It seems to be a commonly held belief that under the Visa Waiver Scheme(VWS) visitors can only spend a total of six months in any year in the USA.
As I have no wish to spend that amount of time in the Land of the Free I had not bothered to question that assumption. However a friend, who knows about these things, told me that there is no restriction on the total time you can spend in the USA under the VWS. Obviously the 90 day limit for any one visit and all other conditions still apply.
I have looked at the US embassy web site in some depth and nowhere can I see anything that restricts the aggregate total time you are allowed to spend in the USA under the VWS.
Clearly any stay under the VWS is totally at the discretion of the US Immigration Service, but on the face of it you could leave the country every 90 days and immediately return for another 90 days etc etc.
Have I missed something? Does anyone have any definitive information, as opposed to opinion, that is contrary to my understanding.
Provided you meet all the conditions for the VWS particularly on employment, are solvent, have a return ticket and are not considered to likely to be a burden to the US taxpayer etc etc, it is pertinent to ask why the US authorities would wish to curtail the time you spend in the country.
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