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I live in Vancouver on a working holiday visa, from Australia. I got a waiver form to go to the states, but just went for a day at the beginning of the year. This was the 90 day waiver and then "expired" in the beginning of April. I want to go to Seattle for the long weekend and Disneyland in July. Do I have to get a different visa? Or can I renew my visa waiver that was the 90 day one? If I renew it how?

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  • I am unfamiliar with the 90-day waiver. Are you referring to ESTA? The ESTA site says that they're normally valid for 2 years. Each trip you take must be no longer than 90 days, but the authorization does not expire after 90 days.
    – phoog
    Apr 29, 2015 at 17:37
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    @phoog An ESTA is not required (though it can help) for passport holders of VWP countries to enter the US by land. But if you have one, it is good for two years and multiple entries.
    – Michael Hampton
    Apr 29, 2015 at 17:39
  • @MichaelHampton That's what I thought, but when I visited the ESTA web site I did not see that anywhere.
    – phoog
    Apr 29, 2015 at 17:40
  • @phoog See the boldface text in the official web site I linked in my answer.
    – Michael Hampton
    Apr 29, 2015 at 17:41
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    @phoog Did you happen to read the FAQs from that same web site?
    – Michael Hampton
    Apr 29, 2015 at 17:45

2 Answers 2

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Since it has been more than 90 days since you last entered the US, and more importantly since you were only in the US for a day (and should have a passport stamp from returning to Canada that shows this), you should have no trouble returning for a holiday.

The 90-day rule you have read about is often misinterpreted. It is a rule intended to prevent visa runs to Canada and other nearby countries, so as to catch out people who are illegally trying to live in the US.

Officially:

The terms of the VWP are very clear - it is only to be used for occasional, short visits to the U.S. If the CBP Officer thinks you are trying to "reset" the clock by making a short trip out of the U.S. and re-entering for another 90-day period, you can be denied entry.

Since you are a resident of Canada and have only spent one day in the US, you are obviously not trying to make a visa run and you will have little difficulty returning for another short visit.

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    OTOH, the US Embassy in Australia says you may want a visa for this exact situation. It seems like most people are fine without a visa, but it could be helpful if the OP wants to make a number of trips cross-border (it all comes down to the CBP officer).
    – cpast
    Apr 29, 2015 at 21:24
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The real question in your case is, what do you have to lose? The worst case scenario (and not all that likely) is that you will not be admitted. So you won't go to Seattle, but you'd simply be back in Vancouver. Other than missing out on a splendid city, nothing lost.

That said, your working visa in Vancouver might work against you - an immigration officer might think that you plan on working in the USA as well.

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