B1 Visa for Business Visitors to the US
If you are planning a US business trip, you may need a B1 Visa. It's worth checking if you need a visa and if the B1 Visa covers the business activities you plan to do in the US. Failure to prepare or getting the wrong visa could result in being refused entry or your immigration record being affected. That could just be embarrassing and an expensive mistake or prevent future US business trips and company expansion plans into the States.
Our US Immigration Lawyers in the UK regularly advise on US visa applications, including temporary visas such as the B1 and B2 Visitor Visas.
US Immigration Lawyers in London
To speak to a US Visa Lawyer in London, call OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
Appointments are available for phone, Zoom or Team meetings and at our offices in London.
Doing business in the US in uncertain trading times
As global Immigration Lawyers providing US immigration advice, we are receiving lots of inquiries from business owners and professionals planning trips to the US, the inquiries partially prompted by fears of how tariffs will affect business relationships with US companies or customers or more widely through economic knock-on effects. Some US visa applicants have been candid and admitted that with all the talk of US immigration crackdowns, they are taking a more cautious approach to ensuring that they have the right visa and travel documents.
If you want legal advice on a B1 Visa, the first thing our US Immigration Lawyers UK will do is check that a B1 Visa meets your US visa needs. It won't be the right visa for you if you plan to work whilst touring the US or if you are being seconded to a US branch of your employer’s multinational company.
What is a B1 Visa?
The B1 Visa is a nonimmigrant temporary visa for short business trips of a commercial or professional nature. USCIS gives some examples of trips to the US where a B1 Visa may be required:
- Consulting with business associates
- Traveling for a scientific, educational, professional or business convention
- Attending a business conference on specific dates
- Settling an estate
- Negotiating a contract
- Participating in short-term training
- Transiting through the United States, as some travellers may need to transit the United States with a B1 Visa
The list gives some non-exclusive examples of where a B1 Visa may be needed. If your planned business activities are not on the USCIS list, then talk to a US Immigration Attorney for advice on whether the B1 Visa meets your immigration requirements. For example, you may need a B1 Visa if you are travelling to the States to interview job candidates in the US for jobs in the UK or Ireland or to get up-to-date information on the latest US research or components available for you to use in your UK-based business or non-state-based company.
Do British citizens need a B1 Visa?
To transit through or visit the US, British citizens need either:
ESTA is an automated system that says if a traveller to the US qualifies for the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). If you don’t qualify for a waiver and an ESTA, then as a US traveller, you need a visa.
Whilst Britain is part of the ESTA scheme, not all British citizens qualify for an ESTA. Anyone with British citizenship may not qualify under ESTA if they have:
- Been arrested
- A criminal record
- Previously been refused admission into the US or been deported
- Previously overstayed under an ESTA visa waiver
- Been in one of a designated list of countries after a specific date
ESTA rules are complicated and strict. For example, you may be a successful British entrepreneur but require a B1 Visa because of an arrest over ten years ago that did not lead to a conviction or because of an incident in your youth that led to a police caution.
Who qualifies for a B1 Visa?
Our experienced US Immigration Attorneys will need a yes to all the following questions when assessing if you are likely to qualify for a US B1 Visa:
- You want to visit the US for legitimate business reasons
- Your visit will only be temporary
- You have enough funds to cover the trip and your US expenses
- You have a home outside the US and other binding ties to a non-US country, such as a family, job or business
- You meet the general eligibility criteria for admission to the US
How long can you stay in the US on a B1 Visa?
B1 Visas are granted for between one and six months. However, if USCIS grant a six-month visa, the visa holder can't study or work for an employer as the same permissible activity rules apply, whatever the length of the visa.
Extending the length of a B1 Visa
USCIS allow visa holders to apply to extend their B1 Visa to up to six months. The maximum time you can stay in the US on a B1 Visa in any one trip is generally one year.
Bringing family to the US
Some business owners and professionals like to combine a business trip to the US with a family holiday by taking a husband, wife or children with them so they can combine business with a spot of tourism and family time. There is no such thing as a Dependant Visa for the B1 Visa, so if relatives want to accompany the B1 Visa applicant, they will need to apply for B2 Visitor Visas. These are distinguished from the B1 Visa as they are tourist visas.
In uncertain economic times, our US Immigration Lawyers in the UK can help you secure the Business Visa or Personal Visa you need so you and your family can successfully visit the States.
US Immigration Lawyers in London
To speak to a US Visa Lawyer in London for US immigration advice, call OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
Appointments are available for phone, Zoom or Team meetings and at our offices in London.
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