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I am a UK citizen and I've been in the US on a B2 visa- it will be about 5 1/2 months when I leave.

I've recently been issued a working holiday visa for Canada and plan to go out there in around 4 months.

I met a lot of friends in the USA who are planning a reunion in September, so ideally I'd like to take a quick trip to the USA before going on to Canada. I'm taking like 3 weeks, so I could use the VWP and not the B2 visa. I would probably drive back up to Canada so I wouldn't have a return flight (although I could change this).

Would this be an issue considering how long I've spent in the US this year already?

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    It doesn't answer the question, but be aware that you will become a US resident for tax purposes if you are present for 183 days in a year and will acquire an obligation to file a US tax return for your global income for the year. You might or might not owe taxes, depending on your income and the details of any tax treaty you might benefit from, but ignoring the obligation to file could cause you future problems.
    – user38879
    Commented May 15, 2016 at 19:17
  • Unless your B-2 visa will have expired, you should use it. You're not supposed to use the VWP if you have a visa that is valid for the purpose of your visit.
    – phoog
    Commented May 15, 2016 at 20:10
  • @Dennis is should be noted that the test for whetheran alien is considered a tax resident is considerably more complicated than "183 days in a year." For example, someone who spends 190 days in the US in 2015 and 2016 will not pass the substantial presence test if at least 11 of those days were in 2015, because the total would be 179 + (11 / 3) or 182.7 days.
    – phoog
    Commented May 16, 2016 at 4:58
  • @phoog, Perhaps I should have written "183 days in a calendar year" since that is what I meant. It can be complicated if you spend less than that but once you hit 183 days in a calendar year it is very simple.
    – user38879
    Commented May 16, 2016 at 14:09
  • @Dennis but still 183 days in a calendar year is not sufficient information. I chose the number 190 because it seems that the OP may be in the US roughly that long altogether. Having entered 5 months ago, she probably entered in December, so, depending on the date of entry, and of course on the number of days in 2016 , it would be possible to meet the substantial presence test without having spent 183 days in the US in 2016.
    – phoog
    Commented May 16, 2016 at 15:49

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You can return to the US under the VWP as soon as your B-2 visa expires. You can't use the VWP while you have a valid visitor's visa (source: https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/), nor is there any reason why you'd want to. While your B-2 visa remains valid, you can enter using that, which has fewer restrictions than the VWP.

In both cases, a three-week visit soon after a five-month visit is probably fine. You may be asked to show evidence that your visit is truly going to be short, and the working holiday visa should be helpful with that.

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  • Thank you! I didn't realise I couldn't use the VWP- I just thought it was a better option as I only intend to stay a few weeks- rather than getting 6 months entry again.
    – Tiffyx3x
    Commented May 16, 2016 at 22:50
  • @Tiffyx3x I'm not sure what you think you'd achieve by doing this. You've already paid for the visa, so you wouldn't be saving money; in fact, not using the VWP will save you $14 in ESTA fees. Do you imagine that you would be more likely to be refused entry if you're entering on a visa, because the allowed stay is longer? I think the actual duration of your planned stay is far more significant than the maximum allowed duration.
    – phoog
    Commented May 16, 2016 at 23:07
  • I'm not sure what I was thinking to be honest! I guess I just thought I had the option and that visas were only really needed for stays over 90 days. Thanks for clarifying!
    – Tiffyx3x
    Commented Jun 1, 2016 at 19:53

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