B-1 Visa: Visitors for Business

Application Process• Application filed with consulate or

embassy • Interview with the consular officer• Upon approval, a visa scanned stamp

placed on the passport• Visa will state issuance date and

expiration date• Time Frame: From 30 days up to 10

years (usually granted for the time needed to finish the business)

• May be extended for up to 1 year

Consular Document Requirements

• Passport (valid at least 6 months beyond intended stay)• Nonimmigrant Visa Application/Form DS-156 • DS-157 Supplement for Male Applicants ages 16-45• One Recent Photo• Proof of ties to home country (employment, bank

accounts, school registration, real estate information)• Letter from employer outlining nature of business trip

(B1).• Letter of invitation from friend or relative in the U.S. (B2)• Copy of roundtrip airline ticket• Proof of familial relationship for dependents

Permissible Activities for B-1 Visa

• Contract Negotiation• Installing, Servicing, or Repairing Commercial/Industrial

Equipment Purchased from outside the U.S. or training U.S. workers to do so

• Litigation• Participate in scientific, educational, or other business

conference or seminar• Certain religious and charitable activities • Independent research or professional artistic activity

B-2 Visa: Visitors for Pleasure

• Application Process: Same as for B-1 Visa

Acceptable B-2 Visits

• Tourist

• Visiting Friends/Relatives

• Medical Treatment

• Conference or convention of social or fraternal organization

• Short Course of Study Incidental to Tourist or Social Activities

• Amateur Entertainers or Athletes competing without payment

Time Frame

Granted for 6 mos. can be extended up to 1 year

B-2 Visa: Visitors for Pleasure

Alien must show the consulate:

1. He is not abandoning his residence abroad

-what did the alien bring with him? Does he have all of his “wordly possessions?”

2. He has sufficient funds for the visit

3. Proof that he is returning

-EX: bank statements, close family members still in the other country, mortgage/deed

The Visa Waiver Program

• Allows nationals from certain participating countries to enter the U.S. for 90 days without applying for a B-1 or B-2 visa at the Consulate.

Countries (27 Total)• Australia• Denmark• Finland• France • Germany• Iceland• Italy• Japan• United Kingdom

The Visa Waiver Program

• The visa waiver program was introduced in 1986 to facilitate tourism and short term business visits to the United States.

• The VWP allowed the Department of State to focus consular resources on addressing higher risks to the U.S.

• All countries participating in the program are developed countries.

• The Human Development Index (HDI) is used to determine if a country is developed.

• The HDI looks at a country’s life expectancy, literacy, education, standard of living, and economic status.

The Visa Waiver Program

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE VWP:

1. Each individual must have a passport (Children cannot share their parents’ passport). Scale:

– Passports issued or renewed before October 26, 2005 must be machine readable.

– Passports issued or renewed after October 26, 2005 must be machine readable and contain a digitized photograph, or must be biometric passports.

– Passports issued or renewed after October 26, 2006 must be biometric.

The Visa Waiver Program

2. Individual must have a passport that is valid 6 months beyond his expected date of departure from the U.S.

3. Individual must be traveling on a participating commercial carrier and have a valid return ticket. If the return ticket is for Canada, Mexico, Bermuda or an island in the Caribbean, the traveler must be a legal resident of that country or territory (prevent illegal return to U.S.)

4. Must have complied with the conditions of all previous admissions to the U.S

The Visa Waiver Program

4. Individual must never have been arrested or convicted for an offense or crime involving moral turpitude no matter how long ago.

5. Individual must not be ineligible for a visa;

6. Individual must not have been previously denied entry to the U.S

Visa Waiver Program Restrictions

• A person entering the United States under the VWP cannot request an extension of the original allowed period of stay in the U.S.

• A person who entered the U.S. under the VWP may not

request a change of immigration status while in the U.S