2/10/2008

B-1 nonimmigrants are visitors for business and are required to be seeking admission for activities other than purely local employment or hire. The difference between a business visitor and a temporary worker also depends on the source of the alien’s salary. 

To be classified as a visitor for business, an alien must receive his or her salary from abroad and must not receive any remuneration from a U.S. source other than an expense allowance and reimbursement for other expenses incidental to temporary stay. 

The B-2 visa is granted for temporary visitors for “pleasure,” otherwise known as tourists. Tourists, who are encouraged to visit as a boon to the U.S. economy, have consistently been the largest nonimmigrant class of admission to the United States. A B-2 nonimmigrant may not engage in any employment in the United States.

Many visitors, however, enter the United States without nonimmigrant visas through the Visa Waiver Program. This provision of the INA allows the Attorney General to waive the visa documentary requirements for aliens coming as visitors from 28 countries (e.g., Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom)