My wife and I have been a member of THS in England for 12 months of which we have spent around 9 months having a great time sitting for a number of pet parents
Having spent a number of years working on America, we are thinking of returning for a long length of time doing a number of sits around the country.
Please may we ask if there is a specific visa for this type of volunteer projects and for how long can we travel doing THS sits in America?
Do not use the words volunteering or work. We travel on a B1/B2 visa in the US. This allows us a rolling 6 months in the country. But we are not allowed to volunteer or work. The border guards are becoming very aware of this so choose your words very carefully. visiting friends is always a good answer. And you are but you havenāt met them yet in person. Our strategy is book the first night in a new country in a hotel and only answer the questions asked and do not volunteer any additional information. Specific visas allow work/volunteering but I donāt think pet sitting would be justification. The US Government do not see any difference between the two. Both are taking an opportunity from a US citizen.
We did a 2 year road trip in US and Canada, lots of pet sitting with some touristy things. It is a diverse fantastic country and we would love to go back. We are avoiding it at the moment till some things change. Try Canada - open spaces, isolation, scenery that makes you cry, honest and welcoming people, huge ( and I mean huge). We go back again and again.
Personally, I am avoiding the US at the moment for all kinds of reasons.
I would be very careful about travelling to the US for sits and perhaps carry out a risk assessment. What is the likelihood of you being questioned by border agents about the purpose of your visit and failing to convince them that you arenāt in the US for work, which includes unpaid sits? What might be the consequences of not convincing border agents that you wonāt be breaking your visa conditions? You could for example be held for weeks, or months in a detention centre and barred from returning to the US. The likelihood might be low but the consequences could be severe, is that risk acceptable to you?
We have been thinking about going to the UK for an extended tripā combining home exchanges, THS sits, staying with friends, and staying in paid accommodations.
The article sums it up nicely. When I post a listing, I regular send a link to the Challenges thread to sitters who apply from outside the US. I shall also send the link to this article.
A: read the article above. B: do not come to the US.
The tension here is palpable and getting worse, and immigration services are wielding unprecedented amounts of power. I donāt mean to be dramatic, but I donāt consider the US to be a safe or tourist-friendly place right now. I will only consider US citizens who are here now for sits. Personally, Iām off to Canada on Saturday, canāt wait! Wish theyād let me stay forever.
Everyone has their own risk assessments / risk tolerance, of course.
Something else to consider: Some hosts might be open to inviting folks to stay even without sitting. Like thereās another thread with a host who mentioned the possibility of hosting a sitter simply as a guest, without a sit. Iāve been invited for such as well. And I have guest quarters and would be open to hosting folks if I hit it off with them. Theyād just stay, because I donāt have anyone watch my dog other than professionals, since heās super reactive.
Personally, the risk for me is acceptable, of being detained and being deported. The politics in the USA is not a concern either, Iāve always found Americans to be friendly, generous and hospitable. What does deter me from returning is the cost of groceries, eating out and the tipping culture. Do I really want to give a 20% tip for someone making a coffee?
@TheEnglishFlaneur . . .. The tipping culture in the USA really confuses me and stressed me out when I last visited . . . Am I supposed to tip everyone for every type of service? If I go into a cafe and order takeaway food, for example? I felt like I was throwing dollars randomly all over the place because I wasnāt sure what the expectation was.
This happened over the pandemic. They started requesting tips for things we had never tipped for before and now its just continued. Typically 20% is the norm at a restaurant where they actually serve you! Everything else, dont bother.
I think the worst was an ice cream place, you scooped your own flavor(a), added your own toppings, and there was a checkout āstationā which was the first human contact of the experience. Of course with payment there was a line for ātipā . I left nothing since I did all the work myself!
Yeah, I wouldnāt I think someone else pointed out on this forum somewhere, that really made me think: what if youāre in an accident (even a minor fender-bender in a parking lot), or you need emergency medical help, or get stopped at a routine traffic check, or for some other weird random reason because Murphyās Law, wind up talking to āauthoritiesā and it somehow comes out that youāre staying in someoneās house as a sitterā¦ then what happens?
Media is pretty good at catastrophizing, but there are enough troubling stories ā and from just ordinary Americans ā to make many travellers decide to go elsewhere. Perhaps you donāt get a lot of USA news in England, but Iād do some research into current events if I were you. I donāt like to rain on someoneās parade saying āDonāt go do that thing you think will be funā ā¦ but ā¦
A while back someone said living in Canada these days is like living in an apartment with a meth lab downstairs. It hasnāt got better since.
Perhaps there are other countries you might be interested in? You might have the same legal/visa concerns with Canada, but things are a wee bit less insane here.
Were you ever asked to show your itinerary, or challenged as to why you only have one nightās hotel booking? On my sadly-last-time trip over the border in February, customs guy wanted my flight itinerary. Iād already said I was touristing & visiting friends. I have done the first-night-hotel thing before just because of travel logistics, but I wonder what might happen if I was asked to show my hotel booking as well.
Moot question, I guess, as Iām not going again āfor a whileā
@Dek, each person has their own risk appetite. Rewards of such a visit and any risks/consequences are your own.
Before current situation, we spent several months housesitting in US. Mostly wonderful Pet Parents, looked after mostly great pets - though every dog housesit used a spike choke collar, culture we guess. Very enjoyable experiences. But we would not even consider a US housesit in current environment as related risks exceed our appetite. Irrespective of board guard conversation then, as @ABGM duly noted, if something happened (e.g. unexpected medical matter or car accident or ā¦) then outcome is uncertain.
Worldās a big place. Thousands of housesits out there.
There is NO visa that covers housesitting in the US. It is regarded as illegal work. If you are caught you will be detained and could be deported or, if very unlucky, incarcerated. And then never be allowed back in! Its not worth the risk.
Currently, many sitters are avoiding the US for the time being, ourselves included. Read the article posted above- posted by @TheEnglishFlaneur and take it seriously. The US border control is brutal.
If you have a high risk tolerance and are willing to ālieā your way in, e.g say youāre visiting friends etc, then it may be doable- some sitters are still risking it but- be very well prepared e.g deleting the THS app off your phone and any other incriminating messages, while travelling & prepping your host to say you are āfriendsā which is not completely untrue. Just be super cautious what you say or do and donāt volunteer anything not asked.Have an exit flight to show if required.
On an ESTA you can stay up to 90 days at a time- as a tourist only.
There is no TOURIST visa that explicitly allows for housesitting in the US or pretty much anywhere else in the world. There are visas that allow housesitting but they are hard to come by whether youāre talking about the US, UK, Canada, Australia, the EU, Latin America, ā¦
stations too.
. I left nothing since I did all the work myself!
I think someone else pointed out on this forum somewhere, that really made me think: what if youāre in an accident (even a minor fender-bender in a parking lot), or you need emergency medical help, or get stopped at a routine traffic check, or for some other weird random reason because Murphyās Law, wind up talking to āauthoritiesā and it somehow comes out that youāre staying in someoneās house as a sitterā¦ then what happens? 
