If you want to visit the United States temporarily and return home, you can apply for a B1 or B2 visa. These are temporary, non-immigrant visas that let you travel to the US for business or tourism purposes. The B1 visa is for taking a business trip and the B2 visa is for tourism.
Eligibility For B1 and B2 Visas
To qualify for either the B1 or B2 visas, you have to prove that the trip to the US is temporary and you will self-fund the trip. Also, you have to be able to show you do not plan to stay in the United States and abandon their home in their home country. For the B1 and B2 visas may need to prove during your consulate interview that you have a job, home, family, and property in your home country that you will want to go back to.
Note that there is a Visa Waiver Program in the US that may allow you to visit for business or tourism for up to 90 days. This program covers 38 countries, which include most in the European Union. Most people from Canada do not require a visa to come to the US.
Supporting Documents for B1 and B2 Visas
When you fill out an application for a B1 or B2 visa, you will sign up for a consulate interview in your country. Expect to wait about two months for your interview.
When you go to the interview, you will need to bring supporting documents with you, but this is only part of what will make the decision. Consular officers must look at every application on its own merits and make considerations about your society, culture, and profession when making the decision to give you a visa or not. When considering a B1 and B2 visa application, they also may look at your family and work situation to make the decision. Get Started
When applying for a B1 and B2 visa, t is important to be sure all of your documents are true and honest because misrepresenting anything can lead to you not getting a visa and even being barred from entering the US. Some of the documents you should bring to your B1 or B2 visa interview are:
- Proof of tax payments, income, assets, and property or business ownership.
- Itinerary for traveling in the US and what the trip is for.
- A letter from your company discussing your job, salary, how long you have been there, and the status of your job when you return.
- Criminal records about any criminal history.
- You also should bring some of these documents, depending on the purpose of your visit: school records, address of relative you will stay with, and documents showing earlier visits to the US.
A B1 or B2 visa can be valid for as long as 10 years, but most are only valid for up to six months. You also cannot bring any dependents to the US on your visa; any that you want to bring must qualify for a separate visa. You can ask to extend your B1 or B2 visa for up to a year when you are in the US, but there is no guarantee that the US will allow it. You need Form I-539 to ask for an extension of change of status.
Summary
If you want to visit the US temporarily for a business or tourism purpose and return, the B1 or B2 visa is what you need. You will need to have plenty of proof of the purpose of your visit and that you plan to go home, but as long as you can do that, visiting the US with a B1 or B2 visa is possible.