How do people go over to the states for such long periods?

[Fernb 4]

So my title says it all really lol I’m often reading people are heading over for months at a time? How can they do this? I mean the most I can go over at this stage is 2 weeks because of work etc? Do people just take leave without pay? What about their mortgage/rent etc? I’m just curious as to how people can afford not to work for months?

[Crazy Cat 39,218]

I asked myself that question, too.  I know of only one way....Proper planning.....

[Ryan H 3,790]

Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Process & Procedures to General Immigration-Related Discussion.

[geowrian 22,335]

Always makes me wonder as well, unless they have a good nest egg or a wealthy US family member.

 

Edited June 7, 2018 by geowrian

[doggieandsam 765]

some people just really have a lot of money! 

[cyclone27 710]

Well lil or no expense for those who have family abroad. (Air ticket is the major cost)

 

Personally get 6weeks holiday a year - a month is doable since SEA is so far away.

[Apple Bee 272]

I went to visit my husband (then fiancé) for a scheduled two weeks but we needed a little more time to get married and I just hated the thought of leaving him so soon so I extended my trip another two weeks. I'm going back again this summer and staying for another month. I had a lot of paid vacation time saved up as I've been at my job for 10 years and never really took a vacation until now. 

Edited June 7, 2018 by PersaisX

[Teemo 252]

2 hours ago, Fernb said:

So my title says it all really lol I’m often reading people are heading over for months at a time? How can they do this? I mean the most I can go over at this stage is 2 weeks because of work etc? Do people just take leave without pay? What about their mortgage/rent etc? I’m just curious as to how people can afford not to work for months?

If you're talking about younger people, may work under the table as a bartender, hostess, waiter, au pair etc.

 

If you're talking older (retiree age), they often own properties and stocks that pay them ongoing rental income and dividends. 

 

Nothing here is meant to condone or encourage unauthorized employment. It is illegal. 

Edited June 7, 2018 by Teemo

[debbiedoo 2,339]

paul comes down every month for a long weekend. thats not a long time, but last summer we both took a month off for a surgery i had and then i took my son to canada for a vacation. in my case, i have a pension from my ex that covers the majority of my routine bills, my house is paid off, no loans or monthly debt. it was VERY tight right when i got back back, but we lived and the lights stayed on lolol. paul used his credit card for most of the touristy stuff and eating out we did.

 

in (particularly) European countries, they have a larger amount of time off, which may be paid time off.

 

it all depends on your individual circumstances.

[Going through 5,668]

On 6/6/2018 at 8:12 PM, Fernb said:

So my title says it all really lol I’m often reading people are heading over for months at a time? How can they do this? I mean the most I can go over at this stage is 2 weeks because of work etc? Do people just take leave without pay? What about their mortgage/rent etc? I’m just curious as to how people can afford not to work for months?

Depends on the person's own circumstances, how much they save in advance, if they are boarding with family members, etc.

 

When I was unemployed, I just shaved money off of what I would receive from my husband for household expenses, did paid focus groups, or received monetary gifts (birthday, mother's day etc.) and saved up for trips that way---started to build my own "nest egg" months in advance just for the trip, in other words.   On average would stay a month, maybe a month and a half abroad.

 

When I was working in the school system, I had several weeks off at a time in the Summer and would travel for close to 2 months straight.   

 

Biggest expense for me is airfare, (which really isn't all that expensive since round-trip flights from NY to Canada average about $175 during the off-season if you buy your ticket early) and then the rest is really "play money" since I stay with family members.  Money is a bit tighter for me when I first come back to the US, but that's my own fault really since I tend to go overboard with frivolous spending when on vacation sometimes...

 

[Roel 7,191]

On 6/7/2018 at 2:12 AM, Fernb said:

So my title says it all really lol I’m often reading people are heading over for months at a time? How can they do this? I mean the most I can go over at this stage is 2 weeks because of work etc? Do people just take leave without pay? What about their mortgage/rent etc? I’m just curious as to how people can afford not to work for months?

They are "sightseeing" on construction sites, in bars, as nannies or cleaning houses.

 

[Muffinji 43]

Uhm in my case, some sacrifice of a proper career ( working jobs part time basis only or flexible jobs that allows me to take a month or two off -unpaid of course), and then living really frugally to save enough (meaning I don’t go out to movies, I don’t spend on new gadgets or games etc., I don’t eat out or grab a Starbucks or similar drinks because  as cheap as it is in USA it’s something that can actually be the price of 2 meal for me here)  for my yearly ticket and some extra cash for my own spending there.

And I have an ‘agreement’ with my husband from when we were just a couple that when he comes over, I’ll pay for everything and vice versa to be fair because of the currency difference. 

 

Mostly we don’t ‘travel’ much when I’m over in USA for a month, he still goes to work, while I’ll stay at home and keep myself occupied with reading/ tv / sewing etc., and we make our own meals as much as possible. Helps that I go over for Christmas/ New Years so he has at least a week off to spend time with family and just chill together. 

 

But yeah, it’s pretty much a lot of planning where he comes over once a year and I go over once a year thing because we probably can’t -responsibly- afford more than that.  

 

 

[Unidentified 2,930]

Well when I was visiting during our K1 journey I worked during the summer months and then visited him for about 6 weeks during I time I knew I wasn't going to be offered a lot of shifts to work. 

[payxibka 10,044]

Many non us countries have much more liberal holiday practices.  I used to get product from a company in Sweden who shut the entire factory down for the month of July and everyone went on holiday for that month

[Paul & Mallory 1,398]

It can depend on where they are traveling from. Some countries have better paid leave from jobs that the states does. That's the case for my husband. Taking time off his job in Sweden at the time was much easier for him than it was for me and my job here in the states, hence why he has more visits under his belt than I do. He also planned well, and ahead. He didn't take time off for many other things, so it allowed him to visit often, and visit longer.

 

As for money... in most cases, a round trip ticket cost the same whether he was staying two weeks or two months, give or take, so that wasn't really a factor.