B-1 Business
Visitor Visa

What Is the B-1 Visa?

The B-1 visa classification allows foreign nationals to temporarily visit the United States to conduct business. This typically includes legitimate commercial and professional activities such as attending business meetings, conferences, and conventions, investigating possible business investments, conducting negotiations, litigating, or undertaking independent research.

Under certain circumstances, permitted B-1 activities may also include receiving training or volunteering for religious or nonprofit charitable organizations. In addition, there are special rules for certain professions, including but not limited to domestic servants of U.S. citizens or foreign temporary workers, athletes, artists, still photographers, musicians, participants in international competitions, trainers, and horse racetrack personnel.

Key Restrictions

B-1 visitors are also prohibited from attending school for credit but may engage in study that is avocational or recreational in nature.

B-1 Eligibility Requirements

Required Documentation

B-1 applicants must provide the following documents for their visa application:

• Passport valid for at least six months beyond the desired period of stay.
• Interview appointment letter.
• Confirmation page for the completed DS-160 Nonimmigrant Visa Application (filed online).
• Receipt for payment of visa application fees.
• Current passport-style photo.
• Documentation regarding the trip's purpose, the applicant's ability to cover all expenses, and the applicant's intent to depart the U.S. after the temporary business trip.

Employer Support Letter

A key piece of supporting documentation is a letter from the foreign employer. This letter should address the following:

• The nature of the employer's business activities, year founded, number of employees, and annual revenue.
• The applicant's position and tenure with the foreign employer.
• Confirmation that the applicant is a full-time, paid employee of the foreign employer.
• The purpose of the applicant's visit to the U.S.
• The expected duration of the visit.
• Confirmation that the applicant will return to the home country after the temporary visit.

Admission and Extensions

Admission may be granted for up to one year, depending on the purpose of the trip. Extensions of B-1 status are limited to six-month increments and are filed from within the U.S. on Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status.

The same Form I-539 is used for B-1 visitors who wish to change status to another nonimmigrant category, such as F-1, L-1, or E-1/E-2 status, while in the U.S.

Family Members

A spouse, child, or any other dependent or immediate family member wanting to accompany or join the B-1 business visitor in the U.S. must apply separately for a B-2 tourist visa.

USMCA Business Visitor Provisions

The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Free Trade Agreement (USMCA), which replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), continues to allow citizens of Mexico and Canada to enter the U.S. to engage in prearranged business activities at a professional level.

The range of permitted business activities under the USMCA is wider than that for B-1 visitors from other countries and includes:

• Research and design
• Growth, manufacture, and production
• Marketing, sales, and distribution
• After-sales services
• General service
• Commercial transactions
• Public relations and advertising
• Tourism and tour bus operation
• Translation

B-1 in Lieu of H-1B

A foreign worker who would otherwise qualify for H-1B status may apply for a B-1 visa instead if certain conditions are met:

• The foreign worker must engage in hands-on work that meets the H-1B specialty occupation standard and would normally require an H-1B visa. Training U.S. workers is also a permissible activity.
• The H-1B caliber activity in the U.S. will last no more than six months.
• While the foreign worker may receive an expense allowance or reimbursement incidental to the temporary stay from the U.S. entity, his or her salary must continue to be paid by the employer abroad.

B-1 in Lieu of H-3

Under certain circumstances, a person otherwise eligible for H-3 status may obtain a B-1 visa instead. To pursue this route, the trainee must not receive any salary or remuneration from a U.S. source other than an expense allowance or other reimbursement incidental to the training in the U.S.

A typical scenario is where the trainee's foreign employer has a factory or facility in the U.S. where the employee needs to learn new policies, procedures, or skills which will then be brought back and applied to the employee's work abroad.

B-1 in Lieu of R-1

Some religious activities do not constitute "work" and thus can be performed while in B-1 visitor status. Typical examples include attending religious services or conferences, engaging in private worship, prayer, or meditation, or pursuing informal religious study. Ministers coming to the U.S. on an evangelical tour or to temporarily exchange pulpits with their U.S. counterparts may also do so in B-1 status.

Members of religious denominations who enter the U.S. temporarily and solely to perform unpaid missionary or certain volunteer work may qualify for B-1 in lieu of R-1 status, as long as their activities involve neither the solicitation or acceptance of donations nor the selling of articles.

The Visa Waiver Program (VWP)

Citizens of countries that participate in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) have the option to forego obtaining a B-1 visa and instead apply online through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) if they plan to visit the U.S. for no more than 90 days.

Each applicant will need a valid machine-readable passport to apply through ESTA.

VWP Limitations

Legal and Policy Sources

• 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(b)
• 8 C.F.R. § 217
• Vol. 9, Foreign Affairs Manual § 402.2
• United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), Ch. 16, Annex 16-A, Appendix 1
• Travel.State.Gov
• USCIS.gov

Immigration policies and regulations are complex and frequently subject to change. The information contained in this roadmap is intended to provide you with a general overview and may not address your particular circumstances and needs. Serotte Law will assist you with the application and documentation process and answer any questions you may have about the B-1 classification.