Usual US Port of Entry Questions - Tourist

[dovey]

^ tnxs sa info po...

[betty]

yung friend ko 5 months ng preggy nung pumasok sa US, she also gave birth there, tourist visa holder din sya.
i think one of our sis here, kimebies did also gave birth there as a tourist.

btw, what can you say about dun sa mga nag overstay na tourist? hindi ba narerecord sa immigration yun upon exit?
 i know someone who did tas nagpa back date daw tas nakabalik ulit ng US.

[Vera]

^Tourists who overstay are illegal aliens and are subject to fines and detentions. Overstaying is a violation of U.S. Immigration laws and you may not be permitted to enter the U.S. in the future. Overstaying will also render your visa automatically cancelled and void. So if you care about your future and if you like to freely go back to the U.S., get a roundtrip ticket and make sure you return before your tourist visa expires.

Btw, if you have a U.S. visa, it doesn't mean you will surely enter the U.S. A U.S. visa simply means you're eligible to enter the U.S. - whether you'll actually enter depends on an Immigration offer at your port of entry. He will solely determine if you're allowed to enter and for how long you can stay.

[betty]

yun na nga eh, pero may flaws pa din sa system nila...nakabalik pa din ng US yung friend ko.

[purpleish]

^ hmmmmm...hala sis betty hehe.....

[qt_ben17]

pasubscribe here ha. kelangan ko aralin kung ano sasabihin ko sa immigration officer,  ako lang magisa kasi ang pupunta dun. kinakabahan ako  LOL

[aquacharly]

yung friend ko 5 months ng preggy nung pumasok sa US, she also gave birth there, tourist visa holder din sya.
i think one of our sis here, kimebies did also gave birth there as a tourist.

btw, what can you say about dun sa mga nag overstay na tourist? hindi ba narerecord sa immigration yun upon exit?
 i know someone who did tas nagpa back date daw tas nakabalik ulit ng US.

how can you backdate when everything is computerized?

[aquacharly]

halimba you plan to stay lang for 9 days. maniwala kaya sila? lalo na at 1st time lang pumunta for vacation?

aba, eh bakit naman hindi sila maniwala?
Most first timers stay for at least 2 weeks.. ikaw pa nag declare na 9 days... if they give you 30 days, what do you care?

There is a reason behind your brief stay... sabihin mo lang.
Well, Sir, my dog will die of loneliness of I do not get back in 9 days.
Nobody will feed the pigs back home.. 
WHATEVER your reason, it is good enough to let you gain entry... hwag lang yung reason na... I am getting engaged.  ayos, baka ma airport to airport ka.

[aquacharly]

pasubscribe here ha. kelangan ko aralin kung ano sasabihin ko sa immigration officer,  ako lang magisa kasi ang pupunta dun. kinakabahan ako  LOL

If you are entering as a toursit, kahit na nagsisinungaling ka pa, train yourself to have the mindset of a tourist.  What does a tourist do but go  look at their monuments (Statue of Liberty, Golden Gate Bridge, the naked family at Berkeley  hehe, etc etc.)

Even if you are going to depend on the kindess and leave of a close relative.. say so.   Bakit, mga naka limo lang ba who dine at Le Cirque ang puede maging toursit?   But be sure to show your credit cards and enough cash (hwag naman just USD100duling ha)  to support your story you can afford to be a tourist.

I was in the US for Easter March-April this year; and going back mid August... for just a week's vacation break with my whole family.   I may leave the kids and the yaya behind, if their lola who lives here will stay longer there.   I will take extra note of questions asked to share here.. sana ma tsismiss ko mga questions noong at the next counter din .  hehe

[qt_ben17]

^ yep, that's what I do now. train myself. Mindset. Thanks for the tips and stories, they are very helpful.

And it's a revelation to me na visa is valid naman pala even to the last date before expiry.  Yung mga nagmamagaling kong kamaganak are persistent that I should go 6 months before expiry, which is not the case naman pala.

[betty]

how can you backdate when everything is computerized?

yun na nga ang pinagtataka ko....i dont know how they have done it.

[theflygirl]

During my trip to SFO last May, the only things I was asked were, "Where's your husband?" (cos I was travelling on a trip pass) and how long I planned to stay there...I said I planned on staying for 2-3 weeks but I got a 6mo entry stamp. I ended up staying for a month.

[qt_ben17]

parang puro 6 months nga ang binibigay nila lately. sa sibling ko 6 months din binigay.

[theflygirl]

Even during my previous visits, 6 months din ang binibigay but I rarely stay beyond 2 weeks for a vacation. Before I stayed for 10months but under an A2 visa (government dependent).

[aquacharly]

Y

^ yep, that's what I do now. train myself. Mindset. Thanks for the tips and stories, they are very helpful.

And it's a revelation to me na visa is valid naman pala even to the last date before expiry.  Yung mga nagmamagaling kong kamaganak are persistent that I should go 6 months before expiry, which is not the case naman pala.

To repeat:  just make sure you EXIT THE US BEFORE YOUR VISA EXPIRES.
.
If you want to double check on that.. call the US Embassy call center.
Note down the name of the person responding to you, and the time and date of your call... everything is recorded.   That is what the person responding will tell you.

I am leaving in mid August for a week in the US.  My 5year US visa expires in 2 months; but I am not worried about gaining entry.   So there.

[theflygirl]

^^Once you are granted entry into the US, the only thing you have to take note of is duration of the entry stamp you were given, not the visa validity. This is the basis of your stay in the US and these are two very different things. People get confused. You MUST leave the US on the on or before the last day of your allowed stay or else you will obviously be overstaying. The visa is your permit to fly to the US but arrival immigrations officers will be the ones to declare how long you are permitted to stay in their country. Maybe the 6 months prior thingie your relatives were talking about, they mixed it up with the PASSPORT validity which should be at least 6 months valid after your travel.

[dovey]

marami ba ang na airport to airport nowdays? are they still very strict same as getting a visa?

[aquacharly]

You be careful about your reason for going to the US.  Whatever it is you are up to, and you gotta lie to conform with your visa restrictions, then lie convincingly.
Memorize details of your embellishments.

I have heard of the following "airport to airport" within the last year.. a sister of mine owns a travel agency.  Some of the incidents hereunder have also found their way to newspapers too:

All on tourist visas:

1.  The lady was so happy, she had been in and out practically every quarter.  Sabi na nga ba, less talk is better.  She mentioned to the IO that she was there this time to get married to her US fiance.
        The IO said you are here on a tourist visa, you are not supposed to be getting married on a tourist visa.  Out!   (this case was written up too by a columnist)

2.  Tourist but had no itinerary or appeared clueless about what he was going to do in the US.  He was not part of a tour group... so if he could not understand English, how was he gonna move around on his own?
He gave no relatives he could call on.. perhaps he did not want to put anybody in trouble.

3.  The lady said she was there to take care of her mother.  And then,
     the IO noticed she always stayed for 6 months, not a day less..
     although she was always granted 6 months' stay upon entry.. but
     it was noticed that every year, she would stay for 6  months, leave
     for 3 months and then return for another 6 months.
             She should have said she was just there to visit her mother
             who had a bad fall and a recent operation.  Not to take care
             of her...   

4.  A male who has been working for years on a cruise liner was impatient and did not want to wait for his work papers to arrive... he had some delays due to problems with his recruiting agency.   Now, he has been working for the liner for years, and decided he would just present himself and work out his papers in Miami.   
He decided to go on a tourist  visa... he was inspected perhaps because he looked like a contract worker or appeared scruffy or was not convincing enough to appear and answer as a tourist... they opened his bags and found his seaman's book...
there.. he got deported en punto and he must wait for 10 years before he can apply for any kind of US visa

=======

So there, be sure you  have a date on your return ticket...it is cheaper to pay for rebooking later on  than to risk more questions.
           Have sufficient cash (do not go over US$10thou unless you can pull it off  -- they may ask for your calling card, and ask to see your credit cards if these are platinum cards.)
           Have more than 1 credit card... travelers nowadays do not bank on just 1 card.
          Memorize your itinerary and be sure you know your  options of how you are going from 1 place of interest to the next.  It is okay if you will not be staying at hotels... but with relatives or friends.  Have their addresses and tel. nos. handy... nobody will believe you will be staying with relatives or friends if you do not even have their addresses.
 
1st   The IO may give you a month, 3 months or 6 months.  Although, I know of 1 person who was so cocky that he was given only 2 weeks.  So do not be rude, be firm but do not be rude.

2nd   Mind the expiration of your visa... the one given here by the embassy

3rd   whichever expires first between #1 and #2 -- you have to leave before that earlier expiration.

O claro na yan ha.
   
 

[dovey]

hehe... tnxs sis..

[theflygirl]

Leaving this March again for the West Coast, my 5yr visa expiring on April. Para masulit! They keep jacking up the visa fees...tsk tsk...