Visiting the US? What to do?

If you are visiting the US to be a tourist, visiting some relatives or just curious on the life that the US can offer; you should first obtain the necessary documents that are required by the USCIS. What is USCIS? The USCIS is the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services department that takes care of all immigration affairs for America. You should also find out if you are required to have a Visa for the visit. Some nationals may not be required to have a US visa for a visit to the US.

Visiting the US means doing business with the USCIS. The USCIS will need the help of the US department of state to process the applications of individuals visiting the US. The USCIS will work with the State Department when applications are done outside of the US. You should direct applications to the consulates of the US in your home country.

You should be applying for a US Visitor Visa. This visa is made for the individuals who want to visit the US in short term basis. Visits are different to living in the US. Living in the US requires a more tedious process and requires more paper works. In order to be given a US visitor visa, you should show that you are not going to live or you are not planning to live in the US.

The US suffers from illegal migrants that have been awarded visitor visas, then decided not to get out of the US even after the expiration of the Visa. These illegal migrants have been causing trouble for the USCIS and other immigration related agencies in the US. This is the reason why your application to for the US visitor visa will not be as easy as you thought it would be. The USCIS follows strict guidelines for your application, thus needing “proof” of your attachment in your home country, giving reason enough for you to come back to your home country.

Proof of your reason to get out of the US before your visa expires may take many forms. They may be regular employment, a business running, having family in home country or having enough funds to buy a return ticket home. These are all needed to gain the trust of the USCIS so they can grant you a US visa for the visit.

Your visit to the US should not take on activities such as doing business, taking on studies, or doing work. There are relevant US visa categories for each of the activities. Each of the activities will follow different processes. The USCIS wants to have control of the Visas that they give out so the visits do not affect US citizens. Immigrants working in the US may affect the unemployment rate while students should be monitored so they do not take the slots that were previously meant for the US students.

The applications

The US Visa applications when done outside of the US need to be made through the US Department of States. These are Consular applications made from your home country. The applications can only be made on the official offices and should not be dealt with any third party that is not authorized. You may be able to work with agencies, immigration agents and immigration lawyers if you want, but they should be acknowledged and approved by the USCIS.

You should also gather all the required documents so your applications are not delayed. Incomplete requirements will not be processed by the USCIS. You also need to have the proper visa application forms and fill them up properly and then sign them. Incomplete visa application forms will not be processed and an unsigned one will hold the application null.

You also need to pay for your application. The USCIS will charge for every application made. The application will only proceed after all payments have been made. You will be notified by the USCIS if your visa is accepted. You may be called for an appointment for the interview is the immigration officer sees it fit to do so. The processing times may not be as fast as you need it. USCIS will hold your US visa applications for processing, they also have a great load of backlogs that they have to process so you may have to wait. US Visitor visas are not prioritized by the USCIS and the department of State.

When granted a US visa, you will be admitted to the US in the port of entry by the Department of Customs and Protection by giving you a stamped form, the Form I-194. This serves as a record for your arrival and departure to and from the US. 

Extending your stay

When you are already in the US but you don’t want to get out yet, or if you have a god reason to stay, you may be allowed to extend your stay. You need to make another application for the extension of your visit. The application will be submitted to the USCIS. You should be able to submit the form I-539 ad should be relative to your from I-194. The form I-539 will be made only for non-immigrant visa extensions.

If you do not have the form I-194, you need to apply for a replacement. Your visit to the US need to be documented so you can get an extension. You need to accomplish and submit form I-102 for the replacement applications.

Non-immigrant status

A US visitor visa is a non-immigrant visa. This means that you are not allowed to stay in the US over the covered periods. You should be disciplined enough to follow this regulations otherwise you may be put in a black list or you may be deported and this will be put in record. This has been a problem of the USCIS and the Department of Homeland Security since its inception and reason why it is very challenging to do visa applications to the US certainly from countries that have had very bad records.