B2 visa US AND UK living

[Hastevenus 1]

Hi there

New to the forum so hope I'm in right place.

After spending days on YouTube and Google im more confused then ever!

 

I feel my question is simple,

My wife and I plan to buy a property in u.s before we retire.  Our aim is to use it as holiday home until retirement.  When we eventually retire we plan to spend more time in U.S in our home there.  Please note WE DONT WANT TO MIGRATE TO THE STATES!  but maybe spend 6months there and 6months in uk.  Is this perfectly acceptable with the u.s authority on a b2 visa.  I dont want to have a home there that I cant access for 9months of the year in retirement.  Before we retire 3 months is plenty.

 

Hope this makes sense.

 

Basically  hoping to invest in property or land in 2022/3, but won't bother if when we retire we can't stay for longer than 3 months.

 

Regards and thanks for listening

 

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

Technically should be ok, no guarantees that they will allow you in for 6 months every year though.

 

 

[Hastevenus 1]

4 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

Technically should be ok, no guarantees that they will allow you in for 6 months every year though.

 

 

Thank you susieQQQ

 

This is the bit I can't grasp.  Why is there so many grey areas?  I thought the idea of the B2 was to stay longer as a tourist, which is exactly what we will be.  Im not sure I will cope turning up at the airport in London looking forward to a lovely 6months of sun, only to be told when we land in the U.S "sorry but u can only stay for 4 months this time"

[Crazy Cat 39,261]

13 minutes ago, Hastevenus said:

Thank you susieQQQ

 

This is the bit I can't grasp.  Why is there so many grey areas?  I thought the idea of the B2 was to stay longer as a tourist, which is exactly what we will be.  Im not sure I will cope turning up at the airport in London looking forward to a lovely 6months of sun, only to be told when we land in the U.S "sorry but u can only stay for 4 months this time"

There is no golden rule for the length of time you can stay in the US via a tourist visa...or the length of time you can spend in the US during a year. There, simply, are no guarantees.    I would think twice before investing in a "home" in the US.

Edited January 29, 2021 by Lucky Cat

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

11 minutes ago, Hastevenus said:

Thank you susieQQQ

 

This is the bit I can't grasp.  Why is there so many grey areas?  I thought the idea of the B2 was to stay longer as a tourist, which is exactly what we will be.  Im not sure I will cope turning up at the airport in London looking forward to a lovely 6months of sun, only to be told when we land in the U.S "sorry but u can only stay for 4 months this time"

Well, it’s not like the UK guarantees anything to people who have its visas either 🤷‍♀️ ...or anyone

it is what it is ...if it’s too risky a prospect for you then I guess you need to look at plan b?

[Hastevenus 1]

25 minutes ago, Lucky Cat said:

There is no golden rule for the length of time you can stay in the US via a tourist visa...or the length of time you can spend in the US during a year. There, simply, are no guarantees.    I would think twice before investing in a "home" in the US.

Thank you

 

I will definitely give it alot of thought.

 

Thanks for your time

[Hastevenus 1]

20 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

Well, it’s not like the UK guarantees anything to people who have its visas either 🤷‍♀️ ...or anyone

it is what it is ...if it’s too risky a prospect for you then I guess you need to look at plan b?

Not sure why you have made comparisons to the UK system, that is of no interest to me.  

If you're tired maybe a lay down would help.

 

Thanks anyway

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

4 minutes ago, Hastevenus said:

Not sure why you have made comparisons to the UK system, that is of no interest to me.  

If you're tired maybe a lay down would help.

 

Thanks anyway

Because you made it sound like it was unbelievable that the US does not guarantee you x months entry on a visa, as though that was unusual. 

Hope you find a place in the sunshine you can get more certainty on. Good luck. Maybe a second passport somewhere would help.

[jan22 2,898]

54 minutes ago, Hastevenus said:

Thank you susieQQQ

 

This is the bit I can't grasp.  Why is there so many grey areas?  I thought the idea of the B2 was to stay longer as a tourist, which is exactly what we will be.  Im not sure I will cope turning up at the airport in London looking forward to a lovely 6months of sun, only to be told when we land in the U.S "sorry but u can only stay for 4 months this time"

While a B2 allows for a longer tourism stay than the visa waiver program, it is important to understand how the US government defines tourism.  If you look at the first sentence beneath the picture and caption on the following site https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/tourism-visit.html, it says that "Tourism is a short visit for vacation, visiting family and  friends, or for medical treatment".  If I understood what your plans were, it would basically be living in the US for six months of the year and the UK for the other six months.  That pattern, especially over the years when a history of long stays each year has been established, could not really be defined as short visits.

 

At some point, US immigration could shorten the length of your approved stay for an entry, or actually deny you entry, if they think you are using the B2 to reside in the US.  Plus, you should take a look at US tax law -- any stay over 180 days in one year and you could likely be considered a resident for US tax purposes.  These are both things to be considered before you make any serious plans.

Edited January 29, 2021 by jan22

[Hastevenus 1]

22 minutes ago, jan22 said:

While a B2 allows for a longer tourism stay than the visa waiver program, it is important to understand how the US government defines tourism.  If you look at the first sentence beneath the picture and caption on the following site https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/tourism-visit.html, it says that "Tourism is a short visit for vacation, visiting family and  friends, or for medical treatment".  If I understood what your plans were, it would basically be living in the US for six months of the year and the UK for the other six months.  That pattern, especially over the years when a history of long stays each year has been established, could not really be defined as short visits.

 

At some point, US immigration could shorten the length of your approved stay for an entry, or actually deny you entry, if they think you are using the B2 to reside in the US.  Plus, you should take a look at US tax law -- any stay over 180 days in one year and you could likely be considered a resident for US tax purposes.  These are both things to be considered before you make any serious plans.

Thanks alot for your detailed response.  I have just followed your link and see what you mean by the wording.

 

I suppose there is no harm in trying it for a couple of years and if they get too strict, we could count our losses and sell up, or maybe leave the house there and rent it out as an investment.

 

Lots to think of.

 

Thank you

[Boiler 43,438]

I have friend with property in Florida, one of them is sort of retired the others not.

 

Now they I know use the VWP, not sure how practical they would find it to go for 6 months even if they could. I assume money is not an issue, you may well find that several trips makes more sense.

 

It seems that getting a B when you are obviously are retired is more a certainty when you are otherwise eligible for the VWP.

 

The other big variable is of course Travel Insurance, not cheap and increases exponentially, seem to remember them saying property taxes are a lot higher for non residents and the ongoing maintenance when they are not there. 

 

 

[mushroomspore 3,043]

3 hours ago, Hastevenus said:

Hi there

New to the forum so hope I'm in right place.

After spending days on YouTube and Google im more confused then ever!

 

I feel my question is simple,

My wife and I plan to buy a property in u.s before we retire.  Our aim is to use it as holiday home until retirement.  When we eventually retire we plan to spend more time in U.S in our home there.  Please note WE DONT WANT TO MIGRATE TO THE STATES!  but maybe spend 6months there and 6months in uk.  Is this perfectly acceptable with the u.s authority on a b2 visa.  I dont want to have a home there that I cant access for 9months of the year in retirement.  Before we retire 3 months is plenty.

 

Hope this makes sense.

 

Basically  hoping to invest in property or land in 2022/3, but won't bother if when we retire we can't stay for longer than 3 months.

 

Regards and thanks for listening

 

Technically the only people guaranteed entry into the US are US citizens. With tourists specifically, the biggest risk is people overstaying. Therefore, it is up to the CBP officer's discretion. If they believe someone is a high risk of overstaying or other suspicious activity (like working in the US, which is illegal for tourists), then they should be allowed to make the call to either limit the tourist's stay-time in the US or deny them entry outright. It needs to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis so that's why there's a "grey area". 

[mushroomspore 3,043]

2 hours ago, Hastevenus said:

Not sure why you have made comparisons to the UK system, that is of no interest to me.  

If you're tired maybe a lay down would help.

 

Thanks anyway

Because you said you didn't understand the legality behind it and the other person simply pointed out that other countries have similar stipulations and systems.

[Hastevenus 1]

2 hours ago, Boiler said:

I have friend with property in Florida, one of them is sort of retired the others not.

 

Now they I know use the VWP, not sure how practical they would find it to go for 6 months even if they could. I assume money is not an issue, you may well find that several trips makes more sense.

 

It seems that getting a B when you are obviously are retired is more a certainty when you are otherwise eligible for the VWP.

 

The other big variable is of course Travel Insurance, not cheap and increases exponentially, seem to remember them saying property taxes are a lot higher for non residents and the ongoing maintenance when they are not there. 

 

 

Thanks alot for your time and your friends experience.

 

Yes I've noted the info on insurance!

 

Regards

[Hastevenus 1]

54 minutes ago, mushroomspore said:

Because you said you didn't understand the legality behind it and the other person simply pointed out that other countries have similar stipulations and systems.

Thank you for this.  I feel maybe I was misunderstood, the legality wasn't  a problem.  It was the discrepancy.

 

You could have 2 separate couples from let's say the UK, both with exactly the same reason for travel; for example, 6 month holiday.  Couple  A get  'jim' at the boarder and he grants a 6 month stay

Couple B get 'chuck' at the same boarder, and he only grants 4 month stay

 

Both couples don't wish to break the law, work or stay in the US, just have a long vacation.  Both couples have the same visa but alas someone has to get chuck!