What is a visa?

(If you have questions about visas or wonder if you qualify for a particular visa, please contact us [link to contact page]. One of our attorneys would be more than happy to help.)

If you're a citizen of a foreign country, in most cases you'll need a visa to enter the United States. A visa does not permit entry to the U.S. Instead, a visa simply indicates that your application has been reviewed by a U.S. Department of State officer and that the officer has determined you're eligible to enter the U.S. for a specific purpose.

A visa only allows you to travel to the United States as far as the port of entry (airport, seaport, or land border crossing) and ask the immigration officer to allow you to enter the U.S. Only the immigration officer has the authority to permit you to enter the United States. He or she decides how long you can stay for any particular visit. Currently, immigration matters are the responsibility of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

There are two categories of U.S. visas: immigrant and nonimmigrant.

Generally, immigrant visas are for people who intend to live permanently in the U.S. Nonimmigrant visas are for people with permanent residence outside the U.S. but wish to be in the U.S. on a temporary basis: tourism, business, temporary employment, or education.

NONIMMIGRANT VISAS:

U.S. immigration law requires that people who apply for nonimmigrant visas must provide evidence that they don't intend to immigrate, or permanently remain, to the United States. It's up to consular officers at U.S. embassies abroad to determine eligibility for each alien's situation.

Providing requested documents to the U.S. Consulate does not guarantee that an alien will receive a visa. There is no such thing as a right to a visa. 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.

IMMIGRANT VISAS:

An immigrant visa is required for an alien who wishes to immigrate, or live permanently, in the United States. Generally, a person typically seeks to immigrate based on one of four grounds: 1) business or employment, 2) family relationships, 3) protection from torture, domestic violence, or political oppression, and 4) diversity.

On average, immigrant visas require additional time to obtain compared to nonimmigrant visas.

Each of the four categories requires different documentation and eligibility. For more information on the different types of immigrant visas see our Hot Topics in Immgration [link] or our practice areas [link] sections.