Business & Tourism
ABOUT THIS VISA
Generally, a citizen of a foreign country wishing to enter the United States
must first obtain a visa, either a nonimmigrant visa for temporary stay, or an
immigrant visa for permanent residence. The "visitor" visa is a
nonimmigrant visa for persons desiring to enter the US temporarily for business
(B-1) or for pleasure or medical treatment (B-2).
Persons planning to travel to the US for different purposes, such as students,
temporary workers, crewmembers, journalists, etc, must apply for a different
visa in the appropriate category.
Under US immigration law, certain non-remunerated work can be done using the
ordinary tourist/business (B1/B2) visa. This includes attending business
meetings, purchasing property, negotiating and signing contracts, gathering and
filling orders, completing market surveys, attending conferences or short
training courses and buying equipment, etc.
For the "back-packer," there is no provision in US immigration law
for the "working holiday" visa, popular among tourists traveling to
Canada or the UK. If visitors contemplate working casually during an extended
excursion "walking about" the United States, doing so would violate
the terms of the tourist visa (B1/B2), but may be permitted under a work and
travel program and a J-1 visa.
Prohibited work includes working for family friends as a live-in baby sitter
and any casual job that earns an income from US sources. There are some
opportunities under the exchange visitor visa (J-1) program for certain seasonal
work such as at ski resorts and summer camps or as au pairs .
Please Note: To qualify for a nonimmigrant visa, you need to overcome the
presumption in Section 214 (b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) that
all visa applicants are intending immigrants. You may overcome this presumption
by providing evidence that you have strong, binding ties to your home country
and that you have no intention of abandoning that residence. There is not a
standard set of documents required to overcome this presumption.
US Customs and Border Protection of the Department of Homeland Security
Anyone who applies for a visa must understand that holding a visa
does not guarantee entrance into the United States. Although you were issued a
visa, only US Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
has the authority to allow you into the US and to determine the length of your
visit. At the port of entry, a CBP official must validate your Record of Arrival
- Departure (Form I-94) which tells you how long you may stay.
Transit visas
On August 2, 2003 - The US Department of Homeland Security and the US
Department of State suspended two programs that allowed certain international
air passengers to travel through the United States for transit purposes without
first obtaining a visa. The programs, known as the Transit Without Visa program
(TWOV) and the International-to-International transit program (ITI), have been
suspended. This action does not affect US citizens or citizens from visa
waiver countries or Canada.
Note: Be advised that travelers who intend to transit the United States , who
possess a U.S. visa of a category other than B1/B2 or C-1 will in most cases not
be admitted by U.S. immigration officials, and may be returned to their country
of origin at their own expense.
Do you want to learn more about visa application process and the US-VISIT
Program? CLICK
HERE!
Contact Information
If you have any additional questions please contact at consularsanjose@state.gov. Please allow up to 5 business days for a response. | 
Non immigrant Visas
