Tourist / Visitor Visas (Part 3)

Author: Joseph P. Murphy, Esq., Allegheny Immigration Group

Release Date: 12/27/2019 (YouTube)

Author’s Statement:

This is part 3 of a transcription of my video on tourist visas which you can see here. If you, or someone you care about need legal services related to filing for, extending, traveling on, or any other matter related to a B Tourist Visa, please call my office at (412)521-2000 or my cell at (412)973-3442. You can also email me at jmurphy@jmurphyfirm.com. Please visit, like and share the Allegheny Immigration Group Facebook page and the Allegheny Immigration Group Youtube Channel.

Here are some other examples of things that help people overcome the presumption and immigrant intent. Got a little bit of list here, ownership, at least a property in the home country, evidence of business or other holdings in the home country, documentation of the temporary nature of the visit you have got. Even though B Visa is usually good for 180 days, you have got a turn flight in two weeks prove that you have the ability to make a trip of the length that you wanna make without losing your job. This is particularly important where you are showing, that you have a great job, say the executive that you would not wanna lose by moving to the United States. But you are going to the United States for three months. There would be some question about what’s gonna happen in that job if you’re left in the United States, you know, if you are not there for three months. A letter from your employer saying “we understand that this person is travelling in the United States and we are authorizing it and their job will be here when they get back.” Again as I gave the example earlier of an itinerary, places you plan on staying, attractions you plan on visiting. Family members if you had a bunch of kids that needed your supervision that you’d be leaving behind if you move to the United States, that can be good evidence that you are going home too. Obviously a round-trip ticket is something that would we’d be looking for. If you are only got a one-way ticket that kind of indicates that you are not going back.

So, that’s it. I mean there is no invitation, there is no need for the person in the US to show anything. There is very little control over the process that this is not reviewable. The decision by the consular officer to grand or deny B Visa is done in summary fashion based on the consular or embassy officer’s assessment of whether this person has overcome the presumption of immigrant intent. If that isn’t done to the satisfaction of the consular officer, you don’t get the B Visa. Now, you can re-apply but you would wanna do that a week later you have to wait a while. If you are successful at the interview B Visa will be granted and affixed inside your passport by the consular embassy. That visa in many cases is good for ten years. That doesn’t mean that you can enter the United States to stay in here for 10 years. Normal B Visa admission to the United States are for 180 days, that’s six months that means you have up to six months from when you enter the United States to go home. If you stay beyond that six months, you will start accruing unlawful presence. You are on overstay. It will probably cancel your B Visa and you won’t be allowed back in on a B Visa and after 180 days you become inadmissible to the United States for three years. After 365 days, you become inadmissible to the United States for 10 years.