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FAQs: What Is a Visitor Visa? | Immigration Attorney Mario Godoy

FAQs: What Is a Visitor Visa?

The easiest type of United States visa to get is a visitor visa such as a Business (B1) or Tourist (B2) visa. A visitor visa is a type of temporary visa that does not allow the holder to live permanently in the U.S. The visa will be granted to enter the U.S. temporarily for a specific amount of time and will expire at the end of that period.

Business Visa

A B-1 Business visa enables the holder to enter the U.S. temporarily to undertake activities such as meeting with business associates, attending conferences, negotiating contracts, and settling estates. To be eligible for a B-1 visa you can participate in commercial or professional business activities including:

  • Consulting with business associates
  • Traveling for a scientific, educational, professional or business convention, or a conference on specific dates
  • Settling an estate
  • Negotiating a contract
  • Participating in short-term training
  • Transiting through the United States: certain persons may transit the United States with a B-1 visa
  • Deadheading: certain air crewmen may enter the United States as deadhead crew with a B-1 visa

Tourist Visa

A B-2 Tourist visa permits the holder to enter the U.S. temporarily as a visitor and to do a wide variety of things, from visiting vacation destinations or spending time with family to undergoing medical procedures, participating in sports competitions and joining in social events.

  • Tourism
  • Vacation (holiday)
  • Visit with friends or relatives
  • Medical treatment
  • Participation in social events hosted by fraternal, social, or service organizations
  • Participation by amateurs in musical, sports, or similar events or contests, if not being paid for participating
  • Enrollment in a short recreational course

Visitor visas do not enable the holder to:

  • Enroll in a course of study 
  • Work in any paid capacity 
  • Enter as a crewmember of a ship or aircraft 
  • Work in the press or information media 

If you need an experienced immigration attorney to help you get a tourist visitor visa or business visitor visa, please contact the immigration attorneys at Godoy Law Office at 855-554-6369 to schedule a consultation with one of our attorneys. 

Mario Godoy
Mario Godoy
Immigration Lawyer and Illinois Crimmigration Attorney

Immigration Attorney Mario Godoy has years of experience guiding clients with immigration issues through the immigration process along with guiding clients through the criminal case. Godoy focuses on family-based immigration law, business immigration law, removal defense, and criminal defense representation of immigrants. A criminal charge or conviction can be devastating to your immigration case. With over a decade of immigration law experience and memories of family members who were deported due to bad legal advice, Godoy is committed to helping other immigrant families receive the legal justice they deserve. As a legal entrepreneur who practices immigration law, criminal law, estate and probate law, and running two successful law firms, Mario Godoy understands the importance of keeping families together and making a home and future in America.

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