Visas

What is a visa?

If you are a citizen of a foreign country, in most cases you will need a visa to enter the United States. There are two categories of U.S. visas: immigrant and nonimmigrant.  

Non-immigrant visas are for people with permanent residence outside the U.S. but wish to be in the U.S. on a temporary basis - for tourism, business, temporary work, study or medical treatment.  Immigrant visas are for people who intend to live permanently in the U.S.

A visa does not permit entry to the U.S. A visa simply indicates that a U.S. consular officer has reviewed your application, and that the officer has determined you are eligible to apply for entry to the country for a specific purpose. 

Under U.S. law the authority to issue or refuse visas is vested solely in consular offices abroad. Consular officers have the authority to decide whether the evidence submitted in support of an application is sufficient to establish an applicant's eligibility for a visa. Consular officers may request additional confirmation or documentation depending on their assessment of each person's situation.

U.S. law requires that most people who apply for nonimmigrant visas must provide evidence that they do not intend to immigrate to the United States. It is up to the consular officers at U.S. embassies and consulates to determine eligibility on an individual based on the merits of each case. 

Providing the requested documents does not guarantee that you will receive a visa. Each person's personal situation is different so people applying for the same visa may be asked different questions and be required to submit different documents.

There is no entitlement to a visa. 

A visa allows you to travel to the United States as far as the port of entry (airport or land border crossing) and ask the immigration officer to allow you to enter the country. There, the immigration officer has the authority to permit you to enter the United States, and decide how long you can stay for any particular visit.