WHAT IS A VISA AND ITS PURPOSE
Lal Varghese, Attorney at Law, Dallas

There are more than 20 types of nonimmigrant visas available for people traveling to the United States temporarily. There are many more types of immigrant visas for those coming to live permanently in the United States. The type of Visa you need is determined by the purpose of your intended travel. The following illustration will help you how to read the nonimmigrant visa (for travel to the U.S. as a temporary visitor). In addition, as soon as the visa is received, remember to check to make sure information printed on the visa is correct. If any of the information on the visa does not match the information in the passport or is incorrect, please contact the nonimmigrant visa section at the embassy or consulate that issued your visa as soon as possible before the intended date of travel to United States.

A visa does not guarantee entry into the U.S. A visa allows a foreign citizen to travel to the U.S. port-of-entry (airport or land border), and the Department of Homeland Security U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) immigration inspector authorizes or denies admission to the United States. If admission is granted the alien traveler will be issued with a document called I-94, a small while card with the date of arrival, class of entry and date of expiry of period of entry. Those travelers coming from Visa Waiver Program counties (VWP) counties do not need any visa to enter United States for visitor purposes and they will not be issued with I-94 (Green in color) any more. They can stay in United States only for 90 days from the date of entry. They are not allowed to apply for change of status or extension of stay and also adjustment of status with some limited exceptions including immediate relatives of U. S citizens. But they should prove that they did not have any preconceived intent to apply for adjustment of status and there are certain presumptions about their intention if they apply for adjustment of status immediately after the entry. This is known as 30/60 days rule as mentioned in the Foreign Affairs Manual of the Department of State. USCIS usually uses this DOS rule in the case of adjustment of status cases, since it is purely a discretionary relief vested with he Attorney General under the immigration laws.

If you have a nonimmigrant visa that will expire soon and you are not allowed to renew the visa in United States, since the U. S consulates situated outside United States issue the visas. In order to renew the visa, you will have to go through the whole visa application process each time you want to apply for a visa, even if your visa is still valid. There are some situations where a visa applicant may not need to be interviewed when renewing his/her visa. If you have questions regarding visas and its validity and issuance of visas etc., you must contact the Department of State, U.S. Embassy or Consulate abroad with questions about U.S. visas, including application, the status of visa processing, and for inquiries relating to visa denial etc. Once in the United States, the traveler falls under the jurisdiction of Department of Homeland Security. The Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is responsible for the approval of all petitions, the authorization of permission to work in the U.S., the issuance of extensions of stay, and change or adjustment of an applicant's status while the applicant is in the U.S. See Other Government Information below to learn more.

Visas are issued for a limited period of time like 1 year, five years and 10 years with multiple entry provisions. In the case of visas issued for months, it may be usually issued for single entry only. A visa must be valid at the time a traveler seeks admission to the U.S., but the expiration date of the visa (validity period/length of time the visa can be used) has no relation to the length of time a temporary visitor may be authorized by the Department of Homeland Security to remain in the United States. Persons holding visas valid for multiple entries may make repeated trips to the U.S., for travel for the same purpose, as long as the visa has not expired, and the traveler has done nothing to become ineligible to enter the U.S., at port of entry. But it should be remembered that if you are a visitor and stayed in United States for 6 months and then left to your home country and immediately returns to United States, the CBP officers at the port of entry may not permit you to enter this time. It is always advisable to remain in your home country for extended period of time like 6 months or above before making another attempt to enter United States on a visitor visa.

If your old passport has already expired and your visa to travel to the United States is still valid, you do not need to apply for a new visa with your new passport. If your visa is still valid you can travel to the United States with your two passports, as long as the visa is valid, not damaged, and is the appropriate type of visa required for your principal purpose of travel. (Example: tourist visa, when your principal purpose of travel is tourism). Both passports (the valid and the expired one with the visa) should be from the same country and type (Example: both Uruguayan regular passports, both official passports, etc.). When you arrive at the United States port of entry (POE) the Customs and Border Protection Immigration Officer will check your visa in the old passport and if s/he decides to admit you into the United States they will stamp your new passport with an admission stamp along with the annotation "VIOPP" (visa in other passport). Do not try to remove the visa from your old passport and stick it into the new valid passport. If you do so, your visa will no longer be valid.

A visa does not guarantee entry into the United States, but allows a foreign citizen coming from abroad, to travel to the United States port-of entry and request permission to enter the U.S. The Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials have authority to permit or deny admission to the United States, and determine how long a traveler may stay. At the port of entry, upon granting entry to the U.S., the Department of Homeland Security, US immigration inspector, provides you a small white card, Form I-94, Arrival-Departure Record in your passport. Visa Waiver Program travelers receive Form 1-94W. On this form, the U.S. immigration inspector records either a date or "D/S" (duration of status). If your I-94 contains a specific date, then that is the date by which you must leave the United States. Your Form I-94, or I-94W is a very important document to keep in your passport, since it shows your permission to be in the U.S. Review information about Admission on the CBP Website. Also, see Duration of Stay.

Disclaimer: Lal Varghese, Attorney at Law, with more than 25 years of experience, mainly practices in U. S. immigration law and is located in Dallas, Texas. He does not claim authorship for above referenced information. Lal Varghese, Attorney at Law or the publisher is not responsible or liable for anything stated above, since it is generalized information about the subject matter collected from various legal sources. For individual cases and specific questions you are advised to consult an attorney of your choice in your State of residence or contact your State Bar Organizations or local Bar Associations for finding an attorney or for any legal help. You can visit our website at: www.indiaimmigrationusa.com or www.indiaimmigrationusa.blogspot.com for information about U. S. immigration law related matters. Lal Varghese, Attorney at Law can be reached at (972) 788-0777 or at his e-mail: attylal@aol.com if you have any questions.