View Full Version : Hello from England
Russet Apple
07-29-2003, 11:39
being an experienced hiker living in England, I have recently become obsessed with thru-hiking the AT and read any material I can get my hands on. I have been over and done a small part already (Sunfish Pond in NJ) but would like more advice on doing the entire hike.
Can I gain entry into the States for the 6 months or so or would I have to do this illegaly? Also, being nearly 91, would this be advisable to attempt on my own, or would it be a good idea to bring my dog (a Westie that likes fruit pastilles)? I am recently divorced and this is the first real opportunity for me to do this so I don't want to miss out before it's too late.
Is a tent necessary?
Best wishes
Lone Wolf
07-29-2003, 11:59
91? Your profile says you're 33. Leave the dog home. You'd best get visa info from INS before you even come here. A tent ain't necessary but some sort of shelter is. Don't count on shelter space. Ever.
MadAussieInLondon
07-29-2003, 13:49
I'm going to TH next year, currently living in london.
you need a visa for anything over 3 months. gotta show proof you can sustain yourself, ie: show a large bank balance.
if you overstay your visa you are put in a detention centre and banned from coming back to the use for 1yr. i forget exact details but i looked it up since if my hike went >6months i am going to overstay it till I finish up.
leave the dog with the ex.
load the pack up with 20-30 pounds and go hike the west highland way, pennine way, coast 2 coast. its a nice warmup for the AT.
Downunda
07-29-2003, 19:27
A non US citizen can get a visitors visa for up to 6 months maximum. It's easy enough to get and the turnaround was about 10 days. 6 months is more than adequate to hike the AT.
In 2002 Smudge (from the UK) came in without a visa (under the 3 month no visa system) and when his 3 month stay was up he thought he'd just drop over the border into Canada and come back in again. No way, when he got to Ontario he found out he couldn't come back in to the USA.
The system is that you have to leave the American mainland to re-apply. Smudge then had to fly back to the UK and come back. It cost him 3 weeks and many $ to find out that he should have gotten the 6 month visa in the first place.
Visa's seem easy. I mean on the visa it asks if you have firearms, explosive and chemical warfare training, to which I had to ask yes, yes and yes (I was an infantry officer). Didn't take long. The only problem you have is that they want an address of were you are going to stay in the states. My address was Springer Mountain Sheleter, Springer Mountain, GA!
Also the INS guy at the airport couldn't understand that I was hiking from GA to Maine......maybe if I had said I was taking a mobile home from GA to ME stoping at Sizzler and Friendly's every 6 hours then he wouldn't have had his eyebrow raised so much!
Mongo
p.s Do it.....the BEST thing you will ever do!
you have to overstay your 3 month initial entry period by 6 months. Therefore, that gives you a total of 9 months to hike.
If you stay longer than 6 months over, you'll get banned from entering the US for 18 mos. Supposedly.
I have come to understand that my participation in this forum is counter productive. In an attempt to ammend this I am deleting my posts and have requested to have my account deleted