When revisiting US within 90 days under ESTA for how long will my passport be stamped?

Question

I live in Athens Greece and am in the US on the ESTA. This is my first time in the US. My 90 days will expire soon. A friend of mine from Budapest claimed that he was able to go to Mexico for a few days "on vacation" and then was able to stay in the US for an additional 90 days. He also suggested keeping my current ticket to go back to the US and changing it once I return to the US (if I'm allowed back in). He said that they will stamp my passport since I will be "flying out in a few days" from the US. He says once I receive this stamp I will be allowed to stay for another 90 days.

I looked at my current stamp on my passport and it has a 90 day period of how long I can stay in the US.

If/when my passport is re-stamped and I am admitted back into the US, will there be dates of how long I may stay again?

Once your passport is stamped a second time do they always include the period of time you are allowed to stay?

For example if I come back into the US on December 28th and my (original) return flight is for December 30th will they stamp my passport for the two remaining days?

Answer 1

This is a very risky strategy. There is an explicit provision of the VWP that allows border guards to readmit you for the remainder of your original 90-day stay if you travel to an "adjacent territory," which of course includes Mexico. This is for the express purpose of preventing "visa runs"; that is, it is supposed to stop people from doing precisely what you're trying to do.

So, for example, if you entered on October 5th, and were admitted until January 2nd, and you go to Mexico and return on December 28th, you are most likely to be admitted until January 2nd. If you indicate plans to stay in the US after January 2nd, you may be refused admission.

If you want to go out in the hope that you'll be given another 90 days by an inattentive border guard, you can always try. If your new stamp indicates a departure date of March 27th, then you are probably fine to stay until then. If you're prepared to leave the US by the original deadline, and they don't give you any extra time when they readmit you, then there's nothing lost.

Answer 2

I am not a travel guru or anything, this is my personal experience.

We were traveling from NY up to Canada, took us a bit more than a month. After staying in Canada for a week, we did not get our stay renewed when we reentered the US. The same thing happened in mexico.