How To Apply For B-1 Visa

By Tiara

A business traveller’s visa is known as a Business Traveler VISA (B-1). This type of visa allows you to enter Canada with very little restriction. You are allowed to stay in Canada for a maximum of 30 days, and you must have the intention to return home after your visit.

A B-1 visa can be extended once you are in Canada, but only if you have proof that you will leave Canada afterwards. More often than not, this means having another destination to travel to or come back from during your remaining vacation time.

If you overstay your visa by one day, you may face serious consequences such as deportation.

Apply for a visa

how to apply for b-1 visa

Now that you have all of your documents in order, it is time to apply for your B-1 business visa! Visit your nearest American Embassy or Consulate in person to do so. They will go over all of your paperwork as well as some questions about how you plan to spend your time while in the country.

If you are applying online there may be additional questionnaires that need to be completed before they can process your application. Make sure to check this out ahead of time!

Once everything has been processed, you will receive a receipt which must then be filed with your home office back in your origin country. This way, you are fully documented during your stay in America.

Provide your application documents

Now that you have determined that you are eligible for a visa, it is time to gather all of your applications! You will need to provide these documents during the process of applying for your visa. These can include proof of health insurance (you must have this before coming to the United States), proof of sufficient money to stay in America while you are here (we suggest having $5,000–$7,500 saved up as a safety net), and proof of return flight information and tickets.

Proof of employment or business opportunities in the US will also be required. Make sure to include this in the paragraph above! The Bureau may ask about these things when you arrive at the airport to enter the country. If you do not have them, then you may be denied entry into the US. This would mean that you would likely be sent back home because you did not have enough money to come back.

It is best to have all of these items prepared ahead of time so that you do not waste any time trying to find something you left behind.

Pay the visa application fee

how to apply for b-1 visa

Before you even begin applying for your B-1 visa, you will first need to pay an immigration service a VISA APPLICATION FEE. This is also referred to as the “visa processing” or “admission into USA” fees. Most services have their site where they list all of their prices so that you can compare them before making your payment.

Most applications usually have a $50 minimum paid applicability fee unless you are paying through an agency which cuts down on overhead costs for the business. It is best to do your research and see what each company lists as being needed ahead of time!

General rules about how much money you must spend to apply for a visa depending on whether you are applying in person at a US Embassy or Consulate, via mail, online, phone, or fax. Make sure to check out our article here to learn more about the different ways to apply for visas.

Wait for your visa to be approved

how to apply for b-1 visa

It is very important to know that even if you have all of the required documents, you will not get your visa until you exit the country. You can only enter America with a B-1 visa while travelling for business or tourism.

So, once you have everything ready and you have booked your flight, it’s time to start thinking about leaving!

Start looking into ways to stay abroad longer than two weeks, and don’t travel alone unless you are completely sure that you can take care of yourself in a foreign city.

Getting an approval letter doesn’t mean that you’re allowed to enter the United States yet, though. You must also wait for your visa to be processed before heading across the border. This can take anywhere from one day to several months depending on how many people work at the American consulate in charge of reviewing applications.

Prepare your visa and travel documents

how to apply for b-1 visa

Before you even begin gathering all of your paperwork, you will want to make sure that you have enough copies of everything! This includes passport photos, receipts, letters, statements and more.

You do not need every piece of paper ever printed in the history of time, but it is better to have too many than none at all!

Luckily, there are some great tools available now that can help you organize all of this information. Some of this track and organize all of your documents, while others offer hard copy or PDF versions as well.

Research your destination

how to apply for b-1 visa

Before you apply, make sure you are prepared for this process by doing some research. You will need to know if there have been any major incidents in or around the city that you plan to visit.

You should also find out how popular the destination is during high season as well as at other times of the year. This could help determine whether it is better to go now or wait until later.

General tips — such as what language the locals speak and what currency they use — can be helpful when navigating social circles and getting things done.

Meet your consulate

how to apply for b-1 visa

As mentioned before, every country has their own visa office that works with other countries’ consulates to help process visas. These partnership visa offices work in conjunction with foreign embassies by helping you apply for your visa while they represent your country at the embassy in their area.

Most major cities have a US Consulate where you can meet with an officer who will review your application and send it off to be processed in Washington, DC. It is very important to coordinate with this person and find out which days are best for you to come so you do not waste time waiting for them to arrive or leave.

Some people organize travel around these meetings to save money as it is paid through government funds, but we cannot stress enough how crucial meeting face-to-face is for this type of visa!

If you need more information about applying for a business trip outside the United States, speak with the staff at your local consulate to make sure everything is clear. They will also tell you what documents you should bring when you visit the embassy.

Know the rules

how to apply for b-1 visa

A nonimmigrant visa is called a “B” classification under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). A business or tourist visit to the United States is not considered an extended stay unless an individual has been granted this more restrictive status.

There are two main types of B visas, which are referred to as Business Visas and Nonbusiness Visas. The differences between these 2 categories lie in how long you intend to be in the U.S. and what kind of activity you will perform while here.

Business travellers typically spend several days exploring different parts of the country before heading back home, so they are required to have at least six months left on their passports and must prove that they have adequate funds to return home after visiting America.

Nonbusiness tourists usually only remain in the states for one week at a time, so they do not need to include any sort of return flight within that timeframe.