B-1 Temporary Business Visitor 

You may be eligible for a B-1 visa if you will be participating in business activities of a commercial or professional nature in the United States, including, but not limited to:

• 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

Eligibility Criteria

You must demonstrate the following in order to be eligible to obtain a B-1 visa:

• The purpose of your trip is to enter the United States for business of a legitimate nature

• You plan to remain for a specific limited period of time

• You have the funds to cover the expenses of the trip and your stay in the United States

• You have a residence outside the United States in which you have no intention of abandoning, as well as other binding ties which will ensure your return abroad at the end of the visit

• You are otherwise admissible to the United States

Application Process

Applicants for visitor visas should generally apply at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate with jurisdiction over their place of permanent residence. Although visa applicants may apply at any U.S. consular office abroad, it may be more difficult to qualify for the visa outside the country of permanent residence. Visa applications are now subject to a greater degree of review than in the past so it is important to apply for your visa well in advance of your travel departure date.

As part of the visa application process, an interview at the embassy consular section is required for visa applicants from age 14 through 79, with few exceptions. Persons age 13 and younger, and age 80 and older, generally do not require an interview, unless requested by embassy or consulate. Making your appointment for an interview is the first step in the visa application process. The waiting time for an interview appointment for applicants can vary, so early visa application is strongly encouraged. Visa wait times for interview appointments and visa processing time information for each U.S. Embassy or Consulate worldwide is available on our website at Visa Wait Times, and on most embassy websites. Learn how to schedule an appointment for an interview, pay the application processing fee, review embassy specific instructions, and much more by visiting the U.S. Embassy or Consulate website where you will apply.

During the visa application process, usually at the interview, an ink-free, digital fingerprint scan will be quickly taken. Some visa applications require further administrative processing, which takes additional time after the visa applicant’s interview by a Consular Officer.

Required Documentation

Each applicant for a visitor visa must submit these forms and documentation as explained below:

• Online Nonimmigrant Visa Electronic Application, Form DS-160. Visit DOS DS-160 webpage to learn more about the DS-160 online process.

• A passport valid for travel to the United States and with a validity date at least six months beyond the applicant's intended period of stay in the United States (unless country-specific agreements provide exemptions). If more than one person is included in the passport, each person desiring a visa must make an application;

• One (1) 2x2 photograph. See the required photo format explained in Photograph Requirements.

What are the Required Visa Fees?

• Nonimmigrant visa application processing fee - For current fees for Department of State government services select Fees. You will need to provide a receipt showing the visa application processing fee has been paid, when you come for your visa interview.

• Visa issuance fee – Additionally, if the visa is issued, there will be an additional visa issuance reciprocity fee, if applicable. Please consult the Visa Reciprocity Tables to find out if you must pay a visa issuance reciprocity fee and what the fee amount is.

Additional Documentation

It is important that you refer to the Embassy Consular Section web site to determine visa processing timeframes and instructions, learn about interview scheduling, and find out if there are any additional documentation items required. Learn more by contacting the U.S. Embassy or Consulate.

Applicants must demonstrate that they are properly classifiable as visitors under U.S. law by:

• Evidence which shows the purpose of the trip, intent to depart the United States, and arrangements made to cover the costs of the trip may be provided. It is impossible to specify the exact form the documentation should take since applicants' circumstances vary greatly.

• Those applicants who do not have sufficient funds to support themselves while in the U.S. must present convincing evidence that an interested person will provide support.

• Depending on individual circumstances, applicants may provide other documentation substantiating the trip's purpose and specifying the nature of binding obligations, such as family ties or employment, which would compel their return abroad.

Certain B-1 Activities that Require an Employment Authorization Document

The following types of B-1 business visitors require employment authorization:

• A personal or domestic servant who is accompanying or following to join an employer who seeks admission into, or is already in, the United States in a B, E, F, H, I, J, L, or TN nonimmigrant classification.

• A domestic servant of a U.S. citizen accompanying or following to join his or her U.S. citizen employer who has a permanent home or is stationed in a foreign country, and who is temporarily visiting the United States.

• An employee of a foreign airline engaged in international transportation of passengers freight, whose position with the foreign airline would otherwise entitle the employee to treaty trader nonimmigrant classification (E-1) and who is precluded from such classification solely because the employee is not a national of the country of the airline's nationality or because there is no treaty of commerce and navigation in effect between the United States and the country of the airline's nationality.

Note: All applicants for a B-1 visa or admission as a B-1 business visitor as a personal or domestic servant described above must demonstrate the following:

• You have a residence abroad in which you have no intention of abandoning

• You have at least 1 year of experience as a personal or domestic servant

• You have been employed abroad by your employer for at least 1 year prior to the employer’s admission into the United States or if you have been employed abroad by the employer for less than 1year, the employer must show that while abroad, he or she has regularly employed a domestic servant in the same capacity as that intended for your employment

Before you may commence employment in any of the above three activities, you will need to file Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization. For more information on filing the Form I-765, see the “Work Authorization” link to your right.

Important Notice: Recent changes to U.S. law relate to the legal rights of employment-based nonimmigrants under Federal immigration, labor, and employment laws. As a personal or domestic employee seeking to come to the U.S. temporarily (on a B-1 Visitor Visa), before your interview, it is important that you review the Nonimmigrant Rights, Protections and Resources pamphlet on DOS webpage.

Visa Denials

If the consular officer should find it necessary to deny the issuance of a visitor visa, the applicant may apply again if there is new evidence to overcome the basis for the refusal. For additional information, select Denials to learn more. In the absence of new evidence, consular officers are not obliged to re-examine such cases.

Family of B-1 Visa Holders

Your spouse and children are not eligible to obtain a dependent visa. Each of your dependents who will be accompanying or following to join you must apply separately for a B-2 visa and must follow the regulations for that visa.