Im a UK citizen, and am pondering the many possible ways of staying in north america for longer than should be alowed.
My ultimate aim is doing the pan america trip by car, from canada. However the problems i am having at the moment are with the US and canada normal holiday visa or more the exact time scales of them and requirments. I would like to arrive in Vancouver, now i know you get a 6 months vistor visa for canada, but i read somewhere you needed a return ticket to the UK, as my aim is to drive to argentina im not going to have this and will arrive in canada on a one way ticket, will this be a problem at immigration?
The other big problem is going to the US, ideally i would like to stay in canada a few months, but i have a few friends in seattle and portland, which are a few hours drive from vancouver, whome i wouldnt mind visiting in these initial months in canada, i know i can enter on the VWP but i read that the 90 day clock starts ticking as soon as you enter and even when you go back to canada it still ticks away (as if you were still in the states) is this true? or can i enter the states from canada as many times i want on my normal canadian holiday visa? eventually i'd like to do some extensive traveling inside the states (near enough the full 90 days).
another concern is when entering the states, will they accept that i dont have a clear departure date, and that my departure happens to be mexico and not a clear cut plane ticket out of there?!?!
much help if any of these questions can be answered.
regards
ash

The USA likes to see a return ticket out of the country. A friend of mine was once told she could leave the country to to to Mexico, but unless she had the return ticket, she wasn't getting into the country.

There's no law against not using the second ticket and leaving through Mexico, of course. Perhaps if you bought a greyhound ticket to Mexico out they would accept that if you had some proof.

Still, considering that its nearly impossible to get a cheap one way ticket from Europe anymore, its probably a moot point. Usually, its cheaper to get a cheap return flight from Britain than a lower priced one-way. If you know of ways, let me know. oops.. Britain ALSO likes to see a return flight...

Once in the USA, its much like Europe. Spies don't follow you around, but if you're caught, there could be negative consequences for your return. You have to remember that Customs people check passports at the land border as well, so its a 'risk'.

Oh, and sneaking INTO Mexico is a monumentally bad idea if you want to go anywhere south of Mexico city and towards Oaxaca. Unless you fly, there are customs-military roadblocks all over Southern Mexico, and they WILL give you 24 hours to regularise your status or eject you summarily, depending on their mood.

Leaving Mexico with no stamp or travelling papers is also a bit tricky. You have to do some serious talking or 'bribing' to get away without trouble. It happened to me once. The Mexican inmigration people DO notice such things. I did it, but then, I knew nearly fluent Spanish and I got lucky with a lazy immigration person. They kept insisting I had no stamp. I insisted that was correct, and how could I help them solve this problem. I reminded them I was going into the USA on that very bus. They decided, ultimately, that pulling me in and doing the paperwork wasn't worth their trouble, and they waved me on. It was a close call. NEVER accuse them of lying or trying to hurt you, or you will really get the shaft. By the way, I never intended to enter Mexico without papers, it happened by an accident I don't care to repeat.

Ask me why I stayed without papers in the North. Go ahead. I'll tell you I tried to regularize my papers in Mexico city once before, and it took me three days, two of which involved standing in long lines, then a day of sitting in the InMigration office waiting for them to call my name while lawyers walked up and presented their clients cases, recieving them immediately. Lesson: If you have problems in Mexico and have money, it pays to pay an Immigration lawyer with references to smooth things over, IF it is a simple matter.

The Mexicans authorities favorite answer to "Why can't you accord me this special favor" is
"Porque No". It means, literally, Because NO, because I said so, don't push me.

If you're going onto another country from mexico, it could very well be the same story. Guatemala does not like people who have no visa stamp either. Unless you plan on a string of illegal entries, get it right the first time and all will be a joy. I have seen at first hand just how inefficiently the Guatemalan handles irregularities of visas. It is not pretty.