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 crewman 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
Period of Stay/Extension of Stay
Initial Period of Stay: 1 to 6 months; 6 months is the maximum
Extension of Stay: Up to 6 months
Maximum total amount of time permitted in B-1 status on any one trip is generally 1 year
Family of B-1 Visa Holder
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.
Applying for a Visitor Visa
Applicants for visitor visas should generally apply to 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.
As part of the visa application process, an interview at the embassy consular section is required for visa applicants age 14 – 79. Each applicant for a visitor visa must submit these forms and documentation as explained below:
An application, Nonimmigrant Visa Application, Form DS-156, completed and signed. The DS-156 must be the March 2006 date, electronic “e-form application”;
A Supplemental Nonimmigrant Visa Application, Form DS-157. Submission of this completed form is required for all male applicants between 16 – 45 years of age. It is also required for all applicants form state sponsors of terrorism age 16 and over, irrespective of gender, without exception;
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;
One 2×2 photograph;
Nonimmigrant visa application processing fee and the visa issuance fee;
Evidence which shows the purpose of the trip, intent to depart the United States, and arrangements made to cover the costs of the trip;
Those applicants who do not have sufficient funds to support themselves while in the United States 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;
Foreign nationals seeking a B-1 visa from certain countries may be able to enter the United States without a visa through the Visa Waiver Program. For information about exemptions from the visa requirement, please go to the following link:
http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/without/without_1990.html