Sailing in the US

[Oceansailor]

Hi,

I’m a EU citizens planning to cruise the US next year. The plan is to spend at least 2 years in the US with the boat. Myself will fly home when it gets to cold. I have already got my VISA as it is needed when you arrive to US with your own boat as a non US citizen.

Questions:

The normal ESTA gives you 90 days. With the B1 VISA it is up to the custom officer to decide how long you can stay. What is the normal time that is granted if you have a VISA?

How long can the boat stay without having to pay sales tax etc. on the boat?

Are there any other things to consider when cruising in the US with a foreign flagged boat?


,

[s/v Moondancer]

My boat is British registered. You will need a cruising permit which is good for a year. You then go to Canada or the Bahamas for two weeks, return to the US and get another cruising permit. I did it for 3 years.

I think the visa gives you renewable 6 months, not a problem for me as I have a US passport.

Not cold in Florida or the Bahamas in winter more like an Englis summer.

[tomfl]

Taxes as in sales tax vary from state to state as does what is called state registration. In Florida you have to register the boat with the state if you stay there more than 90 days, and the sales tax may need to be paid but any tax you have already paid will be subtracted. Some cities and counties may also have taxes of some flavor. It may be possible to move from state to state and avoid paying anything but some of the higher tax state, mainly in the NE, have long arms. Without knowing just where you intend to be and for how long it is not so easy to answer your question.

[boatpoker]

Be prepared to call US Customs and Border Protection every single time you move the boat ..... what a pain in the ass ! They will give you a list of phone numbers with your cruising permit. Many of these numbers will be wrong or "this number is not in service" but they will still give you a lot of grief if you are caught not complying. They can fine you and/or sieze your vessel.

I've been cruising US waters (from Canada) for almost 30 years but things have changed in the last year and has been a difficult and frustrating exercise.

[ArmyDaveNY]

You may leave a boat in New York State for up to 180 days without the need to register it with New York. If you are in certain areas such as New York City or Long Island Sound, you can simply sail across the river or the sound to New Jersey or Conneticut, stay a day, then return and the time starts again.

[sestina]

I write as an EU citzen (for the moment!) How long you get is at the discretion of the admitting officer. I have heard that it is possible to get 16 months out of 24. On my 6 visits I requested 6 months which was granted.

It is worth remembering that you can re set the clock for Canada and the USA by visiting St Pierre et Miquelon which are part of France. The only place in North America I saw a Peugeot, and the electric is 220v!

Don't think of not going. SWMBO and I find it our favorite cruising
ground.

[mickand]

A B1/B2 visa allows you to stay in the U.S. for 6 months out of any given 12 and is not calendar dependent. I wouldn't recommend overstaying any visa, the U.S. immigration computers will have all your records.

[Lionelsole]

Originally Posted by ArmyDaveNY

You may leave a boat in New York State for up to 180 days without the need to register it with New York. If you are in certain areas such as New York City or Long Island Sound, you can simply sail across the river or the sound to New Jersey or Conneticut, stay a day, then return and the time starts again.

That's good information. We might plan to leave our boat on the hard for a few months next year, possibly in Rhode Island. Does anyone know (or know where to find) information about there?

For OP. We have been in the States this summer and would endorse all of the above. Re-entered by air twice and each time got a 6 month top-up. (B1 / B2 visa. Make sure you get this in advance)

[mickand]

I would get in touch with the American Embassy in London and enquire as to the correct definitions of a B1/B2 visitors visa.
I had one back in the early 2000's and was stopped at U.S. Immigration to be informed that I had overstayed the visa - more than 6 months in the U.S. in a 12 month period. I believe you can come and go as you please but once you get to the 6 month limit (all short trips added together) they can refuse entry.
Maybe a Canadian can chip in to this thread - I know they have similar problems when they snowbird in Florida.

[nautitrix]

As a Canadian we don't really require a visa eh. The six months line is cumulative and back dated over a year and becomes less than six months in the second and repetitive years. The time restriction is actually a tax issue as you can be deemed a US. resident for income tax purposes and be required to pay US. income tax. Canada has an arrangement so you would not be required to pay double tax but there is an exception made if the proper forms are filed with US. revenue. You are required to prove that you are paying bills in Canada while you are in the US. Bills such as taxes, hydro etc.
As an aside, we purchased a US made boat. Even though it is a Canadian registered vessel, we were able to prove that the boat was made in the US. As a result, we were informed by Border Services and Customs that we do not need to take the vessel out of American waters to renew our 12 months cruising permit.

[carstenb]

we're going through this right now. When entering the US you can request up to a 12 month stay - if the CPB officer says he can't he needs to call his supervisor - he can.

The stay is cumulative - going to canada will NOT reset the clock. Bermuda will but not canada.

If you thiink you are in danger of staying longer than your visa - you can request an extension - but this you have to get from the Immigration service, not the CPB. The CPB will not issue you a longer cruising license unless the boat also leaves the north american continent.(read canada here also is no good)

RE calling in - you must report coastal movement when you leave a "sector" - the sectors generally (but not always) follow state lines. ONce you have checked into a new sector - you do not have to call again until you come to another new sector.

calling in is not really a problem - just a nuisance

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by carstenb

RE calling in - you must report coastal movement when you leave a "sector" - the sectors generally (but not always) follow state lines. ONce you have checked into a new sector - you do not have to call again until you come to another new sector.

calling in is not really a problem - just a nuisance

This is incorrect. The cruising license states That you must report in at every stop. This has been the case for decades however it was never enforced until last year and is now routinely enforced in a very harsh and incompetent manner. Last year we were given a long list of phone numbers and threatened with a fine or possible vessel seizure if we did not call in every time we stopped. One vessel in Ft. Lauderdale was fined for moving to another slip in the same marina without calling in.

Many on the phone numbers we were given were incorrect i.e. "this number is not in service". Other numbers were incorrect. We spent a small fortune in cell roaming fees and hours on the phone dealing with unpleasant and officious people.

One call of note .... The fella answering the phone rudely told me that I'd called the wrong number and that I should get it right. After a couple of minutes begging for the "right" number he gave it to me and I called back .... It was the same A$%#@#$ that answered ! This is only one of a dozen stories I could tell of last falls trip through the US to the Bahamas.

I've spent about $20k of my retirement income in the US in the last 12 months. I don't think they want me here anymore.

I've been crossing into US waters every year for thirty years and this is the first time I and all my Canadian cruising friends have experienced anything like this.

[SailFastTri]

Originally Posted by Lionelsole

That's good information. We might plan to leave our boat on the hard for a few months next year, possibly in Rhode Island. Does anyone know (or know where to find) information about there?

For OP. We have been in the States this summer and would endorse all of the above. Re-entered by air twice and each time got a 6 month top-up. (B1 / B2 visa. Make sure you get this in advance)

Rhode Island has zero tax on boats. No sales tax nor use tax. It has this policy to encourage marine industry and coastal communities to flourish there.

Sorry I can't help with more info.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

This is incorrect. The cruising license states That you must report in at every stop. This has been the case for decades however it was never enforced until last year and is now routinely enforced in a very harsh and incompetent manner. Last year we were given a long list of phone numbers and threatened with a fine or possible vessel seizure if we did not call in every time we stopped. One vessel in Ft. Lauderdale was fined for moving to another slip in the same marina without calling in.

A old friend from Denmark is cruising the US and stopped by. He reported the US rules have gotten very strict and indeed one is threatened with dire consequences if not following the rules exactly.

He was even instructed to report if he moved anchorage, even if it was in the same area.

[gaucho]

I recently had a terrible experience with CBP. I have a foreign flagged vessel and a cruising permit. My sailboat was stationed in Johns Island, SC, right next to Charleston (to me it's all Charleston). I checked in to St Johns Harbor when I first arrived in January. Actually I checked in twice, because I first arrived at a different marina.

After months of being there, in my slip, last month when I was about to leave for Florida, I anchored in the Charleston bay, so a friend who was anchored there could help me with a few things. I got boarded by the Sheriff, who in turn "called me in to CBP" for not having announced I was going to go to the Charleston bay, who in turn ended up with two CBP officers boarding my boat the next day (in St Johns). These fellows claimed I never checked in. I said I did, I showed them when I arrived on my logbook.

Not enough. Who was the officer? I don't know, I didn't ask. Well you should. I have asked (since this event) and many will not give you a name. Go figure. There is no set of rules. They kind of make them up as they go. I checked in when I arrived in Canaveral, and then when I moved to Ft Pierce I got an aggressive: you don't need to call everytime you move your boat; you already checked into Florida.

Go figure. The peeps in Charleston almost threatened me with seizure of the vessel since they had no record of me checking in. Well, it's a phone call. I did it 4 months ago. If you are going to behave like bitches about it, then make a better system that is not based on a phone call to some dude who won't even give you a "confirmation number" or anything like that. It's broken, and CBP officers hold too much power, and many of them enjoy toting that power around. Sad.