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 Nandini
Nair says that every time you enter the US on a 10-year multiple
entry visa, you have to provide a legitimate reason
I had
applied for US business/visitor visa on October 15, 2001, which
had got rejected. I then reapplied for the visa on October 25, 2001
and was granted a 10-year multiple entry visa. The following words
are mentioned in the visa: visa type/class, B1/B2. Can you tell
me what type of visa is granted to me and what is its validity period?
—Anupam
Gupta
The
B-1/B-2 visa is for visitors who intend to come to the US for business
and/or pleasure, like a tourist. At the port of entry valid evidence
showing the reason of your intention to enter the US is needed.
If you are entering for pleasure, e.g. sightseeing, then the duration
of stay will automatically be for six months. You can extend it
to one year by applying to the INS and proving to them that you
need to stay past the six-month time frame. If you are entering
the US for business purposes then you must give evidence of that.
You will be granted only a period of entry necessary to conduct
your business.
Generally,
the period of entry is given for 90 days to remain in the US. Again
this can be extended for another 90 days if it can be proved that
you need more time to conduct your business. But, you must depart
before the expiry date stamped on your passport.
You
do not have 10 years to remain in the US, what it means is that
for the next ten years you are permitted to be in and out of the
US without having to get another visa stamp. However, each time
you try to enter the US, you will have to prove that you entering
for legitimate reasons, whether it is for business or pleasure or
both.
A
friend of mine is currently on student visa and has completed his
Masters in Computer Science in Texas. He is now working in a company
in El Paso on optional practical training. This expires in May 2002.
He has a brother in the US who is a green card holder and working
in Microsoft. Presently jobs in the US are difficult to get. Is
there any way that his brother can sponsor him for a green card?
—Hrishikesh
Chatterjee
Currently
there is no preference category in which his brother can sponsor
your friend for a green card under his present immigration status.
His brother would have to become a US citizen first and then apply
for him under the fourth preference category — brother or sister
of US citizen. However, the waiting period currently is 13-15 years
under this preference category. The best option for your friend
right now is to find an employer who is willing to sponsor him for
H1-B visa.
If
an individual has been out of the US for three months on unpaid
vacation during the past five years, out of the six-year term that
he has been on H1-B visa, can he regain that period of time? The
individual’s H1-B started in January 1997 and the six-year
duration ends in December 2002. Can it be extended to March 2003?
—Ankush
Bhasin
No,
he will not be able to get that time back. To get any time back
against the six-year time limit, the H1-B holder should have been
out of the country for a minimum of six months for legitimate business
activities on behalf of his H1-B company. He has to submit copies
of his passport, clearly showing the date of departure and re-entry
and also submit evidence that he was abroad for a business activity.
If
an individual goes back to India (or out of the US) for one-year
after his six years have expired, can he come back again and get
another six years? What if he stayed in the US, but did not work
nor earn any money because he was on some other visa like H-4 or
F-1 for that one year?
—Suresh
Rajhans
To
get a fresh six-year term, the individual must remain physically
outside the US for one year. He cannot stay in the US in another
status for one year, regardless of whether he is earning money or
not, and get a new six-year term.
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