Transit Visa - Proof you are leaving the USA
 

Hi,

My husband and I are from the UK and are planning to drive across Canada (East to West), into Alaska, back into Canada, down through the USA and into Mexico next year. We will then be heading down to Argentina and onto Australia etc.

We are expecting to be in the USA, Canada and Mexico for more than 90 days so understand that we can't use the visa waiver program. However a transit visa requires proof that you "possess a common carrier ticket or other evidence of transportation arrangements to your destination".

How do we prove this when we are on a motorbike and won't be leaving by air?

Thanks,

Rainbow66

C1-Transit visa
 

umm..hate to upset your plans but I dont think the transit visa is the visa you need.
this visa - C1- Transit visa - enables an immigration officer to admit the person holding this visa for a maximum of 29 days. and you must pass within the USA during that period of time and you must leave on the proposed flight/ship etc that you provided when applying for this visa.

as you intend to be in the USA for longer than 90 days I really think you need to apply for a B2 tourist visa this is even if your country is included in the Visa Waiver Program. on this type of visa you are usually allowed to stay for up to 6 months. however, the immigration officer may issue a shorter stay on arrival...just because he can! but you can then apply for an extension if this is the case.

As you will need to apply for this visa prior to entry I suggest that you contact the USA embassy in London and ask the procedure as when we applied (it was a long time ago and things may have changed since) there was a long waiting list for applications and the associated interviews.

have fun with the officials in the USA embassy in London!

Transit Visa
 

Hi Lisa, :D

Thanks for clarifying that. I got myself in a bit of a muddle.

Cheers,

Amanda

Hi Amanda,

We're in the process of organising the bikes and ourselves to ship to north America in the next month. Lisa is right, I'm afraid - it's the B2 tourist visa you need which will set you back about $140 each. A bit of a bummer given that the waiver is free but it doesn't require you to have a fixed exit point/date other than the expiry date of the visa itself.

You'll also need to get some papers from the US Dept of Transport (DoT) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), namely a DoT from HS-7 which you'll need to print, fill out and present at the border and the EPA letter of exemption for each bike for which you'll need to write to EPA giving certain details of your bike. The EPA will in return send you a form which you'll need to print, sign, scan and email back to them. They'll then end you the letter of exemption which you'll need to have when you arrive at the border.

B2 Visa
 

Ohhhh:oops2:! Thanks for the extra information on DoT and EPA. We had no idea. Did someone in the "know" advise you?


Can you tell me how far in advance you applied for the B2 visa? We don't leave until May 2012 so it is about 1 year to go.

Also is there anything specific that you have to take with you to the visa meeting regarding your travel plans. We haven't booked the flight to Canada for either ourselves or the bike and have nothing to show that we intend to travel out of Canada, USA and Mexico except a file of research that we have carried out on countires to visit etc.

Many thanks,

Amanda :D

Hi Amanda,

I am from Germany and currently travelling though the US, we started in April 2011 and applied for the B2 Visa in early November 2010. Once we had all the online paperwork filled out and the appointment set, we received our passports back (with the Visa) within 4 days.

For the interview itself we took just our bank statements with us (and all the other required paperwork). Just check out the US embassy homepage, they give all the details.

Good luck

Nini :-)

nini und katja on tour

Depends on where you apply. Wait and processing times can be found here: Visa Wait Times - for Interview Appointments and Processing

Wouldn't cut it too close though.

On mine and my wifes proposed world (2013ish) trip we envisage spending 6 months in the states however we would not have much of an Idea when we would be arriving in the states as it would be around 12 months after we left home.

When you apply for the B2 visa do you have to know when you intend on entering the states??

If not how long does the Visa last for before you enter the USA??

Thanks

USA visa
 

Thank you for the information. We now have our US visas and it was a lot easier than I expected to get them. We took all the required paperwork and other than the Confirmation letters, receipts and appointment letters they didn't ask to see anything else. However, I am still glad that we took everything stated on their website. (Bank statements, payslips etc).

Cheers,

Amanda

Hi,

When we completed the web form we gave a rough date of when we would be entering the US. The form itself states that the date does not have to exact.

The B2 visa is a multi entry visa that lasts for 10 years so (if I understand this properly) if you give them a date that is before you expect to be in the US you will be covered for entering after that date. For example putting the 1st October 2013 but not entering until 24th November 2013 should be okay.

(If I am wrong hopefully another Hubber will let us know!) :helpsmilie:

Regards,

Amanda