Business and Tourism

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 work can be done using the ordinary tourist/business (B-1/2) 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, ect.

Finally, 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 (B-1/2).

Prohibited work includes working for family friends as a live-in baby sitter and any casual job that earns an income from US sources. For certain seasonal work such as at ski resorts and summer camps or as au pairs, there are some opportunities under the exchange visitor visa (J-1) program.

Please Note: In order to be granted 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

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. If you want to extend your visit, you must file an Application to Extend Status (Form 1-539) with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The decision to grant or deny the extension rests solely with USCIS. Consulate personnel can answer questions only about visa applications and qualification

Transit visas

On August 2 2003 - The US Department of Homeland Security and the US Department of State suspended two programs that allow 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.

Therefore anyone planning to transit through the United States en route to another country must obtain a transit visa (C visa) or tourist visa (B2 visa) in advance of the planned travel. The transit visa (C visa) is issued to foreign nationals proceeding in immediate and continuous transit through the U.S to some foreign destination . In most cases, an applicant who qualifies for a transit visa will also qualify for, and recieve, a B1/B2 (business and tourism) visa instead. Travelers who have a valid B1/B2 do not need a special transit (c) visa to transit through the U.S.

Note: Be advised that traveleres 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.