Visitor Visas

B-1 Business Visitors

B-2 Tourist Visitors for pleasure

J-1 Exchange Visitors

 

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B-1 Visa is Suitable For:

• Participants to attend scientific, educational, professional, business, or religious conventions

• Persons to work on specific projects in the U.S. and paid by a foreign employer

• Business professionals to participate in commercial transactions (which do not involve gainful employment) such as negotiating contracts and consulting with business associates

• Persons to undertake independent studies such as feasibility studies, market research or any such activity

• Persons to attend professional or business conferences, workshops, or seminars

• Business professionals to explore possibilities to set up a subsidiary of a foreign corporation, or to make investments

• Personal or domestic servants to come to the U.S. with a U.S. citizen or nonimmigrant employer on B, E, F, H, I, J, L, M, O, P, R, or TN status

• Technical personnel to install or service equipment pursuant to a contract of sale, or to provide after sales service

• Business professionals to attend meetings as a member of the Board of Directors of a U.S. corporation

• Persons to observe business, professional, or vocational activity as long as it does not involve any hands-on activity

• Professional athletes to compete for tournament money and not for a salary

• Professionals to conduct business consultations with business associates in the U.S.

• Purchasing agents of a foreign employer to come to the U.S. to procure goods, components, or raw materials for use outside the U.S.

• Foreign business persons coming to the U.S. in conjunction with Litigation

• Persons rendering professional services in the U.S. that would otherwise qualify them for an H-1B visa, but who are paid for those services by a source outside the U.S.

• Persons employed outside the U.S. who are paid from abroad, and who come to the U.S. to undertake an established training program that would qualify them for an H-3 visa

• Employees of foreign airlines who are engaged in productive employment in the U.S. and paid in the U.S. who are not eligible for E-1 treaty trader status

• Other persons such as for bona fide religious missionaries and crew members on yachts

• Special situations involving Canadians and Mexicans such as Canadian truck drivers who are paid by either Canadian or U.S. firms and who transport commodities across the Canadian Border

• Foreign companies to send their personnel to the U.S. to install or service equipment pursuant to a contract of sale or to provide after sales service

• U.S. companies to bring foreign business consultants for training or expert advice

• U.S. universities to bring foreign guest speakers or lecturers

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B-2 Visa is Suitable For:

• Tourists on a pleasure trip to the U.S.

• People visiting friends and relatives in the U.S.

• People coming to the U.S. for medical treatment

• Foreign nationals coming to the U.S. to marry a U.S. citizen or Green Card holder, upon establishing to the consular official and the INS that after the marriage, they will depart from the U.S., even though intending ultimately to immigrate

• Amateur athletes, musicians etc. who participate in their respective activities in the U.S. without remuneration

• People coming to participate in the conventions of social organizations

• Dependents of alien members of the U.S. armed forces temporarily assigned duty in the U.S.

• Dependents of crewmembers (D visa holders) or B-1 visa holders solely to accompany the principal foreign national

• Dependents of nonimmigrant for whom no derivative classification is available. For example, the elderly parent of an E visa holder

• Persons to enter the U.S. to apply for special naturalization benefits on the basis of U.S. military service

• Persons seeking a change to another visa status if they so advise the U.S. Consulate, and if the consulate is fully appraised of the circumstances

• U.S. citizens, green card holders and nonimmigrant visa holders to invite their friends and relatives to the U.S.

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J-1 Visa is Suitable For:

• Foreign medical graduates or physicians to pursue graduate medical education or training at accredited schools of medicine or scientific institutions

• Foreign students participating in exchange programs to promote the sharing of knowledge and skills in education, arts and sciences

• Research scholars to teach, conduct research, observe, or consult on research projects

• Au Pairs to live with an American host family

• Foreign nationals to pursue business and industrial training programs in the U.S.

• Professors to teach, lecture, conduct research, or consult at educational institutions, museums, libraries, or similar institutions in the U.S.

• Employees of International Communication agencies

• Research assistants sponsored by the national institute of health

• Foreign nationals to serve as counselors in U.S. summer camps

• Foreign nationals to obtain further academic qualifications or gain practical experience/training in a specific area of knowledge or expertise

• Foreign nationals who are recognized as potential leaders or experts to engage in observation tours, discussions, consultation, professional meetings, and training

• U.S. organizations authorized by the Department of State (DOS) to sponsor foreign nationals for training

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Nothing on this or associated pages, documents, articles or other communications should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation.  The information is intended to be general and should not be relied upon for any specific situation.  For legal advice, consult an attorney experienced in immigration law.