Holiday Travel Tips

Traveling to the United States As the holiday season approaches, travel is on the minds of many. We take this opportunity to discuss some of the issues involved with traveling to the United States. Any time an individual enters the United States, the individual must obtain permission from the U.S. government. This permission is known as a "visa." For most, visiting the U.S. for business requires obtaining the B-1 visa and for pleasure requires the B-2 visa. Both visa types require the individual to articulate a specific purpose and duration for the trip and provide convincing evidence that the individual will be returning home afterwards. The B-1 visa is issued for those coming to the country for the purpose of business. Examples of this include foreign nationals engaging in commercial transactions such as negotiating contracts, litigation, consulting with clients, or meeting with business associates; visitors participating in scientific, educational, professional, religious, or business conventions; personal or domestic servants who accompany returning United States citizens or other certain nonimmigrant visa holders; professional athletes; and many more. B-2 visas are issued for those coming to the U.S. for pleasure. Those admissible while holding this visa include tourists, those visiting friends and relatives socially, visitors coming for health and medical purposes, participants in conventions of social organizations, participants in amateur musical and sports events with no remuneration, and many others. Both B-1 and B-2 individuals must provide sufficient evidence to show that their temporary stay in the U.S. has no intention of becoming permanent. In order to fulfill this requirement, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") requires the individual to prove that their foreign residence is their home, and in most cases for the B-1, that the principal place of business and actual profits are accrued predominately in a foreign country. One of the major concerns about the B-1/B-2 visa is the process of issuing the visa. In order to receive the visa, an individual must set up an interview with a consular officer. At the time of the interview, the officer reviews the reasons for obtaining a visa, and the evidence pertaining to nonimmigrant intent - that is, whether the individual will be returning home. Visa issuance is entirely up to the consular officer at the time of the interview and therefore it is in the applicant's best interest to provide as much detailed information initially as possible. While an individual may reapply after a denial, our experience has shown that reapplying for the B-1/B-2 visa carries a greater hurdle than the initial application. The issue stems from the consular officer's file of the interview with the foreign national. After each visit to the consulate, the officer will leave notes on a foreign national's file. These notes can prohibit an individual from reapplying for the same visa, given that the new officer (or even the same officer as before) will have access to the notes as to why the visa was not granted in the first place. Already, there is a prejudice that the applicant must overcome. Therefore reapplying without new evidence and further details will not help a case. Please note that for citizens of select countries, there is a visa waiver program (ESTA) that acts similar to the B-1/B-2 visa, but bypasses the application at the consular office. More information about this program can be found at the following link: https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/ The above information has been provided for informational purposes only. As always, your particular facts may warrant a different route. Please contact Clark Lau LLC to determine what is best for your situation. Special thanks to Clark Lau Team Member Shannon Lee for contributing to this post.