New regulations for the B1/B2 Tourist Visa

We already pointed out in our last newsletter that there would be new regulations for the tourist visa B1/B2. As of April 12 (in connection with a 30-day annotation period), the regulations have been more clearly defined. This information is also a reaction to several press releases that have given a wrong impression.

First off, we are happy to inform you that nothing has changed about the 90-day regulation for German, Austrian and Swiss citizens. So you can still enter the US without a visa. This means that the new regulations only apply to those who have always needed a visa because the Visa Waiver Program doesn't apply to them, or persons who need to be in the US for more than three months.

The B1/B2 Visa regulations have changed in so far as that applicants can no longer expect to automatically get the full six months upon admission into the country. While this hasn't really been a general rule in the past either, it was at east very much simpler. Altogether the maximum period of stay will be limited to six months, it is no longer possible to apply for an extension to 360 days in the US, a rather unfortunate development according to our opinion.

What about the frequently quoted 30-day regulation?
The 30 days, often mentioned in the media, are misleading. This is the minimum limit of days the INS officer can stamp in your passport. The INS believes that 30 days will usually be quite sufficient to take care of everything you came to the country for or to spend a vacation. Furthermore, the INS officer may also grant more than the 180-day stay (for example to German pensioners who want to spend the winter in Florida). However, you need some arguments for this, in the individual case maybe even appropriate documentation. In the past, most B1/B2 tourists automatically were granted a 6-months stay.

What happens if I only get 30 days at the border?
You may still apply for an extension, but in that case you have to have very good reasons. At present, only reasons such as unexpected circumstances that make it impossible for you to leave the country or that would mean extraordinary hardship, or humanitarian reasons, will be accepted. Unfortunately, the wording of the new regulations is not very specific, so it remains to be seen what the officers will be doing in the future.

What happens if I have received my visa before April 12 and already am in the US?
The new regulations will not apply to you, you can use the full 6-months stay, provided you have the appropriate stamp in your passport. Unfortunately, you too will no longer be able to get the extension to one year. Even if the regulations do not state this specifically, experience has shown that the US officers will probably reject your application in a sort of anticipatory obedience.

What happens if I overstay the period I was granted?
Overstaying your granted period will lead to your visa being confiscated and invalidated. If you stay more than six months but less than one year longer than your granted period, you are risking an entry ban of up to three years. Overstays of one year and more may even lead to a 10-year entry ban, so better not risk this.
By the way, this regulation does not apply to people who have applied for a change of status before their current status expired (e.g. to a work visa).

Why has the US government introduced these measures?
A lot of things, maybe too many, are said to be consequences of September 11 at present. It may have contributed to the fact that these new regulations became effective. However, it probably is not the main reason. In fact, the number of illegal immigrants in the US has increased to almost 9 million by now, among them not just the "typical" countries anymore, but also an increasing number of people from Western Europe who cannot obtain a permanent residence in the US. So the INS wants to avoid that people develop close ties to the US by staying too long and thus lose their intention of returning to their home country.

Conclusion
In the future, it will be even more important to prepare your applications to the US consulates abroad as well as those to the US administrations inside the US even more carefully. In the future it will no longer be sufficient to simply submit your visa application based on the information by the US consulate, the more so as the visa is no longer a guarantee that you will be admitted into the US and get your desired period of stay. This especially applies to the admission controls themselves. Your documentation and application strategy has to be well prepared so that you have the right arguments at hand at the US border.
If you have any more questions about this, best use the contact form on our homepage.