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I visited the USA earlier this year for 6 weeks. I intend to go back next year on the same ESTA visa in March for another 6 weeks to search for a job. This would bring me to the full length of the ESTA visa.

I'm concerned that 6 weeks won't be enough time to find a job, so I'm wondering if it is possible to request an entirely new 90 day visa, even though I have a currently valid visa.

Does anyone have any knowledge on this? Would it be a risky thing to do?

Pat
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    @Pat An ESTA is not a visa https://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/66243/what-is-the-us-visa-waiver-program-and-what-is-an-esta and it does not guarantee you admission once you land in the US. See also https://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/20614/is-it-permitted-to-look-for-a-job-while-visiting-the-us-under-the-visa-waiver-pr regarding job hunting – Traveller Dec 05 '19 at 08:14
  • @HankyPanky I visited the USA on an ESTA for a job interview and I was honest at the border about it. Got through without any issues. However you cannot look for a job on an ESTA, you must have the job interview pre-arranged before you arrive. – Mark Henderson Dec 06 '19 at 00:33
  • To paraphrase the answer, which you should accept: you have misunderstood. An ESTA authorization and the visa waiver program allow you to visit the US for up to 90 days per visit, not for 90 days over the entire two-year period of ESTA validity. Getting a new ESTA will not help you in any way. – phoog Dec 06 '19 at 02:26
  • @MarkHenderson what's the basis for that last sentence? It doesn't seem at all right to me. Showing up unannounced somewhere and saying "I'd like to work for you" should be fine. What you really can't do is actual work. – phoog Dec 06 '19 at 02:31
  • @phoog a really brief google search shows dozens of references, but for completeness sake: https://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/22560/travelling-to-the-us-on-the-visa-waiver-program-vwp-to-attend-a-job-interview and https://www.official-esta.com/esta-resources/what-are-the-esta-eligibility-questions/ and https://usponsorme.com/en/us-jobs/do-i-need-a-visa-for-usa/ – Mark Henderson Dec 06 '19 at 04:20
  • @MarkHenderson "are you seeking to work" means "do you intend to work on this visit." It is not the same as "seeking work" as in "looking for an employer to sponsor a future work visa." There's nothing magical about having an interview scheduled before you arrive in the US. Despite its name, "official esta dot com" is not an official site and their unsourced interpretation of the rules is not authoritative. – phoog Dec 06 '19 at 07:07

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Your post is confusing. There is no "90-day visa". You are probably talking about the 90-day admission period on the Visa Waiver Program. When you enter the US on the Visa Waiver Program, you are almost always admitted for 90 days (unless you have only been to Canada or Mexico or Caribbean islands since your last stay on VWP), regardless of how long you stayed on previous stays.

To enter on the Visa Waiver Program if you are arriving by air, you need an ESTA. (To enter by land, you do not need an ESTA.) The ESTA just needs to be valid on the day of entry. The ESTA is valid for 2 years from when you got it. So as long as the day you plan to enter on your next trip is before the end of the 2-year validity of the ESTA (even if on the expiration date itself), you will be admitted on the Visa Waiver Program for 90 days, enough for a 6-week visit.

user102008
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