chimerar

I never knew train stations could be sketchy, but once I asked a cab driver (elderly gentleman) to take me to the Amtrak station in San Francisco and he refused on the grounds that it was too dangerous for me (smaller female)

EDIT: Lots of people saying Amtrak doesn't service SF. I wanted to take a bus from San Francisco to LA, which Amtrak did offer and I believe still does, although perhaps my mistake in calling it a train station. I never did make it there so I'll never know haha. This was a number of years ago so things could be totally different now. I remember thinking cynically at the time that the cab driver was probably getting kickbacks from other bus companies for diverting business from Amtrak, but he was probably just being helpful.

Actually, 6 months is the standard amount of time given by border patrol at point of entry. There's no law saying they have to give six months. If you have a legit reason to request to stay more than 6 months (you're there for medical treatment, you have training lasting more than 6 months, etc), they're normally happy to give you longer as long as they believe your reason. Generally, the length of the visa (which lets you enter the U.S.) is non-negotiable but the length of stay actually is. It's a much better idea to request an extended length of stay upon entering the States than it is to overstay your visa after it's been issued. Source: I work for the U.S. govt issuing visitor visas.