4 ms·

I have friends who are expats and they’ve done this for years. I had one family member who left every six months to renew their visa. It’s a chore, but very co

• yibg 1mo ago
  Were they able to come back when they did this?
  • goodluckchuck 1mo ago
    I think the whole point of making someone leave is the possibility that they may not be allowed back in. If staying was a foregone conclusion then there’d be no point in leaving.
    • klardotsh 1mo ago
      I can’t think of any other rationale. What, only border officers are able to process a visa renewal? Please. We can have offices inside the country handle this stuff, just like offices handle Trusted Traveler applications and Social Security card issuances. The point is surely to get another chance to grill the immigrant and potentially bar them entry. Other countries don’t always do this: Canada for example has inland changes of status and I believe renewals.
      • dmix 1mo ago
        > I can’t think of any other rationale. Lack of real domestic enforcement would be an obvious one, so everything gets pushed to the border entry points.
        • fn-mote 1mo ago
          They know who you are and where you work… how hard could it be to enforce rules? Wait, what’s getting enforced here, anyway? They are getting a new visa, no? I don’t believe this rationale at all.
          • achierius 1mo ago
            No, not necessarily. Sometimes visas are rejected. Unless you're talking about giving everyone who gets a visa a green card?
          • 15155 1mo ago
            > They know who you are and where you work Most visas don't permit their holder to work. > Wait, what’s getting enforced here, anyway? The visa holder is forced to expend nominal financial resources and time in their home country (where they agreed they would return to.) Most people can't afford to maintain a facade of residency or two actual residences (and those who can aren't the intended targets of this type of restriction.)
            • aveao 1mo ago
              You do not need to do it in your "home country" at all, though, is the thing. People plan vacations around appointments they manage to land for this, in countries they want to go for their summer holidays. Additionally, it doesn't really do that either, you don't need a valid visa (only valid status) if you don't plan to leave and re-enter US, so this mainly forces people to stay within US rather than going elsewhere for visiting family, vacation and whatnot. I'd not be surprised if the net effect was less time/money spent in "home country".
          • nomel 1mo ago
            > how hard could it be to enforce rules? See the recent events and pushback on immigration enforcement, to answer this, with whole cities (with their judicial system and police) refusing to participate, and governors condemning enforcement.
            • mrguyorama 1mo ago
              Those cities had very little problem when Obama was deporting millions. Almost like what I have an actual problem with isn't deporting illegal immigrants, but armed thugs kidnapping citizens, harassing my neighbors, and murdering several citizens Our police department hired a guy, did a background check, yup, he can be here legally. So of course ICE tracks him down and abducts him for a month. That drove our sheriff, who is not fucking liberal, to basically say "Uh, what the fuck, how can you possibly be this incompetent?" If you have actual evidence of some kind that a human being does not have their paperwork in order, the correct thing is to give them a summons, get a judge to declare them not legal, and deport them. Very simple. If your complaint is that too many immigrants just come back, then we should try enforcing the law against hiring illegal immigrants which we put on the books under Reagan, 50 years ago, and have never enforced because it hurts the profits of well connected Agriculture industry people. Why hasn't Trump done that? Why hasn't Trump done the one thing everyone involved has suggested for decades, which is known to be the primary reason immigrants come here? Why did Trump tell Republicans to reject the Boarder bill proposed by democrats in 2024? One which absolutely would have provided more funding for the boarder?
      • 15155 1mo ago
        > I can’t think of any other rationale. For many visas, people are expected to maintain a home that they intend to return to in their country of origin. Forcing people to leave every once in a while makes this more likely (at least in theory.)
      • pstuart 1mo ago
        They've made no secret of the desire to purge the country of "others". This is part of that plan.
        • 15155 1mo ago
          "Must leave to renew" certain visas has been policy for decades - through at least the Clinton, Obama, and Biden administrations. Most visas are for temporary guests: obtaining a visa doesn't normally give someone the right to permanently reside, and most don't permit their holders to work.
          • pstuart 1mo ago
            Prior administrations were not full-throated nativists. Having a presidential campaign promise of mass deportation (happily consumed by The Base) is proof positive of the mindset of this administration.
      • iamjackg 1mo ago
        Not sure if things have changed recently, but up until at least 2019 (last time I had to do it iirc) you definitely had to do a "flagpole" (drive through the border and immediately turn back) to change your status in Canada.
        • mattkrause 1mo ago
          Nah, you can renew work permits online—-and in fact, they push you to. However, the in-country processing takes 6 months while the flagpole option (If you’re eligible) takes 15 minutes.
      • jimmydorry 1mo ago
        Canada effectively requires leaving and re-entering. It can take multiple months for an online visa to get processed, meanwhile leaving and reentering takes hours.
        • Scoundreller 1mo ago
          there were other dumb factors pushing people to do border runs, like your paperwork says "expired" but your status still being valid while being processed. Except you had zero paperwork to show to an employer and they had no way to verify themselves. Even if an employer understood the process and accepted some proof that you submitted an application, they would have no idea if you were rejected and became out-of-status.
    • preg_match 1mo ago
      Maybe stimulating the airline economy? Is Big Plane at it again?
    • aveao 1mo ago
      Isn't there's a special case with Canada where you can return within x days even if your visa has expired, if your status is valid? Many go there for "consular processing" for that reason if I recall correctly.
• BrandoElFollito 1mo ago
  In the EU you do not need to leave to renew your visa. I don't know how common it is elsewhere.
  • ihsw 1mo ago
    [dead]
  • retired 1mo ago
    Visa rules are country specific and don’t apply to the EU in general. There are countries that require you to leave.
    • BrandoElFollito 1mo ago
      Do you have any examples? I expected Schengen to have a common set of requirements regarding visas.
      • retired 1mo ago
        An Irish work holiday visa can only be requested from outside the country and has a maximum validity. https://enterprise.gov.ie/en/what-we-do/workplace-and-skills/employment-permits/permit-types/sport-and-cultural-employment-permit/ https://enterprise.gov.ie/en/what-we-do/workplace-and-skills...
        • TazeTSchnitzel 1mo ago
          That's not a renewal. It's fairly standard for EU countries to require being outside the country to apply for a visa or residence permit when it is your first one, or (in some cases) when changing the type of visa or permit. But renewals never need you to leave.
          • BrandoElFollito 1mo ago
            An in addition Ireland is not part of Schengen
• sega_sai 1mo ago
  Sorry, but that is not common around the world. Most countries do not have such a system. I.e. none of the EU/UK/Australia countries have that.
• assemblyman 1mo ago
  Were the visas for the US? B1/B2? I know stuff like this happens for digital nomads in southeast asia or Schengen but the US generally doesn't approve of "visa runs".
  • davidlumley 1mo ago
    Visa renewals are processed at a US consulate. You can extend your status (ie you ability to legally be in the US) while staying in the US, but if you want to renew your visa (your ability to leave and re-enter) you need to visit a consulate and those only exist outside of the US.
    • assemblyman 1mo ago
      I was questioning the renewals every six months and asking about US visas which are granted for 6 months (i.e. expire after 6 months). I am aware of renewals requiring leaving the country.
• dgellow 1mo ago
  Is it? You’re generally able to renew without leaving. Unless you mean abusing a visitor visa?
• aveao 1mo ago
  Common around the world? I'd be curious what other countries require this, pretty much everywhere else I know has you renew your status within the country (incl. US), and they give you some form of proof of residence that takes the place of a visa (excl. US). In many cases I've seen this is either a sticker on your passport (incl. possibly a visa) or a physical card, and does not require traveling abroad for it for "consular processing". This is the case for Schengen countries, Canada, UK, Australia, Japan, Thailand, etc.
  • y-curious 1mo ago
    Thailand explicitly requires you to leave the country. There are companies that specialize in bussing expats to nearby countries.
    • jpgvm 1mo ago
      The so called "visa runs" are for getting around not having the appropriate visa. I was on a proper employment visa 8 years, never needed to leave the country.
    • aveao 1mo ago
      No, you can extend your visa at the local immigration bureau if you have the appropriate type (that lets you work, though even tourist visas are extendable¹) and pay the cost². People who do visa runs are doing so to extend their tourist visas for cheap. ¹: I've done it before at Si Racha Immigration Bureau. In my case it was more expensive than doing a visa run or paying the fine for 3 days of overstaying, but it was less hassle and left a positive/neutral mark on my passport, not a suspicious one. ²: This can sadly also require bribery just to get them to do their job, even if you do everything by the book. People around us were bringing bribes in form of food. We weren't asked for a bribe, probably because the person I was traveling and applying with had an official passport.
  • mlrtime 1mo ago
    Hong Kong and the UK at least when I lived there, had to leave and come back, easy in HK to go to China and come back with a fresh stamp.