The Greatest Road Trip USA? - Our Round USA Road Tour.

Our conditions of entry into the USA

This web page is part of the year long trip from Sept ’94 - Sept ’95 through 36 USA States and 2 Canadian Provinces by Jean and Graham Beven in 'Serendipity' their 30 foot Winnebago 'Chieftain'.

Follow the trip state by state. Lots of photos and information a real adventure that thousands of Britons dream of! 'Live the dream'.

CONDITIONS OF ENTRY INTO THE USA

If you intend to stop in the USA for more than 90 days, you must have an entry visa in addition to a valid passport. Your passport should have at least six months to run after the end of your expected stay.

You must apply for the visa whilst resident in the UK .

There are several different types of visa. Be aware when you apply that you will be refused a visa if you do not meet certain criterion.

We would recommend that you apply for a non-working, 10 year multiple entry type visa. When you write to the US Embassy, We would suggest that you do not even mention the word “work”. The chances are your application will be refused. The initial information you offer may be stored on file. You must be “squeaky-clean” in your dealings with the US authorities from the outset.

Bearing in mind that as a visitor, to the USA , you are not permitted to take up any gainful employment without the appropriate papers. The best course is to PLAN TO NOT WORK . You should not have time to anyway!

The postal address is: U.S. Embassy, 5 Upper Grosvenor Street , LONDON , W1

You will have to show to the US immigration service on your arrival in the USA that you are not planning on stopping on in the States as an immigrant. It is no good standing there with a wad of dollar bills, telling the man that “I have this much to last me”. He will not be impressed, more likely to reach for the rubber gloves!

Even with a visa, you are not guaranteed to be admitted. In the first instance, you may be authorised to stay for up to six months.

For a longer visit, you must be prepared to (politely!) hold on to your passport in immigration control to avoid the rubber stamp being wielded by the officer at the control desk. Ask to speak to the Senior Immigration Officer on duty. He will interview you at length. He may ask you for your proof of self-support. You must show him documentary evidence of whatever you have decided or devised to be your source of income from Europe . This could be your proof of Occupational Pension payments, a letter from your Bank with current statements to show your net worth or even a certificate from Camelot to show you have just won half a million etc. Be truthful, ultra polite and do not get flustered. Ask for a nine or twelve month permit. Whatever you want. (Twelve months is definitely the maximum stay at any one time).

I must repeat and stress at this point that NOTHING, but NOTHING, will guarantee your entry to the USA, even as a visitor.

Failure to depart from the US on or before the appointed date given will make you an illegal immigrant and liable to deportation and subsequent refusal of re-entry at a future time. Deportation will mean confiscation of all property that cannot be hand carried, including any vehicle, and the permanent removal of the entry visa from your passport.

Do not be too disappointed however if you do not get your twelve month permit. It may be an major inconvenience and an added expense but you can leave the USA for a week or so half way through your trip, by entering either Canada or Mexico . We met fellow Brit's on tour who had been successful with both options. Fortunately, through planning, we did not have to, although we did go into Canada for a time.

You will not be able to purchase a one way ticket to the USA ! You will have to buy a return ticket, most of which are only initially valid up to six months. Be prepared to renew the return date a couple of months into your trip if possible or write it off as an incidental expense. (Even if this is a couple of hundred pounds!) We wrote ours off and purchased a flight back when we needed it! Expensive but, for us, worth it!

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