held against me the same way it would if I were just here on a B-2?
2) What is the most effective way (in terms of documentation) to convince border personnel that I'm safe to admit?
Click to expand...
 
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