This page provides you with information and directions necessary to enter the U.S. temporarily.

Visa Ineligibility/Waiver

The Department of State nonimmigrant visa application Form OF-156 lists classes of people who are ineligible under U.S. law to receive visas because they are inadmissable. In some instances an applicant who is inadmissable, but who is otherwise properly classifiable as a temporary visitor, may apply for a waiver of inadmissibility and be issued a visa if the waiver is approved.

General Requirements for Temporary Visitors

A nonimmigrant is a foreign national seeking to enter the United States (U.S.) temporarily for a specific purpose. Nonimmigrants enter the U.S. for a temporary period of time, and once in the U.S. are restricted to the activity or reason for which their visa was issued. They may have more than one type of nonimmigrant visa but are admitted in only one status.

General requirements for foreign nationals seeking temporary admission include, but are not limited to, the following:

The purpose of the visit must be temporary;
The foreign national must agree to depart at the end of his/her authorized stay or extension;
The foreign national must be in possession of a valid passport;
A foreign residence must be maintained by the foreign national, in most instances;
The foreign national may be required to show proof of financial support;
The foreign national must be admissable or have obtained a waiver for any ground of inadmissability;
The foreign national must abide by the terms and conditions of admission.

Extension of Stay in U. S.

A foreign national may apply for an extension of a temporary stay if:

He/she is lawfully admitted into the United States as a nonimmigrant in a category that is not ineligible for an extension, and
He/she has not committed any act which would make him/her ineligible for an extension, and
He/she submits the application for an extension of stay before the current authorized stay expires.

Changes of Nonimmigrant Status

If you are a Nonimmigrant you may qualify for a change of nonimmigrant status if you are:

lawfully maintaining your present nonimmigrant status in a category that is not ineligible for a change in status;
eligible according to immigration regulations for the nonimmigrant status you are requesting; and
have not violated any law which would keep you from being granted this benefit.

Fianc�(e)

The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) provides a nonimmigrant visa classification, "K-1", for aliens coming to the United States to marry U.S. citizens and reside in the U.S.

Requirements

A U.S. citizen must file an I-129F petition with INS for the issuance of a K-1 fianc�(e) visa to the alien fianc�(e).
Both the U.S. citizen exercising this option and the fianc�(e) must remain unmarried until the arrival of the fianc�(e) in the U.S.
The alien fianc�(e) and U.S. citizen must have met personally at least once in the two years before the petition was filed.
The marriage between the U.S. citizen petitioner and the fianc�(e) must take place within three months of the fianc�(e)'s arrival if the alien fianc�(e) is to remain in status.

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