The Business Visitor Visa B1 allows the visitors a short-term stay in the USA so that they can get involved in some legal business affairs of either professional or commercial nature. These visitors are not allowed to take any financial support or salary from any of the US sources.
For those who want to visit the United States of America for tourist activities, B visa is available. You can apply for this visa for the purpose of sightseeing, meeting friends and relatives, seeking medical treatment and attending meetings and conferences. Thus for obtaining visitor visas (B1 or B2), you must meet the criteria.
All the visitor visa applicants are required to prove that they meet the Immigrating and Nationality Acts provisions. In the law, it is presumed that all the applicants of visitor visa are intending immigrants.
That’s why; every visitor visa applicant is needed to overcome the presumption by showing that:
• They intend to stay in the United States of America for a particularly short period, and they will come back to the home country.
• They have a permanent residence outside the US.
• They have some binding ties such as family which makes sure that visits will come back at the end of the allowed period of the stay.
• The trip to the United States is only for the purpose of pleasure, business or some medical treatment.
What is the complete process?
In India, there are total USA consulates. Depending upon your residency address in India, you will have to contact a particular office which is applicable to you. You will have to prepare all the supporting documents for proving your residence, national Identity, and intentions for a visit to the United States of America. Both the sponsor and the applicants need to prepare and send some documents to complete the process.
The sponsors in the USA are required to send the following documents.
A notarized and complete form of Affidavit of support (I-134). This form is readily available at US-INS website, and you can download it.
Your account summary on the letterhead of the bank or banks.
Your account verification letter. It is usually available on the office stationary of the bank. The letter will have the date on which you opened the account and your current balance.
A copy of bank statement. It should show that you have enough balance to vindicate the financial position.
A copy of full passport including the blank pages.
A copy of income tax returns. (the most recent copy)
An application to India’s US consulate. (The letter should be addressed to a specific office). This application should include a request to issue visitor visa to the concerned individuals and mention that you will responsibly fulfill their needs including boarding, tickets, and other expenditures in the United States of America.
A formal letter of invitation addressing the person whom you are sponsoring to come to the USA. It should also clearly state that you will be there to fulfill their needs during their stay in the US and you will take care of the boarding and tickets as well.
A certificate on your company’s letterhead from the employer. It should state your salary. Besides, the document should explicitly mention that you are the company’s permanent employee. It should also include a couple of copies of the recent pay stub. If you have the visa, you are also required to add the copies of your H1, L1 visa, the approval form (I-797) along with I-94. If you have a renewed petition because of an expired visa, the renewed petition’s photocopy is also needed.
If you are a Green Card Holder, you also need to submit a copy of a green card.
If you are a citizen of the United States of America, you need to submit the copy of citizenship certificate.
These are the documents that a sponsor in the USA has to submit. Now following is the list of documents that the applicants need to prepare.
A complete form of non-immigrant visa application (DS-156). You can get these forms from the consulates free of charge. Remember that a separate form is needed for every visitor.
A complete DS-157 form for the male applicants of non-immigration visa whose age is between 16 to 45 years. These forms are also available at consulates, and you can get them for free. For every male within the mentioned age bracket, a separate form is needed.
Every applicant including all the children regardless of age must have a valid individual passport through which they can travel to the USA. The validity date of the passport must be at least six months after the predetermined stay period.
Two photographs of 2 X 2 inches for every applicant. These photographs should clearly show the applicants’ full face without covering the head, and the background must be light. Remember that the US consulates are very concerned about the specifications of photographs so they should be appropriately taken. You should follow the guidelines carefully regarding the photos. These will be used in the application form.