Visa Waiver Program Trip From USA To Mexico To Guatemala

[k8mate 0]

Hello and thanks for any help, it's much appreciated!

 

I'll be visiting the USA on a visa waiver program and staying for 90 days.  After the 90 days I'll need to travel to Mexico City for a month, then travel to Guatemala for a couple weeks, then fly back to Mexico City for my flight back to America.

 

Is it okay if I travel to Mexico after the 90 days and stay in Mexico for 30 days?  I know its not possible to reset the waiver program from just Mexico alone, but I'll also be travelling to Guatemala which is not part of North America before i re-enter the USA.

 

Thanks for any help!

[JFH 12,189]

It’s up to the CBP officer when you re-enter. Bear in mind no entry is ever guaranteed except to USCs. 

 

I live in Washington state and before I moved here and was visiting my husband I came here from Canada by land 6 weeks after my previous visit. CBP refused to stamp my passport with another 90 days as I was entering through Canada and, as far as they are concerned, I’d been in Canada the whole time (which I hadn’t - I’d been in the U.K.). I had to use the existing stamp and leave by the date stamped on the previous entry. 

 

Also so bear in mind it’s difficult for a government employee here to accept that people can be bona fide tourists for anything longer than a few weeks. This is not a land of generous annual leave allowances. 

[geowrian 22,335]

Agreed.

You can do the plan above and be granted another 90 days stay.

Or they may view your travel history and short time outside the US as using an ESTA to live and/or work in the US, which is not permitted.

The general rule of thumb is to spend more time outside the US than in it, with twice as much preferred.

Edited October 8, 2018 by geowrian

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

Looks like you should be ok, you will obviously have your onward ticket to show when you enter the US.

 

official info on this situation:

 

https://nz.usembassy.gov/visas/travel-to-canada-mexico-or-the-caribbean/

Transit to Mexico – travelling on to Central/South America

If you are planning to transit the United States on the way to Mexico you may be able to use the VWP, provided that your itinerary shows you leaving North America entirely before re-entering the United States. For example, if you were to travel in Mexico before heading south to Guatemala or Brazil, you would have left the VWP zone. As such, you would be permitted to transit back through the United States on the VWP to your next destination.

 

—

the oniy thing I’d be slightly wary of is the month in Mexico after the full 90 days in the US. I know the “90 days all inclusive” is technically only applicable to then going back via the US, but it still may make a cbp officer wonder. Also from the above link: If the U.S. Customs and Border Protection ( CBP) Officer thinks you are trying to “reset” the clock by making a short trip out of the U.S. and re-entering for another 90-day period, you can be denied entry. (If that happens, you will have to obtain a visa for any future travel to the U.S.) In order to be re-admitted to the U.S. shortly after a previous admission expired, you will have to convince a CBP Officer that you are not trying to “game” the system.

You don’t mention how long you plan to stay in the US after re-entering, but (for example, I have no idea if this is your plan) 2 weeks in Guatemala bookended by 2 90-day stays in the US could well be viewed as trying to game the system.

Edited October 8, 2018 by SusieQQQ

[WeGuyGal 1,052]

From your other thread.. so you have an american fiance waiting for his Australian visa. Sounds like you want to maximize time with him, perhaps past the new year. That explains the month and a half in Mexico/Guatemala to reset the WVP clock. Likely no problems entering the US at first, could be issues re-entering if CBP thinks you're trying to game the system. 

 

CBP would be hard-pressed to believe you would not be working at all while in the US. Who takes care of your online business in your absence?

[Boiler 43,539]

 High risk

[k8mate 0]

Thanks for all the comments!! 

 

This plan doesn't sound doable.  I think my best option is to skip Mexico, thanks again everyone!

[k8mate 0]

1 hour ago, WeGuyGal said:

From your other thread.. so you have an american fiance waiting for his Australian visa. Sounds like you want to maximize time with him, perhaps past the new year. That explains the month and a half in Mexico/Guatemala to reset the WVP clock. Likely no problems entering the US at first, could be issues re-entering if CBP thinks you're trying to game the system. 

 

CBP would be hard-pressed to believe you would not be working at all while in the US. Who takes care of your online business in your absence?

Yeah this is still our situation, and we're traveling together to Guatemala for a friend's wedding, but we wanted to spend a month or so in Mexico City before the Guatemala wedding.  We're rethinking our plans and now we're thinking about staying in Guatemala the entire time instead of visiting Mexico.

 

I do have an online business based in Australia with no employees, but I'm putting things on hold until I return back to Australia later in 2019.  I'm not going to be working while I'm in America besides meeting with clients.