 | ||
A B visa is one of a category of non-immigrant visas issued by the United States government to foreign citizens seeking entry for a temporary period. The two types of B visa are the B-1 visa, issued to those seeking entry for business purposes, and the B-2 visa, issued to those seeking entry for tourism or other non-business purposes. In practice, the two visa categories are usually combined together and issued as a "B-1/B-2 visa" valid for a temporary visit for either business or pleasure, or a combination of the two. Visitors from some countries do not need to obtain a visa for these purposes (see United States visas).
Contents
Cost
The cost of a B visa consists of the application fee, which all applicants must pay (currently 160 USD), and the issuance fee, which varies by nation, based on a fee reciprocity table.
As of November 2016, nationals of the following countries have to pay the reciprocity fee.
Entry ban
Citizens of seven designated countries have been banned from entering the United States, even if holding a valid visa, for a period of 90 days, since January 27, 2017. However, citizens of these seven countries who are Green Card holders or travelling on national passports issued by another non-designated country will not be affected. As of February 3, 2017, the executive order is not enforced pursuant to the temporary restraining order issued by the federal judge James Robart.
Validity period and duration of stay
As with other non-immigrant U.S. visas, a B-1/B-2 visa has a validity period (from 1 to 10 years), allows for either one or multiple entries into the U.S, and elicits a period of stay (maximum 6 months) recorded by the Customs and Border Protection officer at the port of entry on the individual's form I-94.
Validity periods per country are listed in the U.S. Department of State Visa Reciprocity Tables and vary from 1 month for DR Congo, 3 years for Russia, and 5 years for Pakistan, to 10 years for Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Colombia, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Singapore, South Africa, Tunisia and most European Countries.
Periods of stay for B-1 visas may be granted initially for a duration long enough to allow the visitor to conduct their business, up to a maximum of 6 months, and can be extended for another 6 months; B-1 visas are usually granted for three months or less, while B-2 visas are generally granted for six months. Extensions are possible, provided the individual has not violated the conditions of their admission.
A Border Crossing Card (BCC), also called a laser visa, has a 10-year validity and functions as both a BCC and a B-1/B-2 visitor's visa. The BCC is only issued to nationals of Mexico who apply for a visa inside Mexico.
Validity of visas by nationality for B-1/B-2 visa:
Electronic Visa Update System
On March 15, 2016, the U.S. Custom and Border Protection (CBP) announced that, starting from 29 November 2016, all holders of Chinese passports who also hold 10-year B visas are required to enroll in the Electronic Visa Update System (EVUS) before travelling to the United States via land, air or sea. The EVUS is designed for visa holders to update any changes to their basic biographic and employment information at the time of their visa applications. Similar to the ESTA, each EVUS registration is valid for a period of 2 years or until the holder's passport expiration date, whichever comes first, and each user of EVUS must pay a cost recovery fee of US$8 to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Holders of EVUS can travel to the U.S. for unlimited times providing that their EVUS registration and visa remain valid.
The requirement applies to any holder of Chinese passport and B visa with a 10-year validity. It also applies to holders of non-citizen travel documents issued by other countries, such as refugee travel document and certificate of identity, whose nationality is Chinese. It does not apply, however, to holders of HKSAR passports and MSAR passports, holders of B visas with a validity shorter than 10 years, and holders of other types of visas. The CBP and DHS are seeking to expand the EVUS to other nationalities in the future.
EVUS was officially launched on 31 October 2016 for early enrollments. Upon launch, CBP announced that the enrollment fee will be suspended until further notice.
Visitor visa statistics
In fiscal 2015 most B-1,2 visas were issued to the nationals of the following countries (listed over 40,000 visas):
In fiscal 2014 most reasons to refuse a visa were cited as "failure to establish entitlement to nonimmigrant status", "incompatible application" (most overcome), "unlawful presence", "misrepresentation", "criminal convictions", "smugglers" and "controlled substance violators". Smaller number of applications were rejected for "physical or mental disorder", "prostitution", "espionage", "terrorist activities", "falsely claiming citizenship" and other grounds for refusal including "presidential proclamation", "money laundering", "communicable disease" and "commission of acts of torture or extrajudicial killings".
Highest number of non-immigrant admissions for tourists and for business purposes into the United States in fiscal year 2014 and 2015 was from the following countries (listed over 700,000 admissions):
Overstay rate
A number of visitors with B-1/B-2 visa overstayed the maximum duration allowed for their visits. The Department of Homeland Security published a report for Fiscal Year 2015 that lists the number of suspected violations made by passengers who arrived via air or sea. The statistics below exclude persons who left the United States later than their allowed stay or legalized their status and shows only suspected overstays who remained in the country.
Among Mexicans who were admitted via air or sea, 42,114 persons are suspected to overstay their non-immigrant visits for business or pleasure. More than 95% of visitors from Mexico arrive to the U.S. by land rather than by air and sea. Statistics for suspected overstays of the land visitors are yet to be released.
Excluding Mexico, the top 20 countries of nationality by the number of suspected in-country B-1/B-2 visa overstays (out of total 210,825) are:
The top 10 countries of nationality by in-country B-1/B-2 visa overstay rate are:
There were also 153,166 persons admitted from the Visa Waiver Program countries who are suspected to overstay their permitted stay in the United States. See Visa Waiver Program#Overstay rate for detailed statistics across such countries.
Use for other countries
US tourist visas that are valid for further travel are accepted as substitute visas for national visas in following countries:
Requirement to overcome presumption of intending immigrant
Under section 214(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, a foreigner must prove to the satisfaction of the Consular officer his or her intent to return to his home country after visiting the United States. The act specifically states:
In practice, this means that consular officers have wide discretion to deny a visa application. Once refused, there is no judicial or other means to challenge a visa decision. The foreigner, however, is free to apply for a visa again, particularly if circumstances have changed that might show to the consular officer that the applicant overcomes the presumption of being an intending immigrant.
Uses of a B-1/B-2 visa
Business or pleasure cover a wide variety of possible reasons to visit the United States. Under the category of temporary visitor for business, it can be used to:
Under the category of temporary visitor for pleasure, a B-2 visa can be used to:
The B-2 visa can also be used by cohabiting (unmarried) partners of non-immigrant visa holders.
Holders of B-1/B-2 visas are prohibited to engage in the following activities:
Adjusted Visa refusal Rate
The Adjusted Visa Refusal Rate for B visas were: