US B1/B2 Visa: Understanding the 180-Day Stay Limit

B-1/B-2 visitors are typically admitted to the United States for up to 6 months per entry. The "180-day limit" is shorthand for that admission, and the date that actually controls your stay is on your I-94, not on your visa.

Last verified: August 2026

In short: a B-1/B-2 visitor visa lets you travel to a port of entry and request admission. CBP decides each arrival, and visitors are typically admitted for up to 6 months per entry, the "180 days" of the shorthand. The controlling document is the admitted-until date on your I-94, not the visa's expiration date. To stay longer, you apply to USCIS to extend your stay before that date passes.

Limit: Up to about 6 months per admission
Window: Per entry, from the day you are admitted
Controlling document: I-94 admitted-until date
Officer discretion: CBP decides each arrival
Longer stays: USCIS extension of stay, before the I-94 date

The rule

The US system separates three things that travelers often treat as one, and the 180-day shorthand only describes the last of them:

The visa gets you to the border, nothing more. A B-1/B-2 visa lets you travel to a port of entry and request admission. Its expiration date is only the last day you may use it to seek entry; it does not control how long you may stay. A visa valid for ten years does not permit a ten-year stay.
CBP decides each admission. A Customs and Border Protection officer examines every arrival and grants a period of authorized stay. B-1/B-2 visitors are typically admitted for up to 6 months per entry, but that is the usual outcome, not a guarantee, and the officer can grant less.
The I-94 date is what governs. The admitted-until date on your electronic I-94 record is the official end of your authorized stay. You can look it up at the CBP I-94 website after each entry.

How to count your stay

After entering, retrieve your I-94 record and note the admitted-until date. Do not assume it is 6 months out.
Count from the day of admission. Arrival day counts as a day in the United States.
Leave by the admitted-until date, or file to extend your stay with USCIS before it passes.

Example. You enter the United States on 10 March on a B-2 visa that expires in 2031.

Your I-94 shows an admitted-until date of 9 September, about 6 months later. That date, not the 2031 visa expiration, is when your authorized stay ends. If the officer had admitted you until 9 June, 9 June would govern instead.

Leaving and coming back

There is no published rolling window like Schengen's 90/180, and leaving does not guarantee a fresh 6 months on return. Each entry is a new admission decision, and B-1/B-2 status is built around a temporary visit with an intent to depart. Repeated long stays with short absences can lead an officer to question whether you are still visiting, and the stay granted on re-entry is theirs to decide. Track your pattern of days rather than assuming each departure resets a clean slate.

Beyond the day count

To stay past your admitted-until date, apply to USCIS for an extension of stay before your current I-94 expires; overstaying can void your visa and affect future entries. Note that this article covers the B-1/B-2 visa. If you travel visa-free under ESTA, a stricter version of this rule applies: see the US Visa Waiver Program's 90-day limit.

Official source: the visa expiration date "has no relation to the length of time you are permitted to stay in the United States," per the U.S. Department of State's What the Visa Expiration Date Means.

AtlasDays tracks your US visitor stay automatically

The US B-1/B-2 Visitor Visa preset counts your days per entry against the 6-month admission, privately on your iPhone, and warns you before your authorized stay runs out.

Get AtlasDays on the App Store

FAQ

How long can you stay in the US on a B1/B2 visa?

CBP decides at each arrival; B-1/B-2 visitors are typically admitted for up to 6 months per entry. The admitted-until date on your I-94 record is what controls, and it can be shorter.

Does the visa expiration date limit your stay?

No. The visa expiration date is only the last day you may use the visa to seek entry at a port of entry. How long you may remain is set by the I-94 admitted-until date granted at admission.

How do you stay in the US longer than 6 months?

File an extension-of-stay application with USCIS before your I-94 admitted-until date passes. Leaving and re-entering is not a guaranteed reset, since each entry is a new admission decision.