Can B-2 Multiple entry visa holder travel to Mexico and still enter back to the US?

Question

My mom has B2 Multiple entry visa and i wanted to take her to Cancun, Mexico for pleasure. Will the immigration officer at the airport will give her 6 months entry stay in the US upon return from Cancun, Mexico? Will it affect her B2 visa at all? Please advise.

Answer 1

Yes your mother may re-enter the US on her valid B1/B2 visa (even if it had been a single entry visa, she could make a brief trip to either Mexico or Canada and still return to the US on the same visa).

No, the re-entry into the US will not allow for your mother to be granted an addional 6-months stay in the US - the original length of stay authorized upon her initial entry will still be in force.  Remind your mother NOT to surrender her I-94 to the airlines when she goes to Mexico - she will need to  surrender it upon her final departure from the US.

Answer 2

A multiple entry visa means exactly that.  Multiple entries are allowed during the time that the visa is valid.  So long as your mother's visa hasn't expired she can leave and enter the US as many times as she likes.  She will run into problems only if it starts to appear that she is living in the United States (which she isn't ... right?).  The six months thing is only a guideline.  The immigration officer on return may choose to keep the original date in "permitted to land" or may extend for another six months.