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Are you Planning on Visiting
USA for Business, Studies or Tour?
Before traveling to the U.S., a citizen of a foreign
country must generally obtain a nonimmigrant visa
for temporary stay or an immigrant visa for
permanent residence. The type of visa you will need
is based on the purpose of your travel. Like:
1: VISIT:
Business Visitors or Tourists
2: STUDY:
Students or Exchanges
3: WORK: Workers
temporarily in the USA
4: IMMIGRATE:
Living Permanently in the USA.
Students, temporary workers, journalists and persons
planning to travel to the U.S. for a purpose other
than that permitted on a visitor visa, must apply
for a different visa in the appropriate category.
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1: You apply for U.S. Visitor
Visa (B-1/B-2 Visa) at a U.S. embassy or consulate
2: You visit under the Visa Waiver Program with an
approved Travel Authorization (ESTA) if you hold a
passport from one of the 35 Visa Waiver countries.
It is important to
understand that an approved Travel Authorization or
a B-2 Visa does not automatically grant you
permission to enter the United States. A visa or
ESTA is only related to being allowed to travel to
the United States and ask for permission to enter.
In general, most visitors are
allowed to enter.
Upon arrival at the U.S. border you will be asked a
series of questions by an Immigration Officer
related to your purpose of coming to the United
States. The questions can be related to the length
of your stay, if you have funds enough to cover your
expenses, your reasons for coming and if you have a
return ticket. Individuals with a legit reason
should not have any worries about not being allowed
to enter.
A B-2 tourist visa is in
general valid for 5 years at the time. This
means that once you have been granted a B-2 visa you
can enter multiple times as long as the visa and
your passport is valid. Whether you try to enter via
air, sea or land border crossings, you need a valid
B-2 Visa. The advantage with a B-2 visa is that you
can apply for an extension of stay after you
arrived, which is not possible if you enter under
the Visa Waiver Program. If, for whatever reason,
you wish to change visa category, this is only
possible with a B-2 visa.
The process of applying for a
B-2 Tourist Visa can only be done in at a U.S.
Embassy or Consulate. It is not possible to
apply for a B-2 Visa while you are in the United
States. The visa application process consists of a
number of application forms that must be completed
and an in-person interview at the U.S. Embassy or
Consulate. There is a certain procedure to follow
related to the application process which includes
taking a picture, paying a fee upfront, scheduling
an appointment at the U.S. Embassy for your
interview, filing the application online in advance
but also bringing additional forms to the Embassy.
If you for any reason do not have all your documents
ready when coming to the U.S. embassy or consulate,
you will be turned away. Just to get an appointment
may take several weeks or months, so it is vital
that you have all your application forms and
supportive documents ready when it is your turn. |
Visa
Types for Permanent Immigrants
In
general, in order to be eligible to apply for an
immigrant visa, a foreign citizen must be sponsored
by a U.S. citizen relative(s) or by a prospective
employer. Unlike most other immigrant categories,
Immediate Relatives are not subject to numerical
limits under immigration law.
Major
immigrant categories are:
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Immediate Relatives
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Special Immigrants
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Family-sponsored
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Employer-sponsored
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