How long can I stay
Posted date : Dec 16, 2021.
I continue to get conflicting opinions about how long I can safely stay in the U.S. One opinion is no more than 183 consecutive days or 183 days cumulative in a calendar year and the other opinion is 183 days per year, but calculated at 100% of current year days + 1/3 of the year prior days and 1/6 of the two years’ prior days.
Barry Larson, Calgary, AB
Ed.: Six months in any 12-month period – period! The calendar year and other calculations have nothing to do with how long you stay – they are tax rules. Obey the primary rule and you will never have to worry about the others. Where some people get caught is entering the U.S. in December one year and wanting to leave in November the following year. If they spend six months in the U.S., then leaving in November would mean that they would be in the U.S. for seven months of the last 12 months. Be careful about this, as the border guards can, and do, count months.
