To enter the United States, all travelers from foreign countries must present a visa at the border crossing or at the airport. If the foreigner is traveling for business purposes, they may qualify for a temporary B-1 visitor visa. This type of visa is dedicated to business visitors. (Note: there is a similar visa, designated the B-2 visitor visa, that is for temporary travelers who are not here for business purposes, but rather for tourism.)
B-1 visas are for conducting business in the U.S., but do not allow someone to work here for a U.S. employer nor to accept permanent employment in the U.S. A B-1 visa can be used for a variety of temporary business-related activities including:
- Consulting with business associates
- Giving or attending a lecture
- Negotiating a business contract
- Going to a scientific, educational, professional or business convention, conference or seminar
- Performing independent research at a scientific or educational institution
There are also some activities that are not so clearly related to “business” that can be undertaken on a B-1 visitor visa:
- Participating in a voluntary service program
- Just traveling through the U.S. on a trip to another destination
- Settling the estate of a family member
- Participating in a sporting event
People with B-1 visas may not receive salary payments while pursuing their business purpose. If they want to accept employment in the U.S., they would have to seek to change to a different visa.
There is one other specialized purpose for which someone may obtain a B-1 visitor visa: to work in the U.S.as a personal or domestic employee for an employer if the employer is
- A U.S. citizen who has a permanent residence in a foreign country or is stationed in a foreign country, but is either visiting the U.S. or is assigned to the U.S. on a temporary basis; or
- A citizen of a foreign nation who is in the U.S. with one of the following nonimmigrant visas, B, E, F, H, I, J, L, M, O, P, or Q.
The maximum amount of time that a person can stay in the U.S. with a B-1 visa is 6 months. The visa can be extended for an additional 6 months. The final maximum total amount of time the person with a B-1 visa can stay in the U.S. for any one trip is 1 year. B-1 visas can be issued for one entry into the U.S. or can be issued so that the person has the right to multiple entries. This means that if someone has the need to enter and exit the country for short periods of time, they need not get multiple visas: one B-1 visa may be used to come and go for the length of time the visa is valid.
It is important to remember that failure to leave the U.S. before the visa expires is against immigration law and results in a person being “out of status.” Under U.S. law, visas of people who are out of status automatically become void. If a person has an entry visa that allows for multiple entries and it is voided because the person became out of status, the visa is no longer valid for any future entries into the U.S.
If a person’s plans change while in the U.S., they may be able to request a change in their nonimmigrant status to another category. A person may wish to do this if, for example, they marry a U.S. citizen or receive an offer of employment. Application for a change to another status would be made through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), which is a branch of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Holding a visa allows a foreign citizen to travel to a U.S. port-of-entry, e.g. a U.S. airport, and request permission to enter the U.S. Having a visa does not, however, guarantee entry into the U.S. Officials of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the port-of-entry have the authority to either grant or deny admission to the U.S. If a person is allowed to enter the U.S. the CBP official gives the person an admission stamp on their passport or issues them a paper Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record.
The spouse and children of a B-1 visa holder are not automatically eligible for dependent visas. Each of the person’s dependents who are planning to join them in the U.S. must apply separately for a B-2 visitor’s visa. They must follow the regulations for that visa.
A person must demonstrate the following to show their eligibility for a B-1 visa:
- That the purpose of their trip is to enter the U.S for business of a legitimate nature (i.e. it is not to pursue some kind of criminal enterprise)
- That they plan to remain in the U.S. for only a specific limited period of time (documentation concerning the reason for their visit is encouraged: for example, a copy of an invitation or brochure indicating a business conference, or a letter extending an invitation from a company they intend to do business with)
- That they have enough money to cover the expenses of the trip and their stay in the U.S.
- That they have a permanent residence outside the U.S. which they do not intend to abandon, and have other binding ties to their home county that ensure they will return there at the end of the visit
