Non Immigrant / Visitor Visas

There are 13 types of non-immigrant visas (each with a different letter prefix). All applications must satisfy certain conditions. Applicants must be sound in body and mind, have no drug or dependency problems, with no criminal record (which includes advocating polygamy!), must not be nor have been a communist And of course applicants must be not entering the USA to 'overthrow, by force or violence or other unconstitutional means, the Government of the United States or of all forms of law'. Or as the US guidelines sum up:

'In short, aliens who do not measure up to the moral, mental, physical and other standards fixed by law are, with very few exceptions, excludable from admission even if they have the necessary documents.'

Important Point: A US visa is not permission to enter the USA. It is merely a statement by the US authorities abroad that the bearer seems to have met the necessary criteria and that they know of no reason why the bearer shouldn't be permitted to enter. Admission is actually granted by an Immigration and Naturalization Service Officer at the port of entry. Arriving on a valid tourist visa with all your worldly possessions and all the family (including grandma and the dog) would suggest to the most hard-pressed INS officer that you might be entering the USA for more than just a few days at Disneyworld.

If you fail to declare a reason why the US authorities might want to exclude you (such as a prior conviction) you can be removed from the USA without a court hearing, and be excluded permanently.

The conditions which applicants must satisfy are set out in some detail in the official booklet United States Immigration Laws: General Information issued by the INS and available from the US consular authorities (ask for booklet M-50).

Visa Types

There are 13 basic types. When applying it is essential you know which category is appropriate or your application will get rejected, which can add to the already lengthy process time that you can ill afford to lose:

1. diplomats and consular staff with authorised families
2. visitors for business or pleasure (but see visa-free proviso later)
3. transit visas
4. ship and aircrews due to leave soon
5. businessmen or investors
6. students to `pursue a full course of study at an established institute of learning'
7. diplomatic visas for international organisations
8. temporary worker, defined as an alien who is to perform a prearranged professional or highly skilled job for a temporary period, or to fill a temporary position for which there is a shortage of US workers; the employment must be approved in advance by the Immigration and Naturalization Service in the USA on the basis of an application filed by the prospective employer
9. bona fide media people
10. student, academic or nanny to join a recognised programme
11. fiancé(e) entrance, valid for 90 days only prior to marriage and change to permanent resident status
12. intracompany transfer
13. international cultural exchange participants who will be employed but whose primary purpose in the US is to share their cultural tradition with Americans; this might involve folk musicians working in a museum in a programme approved in advance by the US authorities.

Most visa types permit spouse (and children under 21) to go with the applicant, though care needs to be taken as to whether or not they can then work. For instance, the spouse or children of a student (F) visa may not work or even apply for permission to work. Intracompany transfer spouses and children may only work if they've successfully applied for work visas in their own right.

Documents needed to support an application depend upon the visa type sought, and whether or not the issuing official suspects fraud. Proof of intent to return home is necessary. But how can anyone prove intent? Well of course you can't, but you can provide evidence that returning home is more important than staying on in the USA:

• The need to return to complete a degree or to further a career:
  - a statement from your college saying you must be back by a specific date or forfeit your place
  - a statement from your company setting a date by which you must return or forfeit promotion.

• A return ticket (rather than just money or a credit card) suggests an intent to return home by a specific date (say 12 months for an APEX ticket).

The more footloose and fancy-free you appear to be to the US authorities the more necessary it is to show you have a compelling reason to return home.

Someone with a mortgage, children in school, an established career and a return ticket plus a package tour to Disneyworld is less likely to be asked for further proof of intent to return than a recently graduated single male with no return ticket, or a single female with child care qualifications and a single ticket to a wealthy suburb (who would appear to the suspicious INS as a potential and illegal nanny).