A B-1 Visa may be used to travel to the states for business purposes. The beneficiary may attend to business matters such as meetings, court hearings, setting up a business etc, but may not work and incidentally, may not be remunerated from a U.S source. Thus, in attending to business matters within the states, they may be paid by a foreign employer, but may not be compensated by a U.S entity.

A B-2 visa is required for holiday and tourism purposes.

Nationals from countries such as the UK, entitled to visa waivers only require the above USA, business visas if they intend to remain in the USA for more than 90 days.

Although the life span of the B-1/B-2 Visa may last for ten years, the beneficiary may only visit the US for a maximum duration of six months at a time. The visa may be extended for another six months, but the applicant would vigorously need to persuade the Citizenship and Immigration Services that he/she is deserving of this extension due to extenuating circumstances.

Corroborating documents showing concrete ties to one's home country such as those relating to work, residence and family would be important in proving a temporary intent to remain in the US and should be taken to the appointed interview

Length of residence in the applicant's home country will be taken into consideration when determining permanent ties to the country. Thus, if the duration of residence is under five years, the burden of proof may weigh more heavily on the applicant in regards to residential ties as opposed to a person who has lived in the country for a longer period of time.

In essence, the applicant would be stating that he has a permanent domicile outside of the United States that he has no intention of abandoning.

A letter from the applicant's employer stipulating the duration and purpose of the visit to the U S would be beneficial in establishing the temporary intent and purpose of the visit.

It would be important to also take supporting evidence such as a bank statement, showing financial capacity to fund the trip for the intended duration.

The applicant should allow a waiting period of seven to ten working days for the processing of the Visa.

The approval of a visa serves as initial but not final permission to enter the United States. The USA immigration official at the U S port of entry has ultimate discretion as to whether to allow or refuse entry.

Alternatively, the applicant may travel to the states on a visa waiver, but is limited to a maximum duration of stay within the states of ninety days. This period may not be extended.