This visa allows people to visit any Foreign Country for a holiday or recreation, or to visit family and/or friends for a stay up to three or six or twelve months. This visa may also be used for other short-term non-work purposes.
Who should apply?
This visa is available to all passport holders who want to apply for a visa to visit any Foreign country.
Visitors of certain nationalities are eligible to apply for an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) or an eVisitor.
Overview
Generally, a citizen of a foreign country who wishes to enter any Foreign country must first obtain a visa, either a nonimmigrant visa for temporary stay, or an immigrant visa for permanent residence. Visitor visas are nonimmigrant visas for persons who want to enter the any Foreign country for business, tourism, pleasure or visiting, or a combination of both purposes.
Here are some examples of activities permitted with a visitor visa:
Business
- consult with business associates
- attend a scientific, educational, professional, or business convention or conference
- settle an estate
- negotiate a contract
Tourism and Visit
- tourism
- vacation (holiday)
- visit with friends or relatives
- medical treatment
- participation in social events hosted by fraternal, social, or service organizations
- participation by amateurs in musical, sports, or similar events or contests, if not being paid for participating
- enrollment in a short recreational course of study, not for credit toward a degree (for example, a two-day cooking class while on vacation)
Travel Purposes Not Permitted On Visitor Visas
These are some examples of activities that require different categories of visas and cannot be done while on a visitor visa:
- study
- employment
- paid performances, or any professional performance before a paying audience
- arrival as a crewmember on a ship or aircraft
- work as foreign press, radio, film, journalists, and other information media
- permanent residence in the United States