How long must you stay in DR before you can re-enter US

A

anita29

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Mar 5, 2009
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Someone I know has a visa for the US and he just went back to DR (february)after a four month visit in New York with his grandmother. My question is when can he re-enter the US to visit with his grandmother? His grandmother wants him to go back in 2 months (April or early may) but I am not sure if they will allow him back in after just two months. He has a 10 year entry visa to the US and has never overstayed. I have heard some horror stories that sometimes they send you back to your country. She is scared that once he arrives in new york they will deny him entrance and make him go back to DR. How much time is sufficient?
Thanks!
Ana
 
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AnnaC

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Jan 2, 2002
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According to the US website Duration & Extension of Stay in the U.S How the Visa Expiration Date is Different

Some info is listed below


Many individuals have difficulty understanding the difference between the visa expiration date and the length of time you have permission to remain in the United States. These are very different terms.
What is a Visa?


  • Citizens of foreign countries generally need visas to enter the United States. A visa is permission to apply to enter the United States. It is a document which is affixed to a page in your passport.
  • Under U.S. law the Department of State has responsibility for issuing visas, and most visas are issued at one of the Department of State embassies and consulates abroad. Therefore, when you want to travel to the United States, you must first apply for a visa at an American embassy or consulate abroad. A consular officer decides whether you are qualified for a visa.
  • A visa doesn’t permit entry to the U.S. A visa simply indicates that your application has been reviewed by a U.S. consular officer at an American embassy or consulate, and that the officer determined you’re eligible to travel to the port-of-entry for a specific purpose. The port of entry can be an international airport, a seaport or a land border crossing.
  • At the port-of-entry a U.S. immigration officer of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) decides whether to allow you to enter and how long you can stay for any particular visit. Only the U.S. immigration officer has the authority to permit you to enter the United States.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]What Does the Visa Expiration Date Mean?[/FONT]


[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The visa expiration date is shown on the visa. Depending on the alien’s nationality, visas can be issued for any number of entries, from as little as one entry to as many as multiple (unlimited) entries, for the same purpose of travel.[/FONT]
  • This generally means the visa is valid, or can be used from the date it is issued until the date it expires, for travel for the same purpose, when the visa is issued for multiple entry.
  • This time period from the visa issuance date to visa expiration date as shown on the visa, is called visa validity . If you travel frequently as a tourist for example, with a multiple entry visa, you do not have to apply for a new visa each time you want to travel to the U.S.
  • As an example of travel for the same purpose, if you have a visitor visa, it cannot be used to enter at a later time to study in the U.S. The visa validity is the length of time you are permitted to travel to a port-of-entry in the United States to request permission of the U.S. immigration inspector to permit you to enter the U.S. The visa does not guarantee entry to the U.S.

  • The Expiration Date for the visa should not be confused with the authorized length of your stay in the U.S., given to you by the U.S. immigration inspector at port-of-entry, on the Arrival-Departure Record, Form I-94, or I-94W for the Visa Waiver Program. The visa expiration date has nothing to do with the authorized length of your stay in the U.S. for any given visit.

  • There are circumstances which can serve to void or cancel the period of time your visa is valid. If you overstay the end date of your authorized stay, as provided by the Department of Homeland Security''s U.S. immigration officer at port of entry, or United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), then this action on your part generally will automatically void or cancel your visa. However, if you have filed an application in a timely manner for extension of stay or a change of status, and that application is pending and not frivolous, and if you did not engage in unauthorized employment, then this normally does not automatically cancel your visa. If you have applied for adjustment of status to become a permanent resident alien (“green card” holder), you should contact USCIS regarding obtaining Advance Parole before leaving the U.S.
  • Each time you arrive at the port-of-entry, a U.S immigration officer decides whether to allow you to enter and how long you can stay. Only the U.S. immigration officer has the authority to permit you to enter the United States.
 
SantiagoDR

SantiagoDR

The "REAL" SantiagoDR
Jan 12, 2006
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If he goes back too soon they will believe that he is there working and deny him entry and possibly even take his VISA.

Two months is too short I believe, since he was there for four months, he must be working will be their opinion.

As AnnaC pointed out, the officer at the port of entry will make the decision.

With 4 months in the States and only 2 months out, they will be thinking very hard about his returning so soon.

When he does decide to go back after a reasonable time out of the country, perhaps discuss it with the officer on his next trip for his opinion.

I had a friend that was denied entry once for those reasons.


Don
 
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