Can you drive acoss America for a year?

[gilly1980]

Hi

My partner and I want to buy an RV motorhome and drive across USA for a year, we have savings so we're not intending to work once over there. Our concerns are; tax, insurance, visas etc. Has anyone else been able to do something like this as it seems everyone else has done the OZ option but we really fancy America.


Any advice

Thanks

Paul

[NORMANTHEDOG]

the visa waiver scheme in the USA will only let you stay for 90 days,you will need a visa from the embassy if you want to stay any longer.

[KARL]

Apart from visa issues, once you decide to go to the US (for however long) it really is most unwise to enter the country without thorough health insurance because anything that can go wrong is quite likely to go wrong - through no fault of yours. It is perhaps possible to arrange this through an office in Europe/UK but my suspicion is that it might be easier in the US itself (before going there of course). No doubt trawling the internet will turn up something useful -note that ordinary travel insurance is unlikely to stretch to cover the sort of time that you have in mind, but you could ask someone like Trailfinders although I think their policies are underwritten by AXA who are loathe to pay out on claims. On the visa - one posibility might be to plan your journey in such a way that you exit into a neighbouring country before the 90 days and then re-enter. There is absolutely nothing illegal about this, although the paranoia that has gripped the US may mean that you will be questioned fairly closely about your past, present and future. In the end you will have every part of your anatomy scanned and on record in the interest of freedom and democracy (not necessarily yours, you understand). The idea is a good one, bringing it about takes considerable effort and lots of patience just like planning a trek through central Africa - the bureaucratic and procedural obstacles are not greatly dissimilar (meticulous planning being distinctly advisable).

[dzug]

On the visa - one posibility might be to plan your journey in such a way that you exit into a neighbouring country before the 90 days and then re-enter.

The visa waiver rules very specifically forbid this. It's illegal.

[Dee Sa]

re: re entry, my husband has a Portugese passport and obtained a 10yr visit visa from the US Embassy in London, whilst in Anaheim we wanted to go to Tijuana on a long day organised trip but the tour people refused to take us because they said they could not guarantee he would be granted re-entry.