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Thousands of people travel to the US every year to meet friends, spend holidays, accomplish business negotiations, as well as perform medical treatments. For this purpose, a non-immigrant visa has been defined as a visitor visa. In fact, this is a temporary residence permit in the United States for work and leisure intentions. It is worth noting there is no numeric restriction in the annual issuance of this visa. It means that if you are eligible for this visa, you can easily get it. This article aims to describe information about the US B visa, application procedure, fees, and other essential details.

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US B Visa

What is the US B visa?

All persons seeking temporary residence in the US to engage in activities such as business negotiations must apply for this visa except those from the member countries of the Visa Waiver Program. According to the Visa Waiver Program, nationals of around 39 countries do not need a visa to stay for up to 90 days for recreation or work. For those who intend to travel to the US for a period no longer than six months:

  • B-1: for business visitors and people who want to participate in some conferences and events
  • B-2: for medical treatment, tourism, family meeting, and attendance at non-business events
  • Combination of B-1 and B-2: for those who want to do a combination of the mentioned activities

The applicants for the visitor visa should know:

  • B visa holders should not study or work in the United States at all.
  • They are also not allowed to stay permanently.
  • While staying in the United States, working in foreign media as well as being a crew member on ships or airplanes are prohibited under this visa.
  •  If you travel to the United States for childbirth, it should be noted that this visa is not issued for this aim.

What are the requirements for this visa?

You are qualified to petition for the type B-1 visa for doing the following actions:

  • Participation in scientific, educational or business conferences
  • Consult with commerce colleagues
  • Negotiation for a contract
  • Settling the estate

You are qualified to petition for the type B-2 visa for doing the following activities:

  • Traveling
  • Recreational purposes, spending holidays in America
  • Visiting relatives and family members
  • Medical treatments
  • Attendance at social conferences arranged by some organizations
  • Participation in non-academic and short-term recreational courses
  • Participation in art and sports conferences, without receiving the wage and just for entertainment

The applicant of this visa must ascertain that:

  • Before the visa expires, the individual will return to the home country and does not intend to stay permanently.
  • During his/her stay in the US, the applicant has sufficient funds to support himself/herself.
  • The intent of the applicant to travel to the US must be consistent with the defined purposes for this visa.

How to apply for the US B visa?

In order to get the US visas, the completion of a form called DS-160 is one of the primary steps. Form DS-160 is an online application form that has many options regarding the purposes of people traveling to the US. This form is available at the Consular Electronic Application Center. Once the form is completed and submitted, a confirmation page will appear that you will need to save.

All applicants aged 13 to 79 should be interviewed as part of the pre-visa process. People under 13 and over 80 usually do not need to be interviewed. After completing DS-160, you should go to ais.usvisa-info.com and schedule your interview. There is also a fee to be paid. The interview is conducted by the Consular Officer in the US embassy. At the beginning of the conversation, the Consular Officer says common sentences about the weather and so on to reduce your anxiety. The interview questions for this visa are:

  • Why do you want to travel to the US?
  • Have you ever gone to the US before?
  • Do you have any relatives or friends in the US?
  • Where will you stay in the US?
  • Why are you traveling to the US during this time?
  • Who will accompany you on this journey?
  • Are you married? Do you have a child? Do you have a pet? Who will take care of them in your absence?
  • What is your job, and how much do you earn?
  • Who is your financial sponsor for this trip?
  • Do you intend to stay in the US permanently?
  • How do you convince me that you will surely return to your country?

The documents required to obtain a US B visa (type 1) are:

  • A valid passport
  • Form DS-160 confirmation page, which is mentioned earlier.
  • Photo
  • Receipt of all payments
  • Interview confirmation letter
  • A letter describing your purpose for traveling to the United States
  • A bank statement indicating that you can cover your expenses in the US
  • Details about your social network accounts
  • A letter showing your criminal background
  • If you have traveled to the United States before, bring documents of those trips.
  • If you are employed, get a letter from your employer showing your earnings over the past three months.
  • Documents of your definitive intention to return your home

The applicants for the US B visa (type 2)  must also prepare most of the mentioned documents; in addition; the following should be considered:

  • The bank statement should indicate that you can spend at least $ 266 per day in the United States.
  • If you are going to America to visit your relatives, you must have an invitation letter from them.
  • If you are a student, provide a transcript of your degree.
  • If you are going to the United States for treatment, you should provide a letter from your doctor explaining the purpose of your trip.

Software Engineers can immigrate to the US through a B-1 visa.

How much does it cost to apply for the B visa?

The US visitor visa fee is $ 160. In some cases, after visa approval, the cost of visa issuance must be paid by the applicant. Depending on the relationship between the US and different countries, additional charges may have to be paid. Remember to save payment receipts and bring them with you when submitting documents.

How long does it take to evaluate the provided documents and issue the visit visa?

The time required to review the documents and make the decision on the issue of the US visitor visa is unclear. The visit visa processing time is a few weeks to several months. The workload of the US embassy and other factors affect this time.

How long is the US B visa valid?

The validity of this visa is six months. In other words, under this visa (B1 or B2), a person is allowed to stay in the US for up to 6 months. Before the permit expires, the person has to return to the home country.

How to do the US B visa extension?

For B visa extension, the applicants must provide sufficient reasons behind the request. The visa extension fee is about $ 370 to be paid by the applicant.

Is there healthcare available under this visa?

Foreigners traveling to the United States for tourist and business purposes cannot benefit from US health care services free of charge. It is, therefore, advisable to get travel health insurance regardless of the duration of your stay in the US. In this way, the cost of possible medical problems will decrease.

Is it possible to get a Green Card under this visa?

The answer is no.  As mentioned earlier, an applicant for this visa must demonstrate that he or she will undoubtedly return to the home country. Therefore, under this visa, you cannot apply for permanent residence and get a green card. You can consider one of these ways to obtain US permanent residence.

  • If your close family member holds US citizenship and lives in the country
  • If you have a job offer from an employer in the US
  • If your spouse is a US citizen

Let’s sum up…

In this article, we attempted to answer common questions that may arise in the US B visa application process for individuals. On the Visa Library website, you can learn about other US visas as well as ways to immigrate to other countries. In case you have some experience, please write it down in the comment section. Your comments let the readers choose better and avoid mistakes. Conveying your experiences in comments is a great help for applicants.

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1 Comment

  1. Alvis says:

    The specific cost of a US B visa is written here. I surfed the net a lot, and I found it right here.