Nope. Bad bad BAAAD idea. Never mention housesitting and delete any mention of housesitting on your smart devices including apps, emails, texts, calendar entries, following on social media, … Then delete all signs of your deletions. Do have some proofs of accommodation along your itinerary. I’d avoid using “staying with friends” because that requires a backstory that you and your “friends” need to share which complicates things. Stay away from complicated. You’re tourists visiting the US to see x, y and z and you have proof of adequate funds and/or on-going employment needed to support yourself while in the US.
Remote work is a gray area in US immigration law so being a digital nomad is an additional risk, particularly if your clients include US companies. Tourist visas are strictly for touristing. Anything beyond that falls under the subjective judgement of whichever border agent you randomly end up dealing with.
Housesitting is NOT strictly disallowed. It all depends on the border agent’s take on the situation. But the consequences of being turned back at the border are pretty stiff. It’s not usually a criminal act but you’ll be treated like a criminal and likely barred for years from future entry to the US. Stories of travelers being stopped at airport entries over housesitting like arrangements do exist but are quite rare, predate the current administration and invariably involve more issues than just the housesitting arrangements. Those stories are also not limited to the US.
The border-crossing risk is as real and as likely as any other of the myriad travel risks.
That phrase reads like it’s right out of THS’s border crossing playbook. Ignore that playbook. Though not paid work, housesitting can be viewed as a commercial barter arrangement. Commercial activity of any kind on a B1/B2 can be a problem.
You don’t introduce anything to immigration officers. They ask the questions they want and you reply with friendly but short answers. Long answers invite more questions. More questions is never a good thing when dealing with any authority figures and certainly not with immigration officials. You do want a thoroughly planned itinerary in mind/printed out/on a smart device with no mentions of housesitting or visiting clients or anything else remotely commercial. Your goal at immigration is to share as little of that itinerary as possible but be able to share it entirely if necessary. FWIW, that would be my plan whether entering the US, UK, EU, Canada or wherever.
@nomadedigital, tourist visa will presumably not cover employment. But US laws, enforced by border control, define housesitting as employment with in-kind compensation. In this viewpoint, an international housesitter completing a US housesit is stealing a job from an American. As newlyweds, it’s possible that you’re relatively youthful - so may potentially be deemed higher immigration risk by US border agents. Suggest ensure that your seeming US housesit plans are aligned with your personal risk appetite.
Many non-US housesitters appear to be avoiding US housesits, on the basis of perceived legal risk. Certainly as international housesitters ourselves then we perceive evolving world events as a non-temporary change - we have no foreseeable plans to revisit the US.
There’s a huge THS Forum thread on related topics.
I think the important takeway for the OP is the realization that it’s not a “mistake” or “misunderstanding” as THS claims when there are questions at the border about exchanging housesitting for accomodations. There are many non-monetary and in-kind situations that fall under the category of “work” and which you cannot do with a tourist visa. This includes many forms of volunteer work, even charitable work, unpaid internships, etc. This isn’t about finding a good way to explain it or even lying. It’s about understanding the risk you run and circumventing the risk (if you choose to) by presening a real set of tourist plans including hotel reservations for at least the first few nights and a return ticket.
Personally as a homeonwer in the US, I don’t generally accept sitters who’ll be crossing a border and using a tourist visa to get to my sit because I can find sitters who will not have to take the risk.
The reality is it is a risk everywhere. Most countries consider volunteering equal to work. A couple of US girls were refused entry to one of the Nordic countries last year when they mentioned volunteering at a festival. You are always there for tourism.
You can delete apps etc all you like off your phone but if they are suspicious of you I am sure immigration can find ways to check. How lucky do you feel?
I think you will face multiple barriers on entry, unfortunately.
I am guessing you are young, so that raises suspicion in border officials (CBP). Younger people have more incentive to overstay their visa, because they have fewer ties to their home country. That will lead to increased scrutiny.
Housesitting is absolutely not permitted under US immigration laws. it is not a grey area or at the discretion of the CBP officer. It is considered work because you are providing a service in exchange for a benefit.
IF the CBP officer does let you into the US, she may not allow you to stay very long. CBP can decide how long you are permitted to stay in the US on the B visa. What if they give you just 3 weeks and you have sits booked for months?
I would not engage a foreign national sitter who was not already in the US. The risks of them not getting to my sit would deter me. I always have other sitters to choose from, so why take that chance? I’m more aware of this than others, however, because I was an immigration lawyer.
@Lassie as always your educated input is invaluable. It’s all well and good hoping you will fly under the radar. Certain people will not. You need to understand clearly the risk you are taking and decide if you are prepared should it go pear shaped. If I were a host in the US I would not take the chance someone could get in, particularly if they were arriving just before the sit.