Applying B1 visa on expiring H1 visa

S

sumanaR

Registered Users (C)
Context-
I have a H1 visa, and my visa expires at the end of Jul 2007. I am right now in India, and would like to take my parents with me when I travel back to the US in the next month.

Question 1-
Since my visa expires in just 2 months, if my parents apply for a B2 (tourist) visa now, for what period will the visa be issued for them? Will it be just 2 months? Or more??

Question 2-
Say if their visa is issued only for 2 months, will the port of entry officers still stamp a 2 month period on their I-94s, or can it be more (6 months or so)?

Question 3-
I will be extending my H1 once I return back to the US. If at all my parents are granted a visa for only 2 months, what is the procedure to get their visa extended while they are in the US?

Appreciate any replies,
Thanks,
SumanaR
 
Answers:

1) Your parents visa, it's expiration date and type is completely independent from yours. If they get a tourist visa, they could issue a b1/b2 visa valid for 10 years for entries up to 6 months at a time. OR they could issue them a 1 time entry visa for the length of their stay in the US.

2) A visa's expiration date means only that past that date you can not longer apply for entry. Let say my visa expires in a week, and I travel to the USA. The Border Patrol officer may let me stay for 1 day to 6 months. It doesn't matter that my visa expires in a week. What matter is that it is valid at the moment of me crossing the border into the US.

3) They can file for a extension while they are there. Depending on their reason to come visit you and whether they can prove they are not coming with immigrating intent. They should get 6 months. But that is never assured.

What is the purpose of their trip?
 
Thank you for your quick, and clear reply - btw, my parents are coming to the US to just spend some time with me, and ofcourse to see some places around.

I had actually renewed my H1 visa a couple of weeks back, I wish I had taken my parents along with me for the visa interview at the consulate. It would have eased the process. But I was under the impression that I needed to get my visa stamped before they can attend the interview. Now, I guess there isn't a way for me to accompany them to the interview. They are all by themselves.

Thanks Again,
SumanaR
 
No problem.

Your parents will need to prove that they have strong ties (financial, emotional, etc) to their home country.

Hope it all goes well,
OP.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top