UK to US paperwork
 

Hi
Wonder if someone can clear this up for me
I am planning to fly my bike from the uk into Anchorage then drive down through canada back into the US and then on down till the money runs out.

As I will be entering the US twice in a short period of time I assume that a visa waiver will not do and I will have to apply for the full visa?
and is it correct that you need a return air ticket even if you are leaving the US by road!
I was following a previous threat on the subject but it sort of lost its way

Cheers

The visa thing continues (for us anyway!)
 

Hi Tony

As you are already aware there are loads of threads dealing with this subject but none that seem to have a definitive answer. Sue and I are flying into Anchorage in June and heading for Tierra del Fuego, we don't want to apply for a B2 tourist visa for two reasons 1) cost and expense of travelling down to London to get them, and 2) we need to get from Alaska through Canada and into Mexico within a couple of months so well within the 90 days allowed under the visa waiver programme. I rang the US Embassy in London the other day to get answers to the following questions, and this is what we were told:
Q1)Do we need a return ticket if we are exiting the US at a different point (Mexico), to point of entry?
A) Yes
Q2) What happens when we leave Alaska and travel through Canada and enter the US again (Montana) on our way South?
A) You can leave the US to visit bordering countries as many times as you like and re enter the US but the total time visiting those countries and the rest of your stay in the US should not exceed the length of your visa (90 days).
When you re enter the US from Canada you will be issued with an I-94 form which basically allows you the same travel rights as your initial VWP access, but most importantly when you leave through Mexico you must hand in the I-94 form to show you are leaving the country.
We will be buying return air tickets to Anchorage as they are cheaper than single fares (as far as I can see) and obviously ditching the return part. If I were you I would give the US Embassy a ring to confirm these details, Embassy of the U.S. London: Visa Services: Contact Info
Hope this has been of some use, like I said earlier I trawled through loads of posts on this subject but will, if we ever get to Mexico, post a HOW TO on the whole procedure. By the way if anyone is reading this and knows the steps required or has done it please reply. In closing, no ammount of browsing the HU or similar sites can replace self research, but it's a great way to idle away a few hours!!!

Ride Safe, as in life Stay Upright! :thumbup1:

Graham and Sue

Alaska
 

Thanks thats great!
Was going to give the embassy a ring this afternoon
We visited James Cargo this morning to discuss air freight
they have a good set up and very helpful
We will be arriving in Anchorage 13/14 June then off to Prudhoe bay
Might see you on the way down south somewhere
Looking at the threads here we are not going to be the only ones!
thanks
Tony

When I rang the embassy here in Paris I had exactly the same reply, yes you need a ticket to/from the US even if you'll actually be leaving by road and then flying out of a different country. They said it doesn't have to be a return ticket, it could be two singles for two different airports, but you should have a ticket to show how you intedn to leave. Seems daft to me, but there you go.

I've read of people getting a fully-refundable ticket for the return portion, using that to show for the Visa Waiver program and then getting a refund once they're in the country, and if that's a cheaper way of doing it it seems a good idea to me.