B-1 & B-2 Visitor Visas
DOs and DON'Ts

Typical Business, Commercial, or Industrial Activities

• Negotiating contracts
• Consulting with clients or business associates
• Exploring opportunities for investment or for setting up a U.S. subsidiary
• Attending a board meeting of a U.S. corporation
• Serving as a limited partner in a company
• Participating in professional or business conventions, conferences, or seminars
• Trading personally owned stock or cryptocurrency
• Owning a rental property or Airbnb in the U.S.
• Participating in litigation
• Settling an estate
• Supervising or training workers engaged in building or construction work
• Installing, servicing, or repairing commercial or industrial equipment or machinery purchased from a company outside the U.S., or training U.S. workers to perform such services (the contract of sale must specifically require such services or training, and the B-1 visitor must possess unique knowledge that is essential to the foreign seller's contractual obligation)

Scientific and Research Activities

• Participating in scientific or educational conventions, conferences, or seminars
• Undertaking independent research
• Foreign medical students performing a required, unpaid, elective clerkship at a U.S. medical school's hospital

Artists, Musicians, Photographers, and Entertainers

• Participating in cultural programs sponsored and paid for by another country, performing before a nonpaying audience
• Participating in an international competition (for no pay other than prize money and expenses)
• Musicians coming to the U.S. to use recording facilities for recording purposes only, as long as there are no public performances and the recording will be distributed and sold only outside the U.S.
• Still photographers may take photos as long as there is no income from a U.S. source
• Artists coming to the U.S. to paint, sculpt, etc., who are neither under contract with a U.S. employer nor intend to regularly sell such artwork in the U.S.

Professional Athletes

• Participating in a tournament or sporting event for no payment other than prize money
• Entering the U.S. as a member of a foreign-based team to compete with another sports team, as long as the income of the team and its players mainly derives from a foreign country, and the foreign-based sports team is a member of an international sports league or the sporting events have an international dimension

Religious Practitioners or Volunteers

• Performing missionary work (i.e., religious instruction, participation in religious ceremonies, aid to the elderly or needy, proselytizing, etc.)
• Participating in voluntary service programs benefiting U.S. local communities

Personal Employees or Domestic Workers

B-1 visitors may perform work as a personal employee or domestic worker for a U.S. citizen employer who is traveling to the U.S. temporarily, or for a foreign employer residing in the U.S. in nonimmigrant status.

Prohibited B-1 Activities

• Performing skilled or unskilled labor or employment
• Receiving a salary from a U.S. source (however, an expense allowance or reimbursement for expenses incidental to the temporary stay — such as travel, meals, lodging, and basic services — is permitted)
• Working for a foreign employer (other than consulting or training) while being physically present in the U.S.
• Installing machinery or rendering services in the construction or building trades
• Implementing a new process, procedure, or software program
• Actively managing an investment
• Performing an activity that will create a work product within the U.S.
• Enrolling in a course of study before changing nonimmigrant status to that of an F or M student
• Being in the business of running multiple rental properties or Airbnbs in the U.S.

Permissible B-2 Activities

• Tourism, amusement, visits with friends or relatives, rest, medical treatment, and activities of a fraternal, social, or service nature
• A short course of study that is incidental to visiting the U.S. (e.g., a language or cooking class)
• Amateur entertainers and athletes may perform in a social and/or charitable context or as a competitor in a talent show, contest, athletic event, or other similar activity (no pay, but may be reimbursed for incidental expenses)
• Unpaid volunteering for public service, religious or humanitarian objectives (nonprofit organizations), or for public sector employers (e.g., state and local governments)
• Owning a rental property or Airbnb in the U.S.

Prohibited B-2 Activities

• Visiting for the primary purpose of giving birth in the U.S.
• Accepting employment in the U.S., even if the only remuneration is room, board, and pocket change
• Pet-sitting, house-sitting, or providing childcare in exchange for room and board
• Coming to the U.S. to make egg donations for compensation
• Engaging in business activities while in B-2 status
• Enrolling in a course of study before changing nonimmigrant status to that of an F or M student
• Volunteering (paid or unpaid) for a for-profit private sector employer

Remote Work and Digital Activities

Replying to work emails and answering calls for a foreign employer while visiting the U.S. is generally permissible for B visitors. However, setting up a home office in the U.S. and performing job duties for a foreign employer remotely is likely going too far — even if the source of income is located abroad. Such a work arrangement can also trigger U.S. income tax obligations.

Social Media Influencers

A social media influencer vacationing in the U.S. may post content for which they will be paid abroad, but they cannot get hired by a U.S. hotel to visit and post pictures of their stay.