B-2 Temporary Visitor for Pleasure
A B-2 visa lets a foreign national enter the United States temporarily for tourism, vacation, visiting friends or relatives, medical treatment, or similar non-business, non-study, non-work purposes. It is the standard tourist visa and is often issued jointly with B-1 as a combined B-1/B-2. Birth tourism, employment, and credit-bearing study are explicitly excluded.
- Duration
- By regulation (8 CFR 214.2(b)(2)), a B-2 visitor found admissible is admitted for a minimum of six months regardless of how short a stay was requested. CBP retains authority to authorize a shorter or longer period as circumstances warrant.
- Extensions
- File Form I-539 before the I-94 expiration date; extensions are granted in increments of up to 6 months, and are limited to unexpected events or compelling humanitarian reasons under current adjudication practice.
- Work
- None. No employment of any kind is authorized on a B-2 visa.
- Dual intent
- No
- Dependents
- No dependent visa category exists for B-2; each accompanying family member must independently qualify for and hold their own B-2 (or other appropriate) visa.
- Path to a green card
- None built in. Adjustment of status from B-2 is possible only in narrow cases (for example, marriage to a U.S. citizen after entry) and is scrutinized closely for pre-conceived immigrant intent, especially given the birth-tourism prohibition.
- Processing time
- Varies by embassy or consulate, season, and workload; check the post's interview wait-time listing on travel.state.gov before booking travel.
Who qualifies
- Tourists and vacationers
- Travelers visiting friends or relatives
- Patients seeking medical treatment in the United States
- Amateur participants in unpaid musical, sports, or similar contests
- Enrollees in a short recreational, non-credit course of study (for example, a short cooking class)
Requirements
- Completed Form DS-160 online nonimmigrant visa application, with photo
- Passport valid at least six months beyond the intended stay (unless exempted by a country-specific agreement)
- Nonrefundable MRV application fee paid
- Evidence of the trip's purpose, ties to the home country, and ability to cover costs (or a person who will cover costs)
- In-person interview at a U.S. embassy or consulate, generally required as of October 1, 2025, with a narrow waiver exception
- Ink-free digital fingerprint scan, usually taken at the interview
How to apply
- 1
Complete Form DS-160 online and upload a photo
- 2
Pay the MRV fee (and the visa integrity fee if collected at your post)
- 3
Schedule an interview at the embassy or consulate serving your residence, or confirm you qualify for the narrow interview-waiver exception
- 4
Gather passport, DS-160 confirmation page, and evidence of the trip's purpose and ties abroad
- 5
Attend the interview; digital fingerprints are usually taken
- 6
Await any administrative processing the consular officer requires
- 7
If approved, present the visa and passport to a CBP officer at the U.S. port of entry, who sets the actual admission period
Fees and forms
| Nonimmigrant visa application (MRV) fee | $185 |
| Visa issuance (reciprocity) fee | varies by nationality - see travel.state.gov fee schedule |
| Visa Integrity Fee (new under H.R. 1 / Public Law 119-21) | $250 statutory minimum, inflation adjusted. Enacted July 4, 2025 but not listed on the State Department fee schedule as of September 2026; collection across posts is uneven (unverified whether charged at any given post). |
| Visa Bond (designated high-overstay-risk countries only, under the permanent Visa Bond Program effective August 3, 2026) | $10,000, $15,000, or $20,000 as set by the consular officer |
| Expedited B-1/B-2 interview appointment (optional, selected posts, pilot through December 31, 2026) | $750 |
What changed in 2025 and 2026
- 2025-07-04: Enacted by Public Law 119-21 (H.R. 1) on July 4, 2025: a minimum $250 visa integrity fee on nonimmigrant visa issuance, inflation adjusted, notionally refunded on compliant departure. As of September 2026 it does not appear on the State Department Schedule of Fees for Consular Services and collection is still not uniform across posts.
- 2025-08-20: Visa Bond Pilot Program began under Executive Order 14159 section 14. Consular officers could require B-1/B-2 applicants who are nationals of countries with high overstay rates, deficient screening and vetting information, or citizenship-by-investment with no residency requirement, to post a bond of $5,000 to $15,000 as a condition of issuance.
- 2025-10-01: Interview-waiver eligibility narrowed: nearly all nonimmigrant applicants, including children under 14 and adults over 79, now need an in-person interview. A B-1/B-2/B-1-B-2 or Border Crossing Card renewal within 12 months of a full-validity prior visa's expiration remains eligible for a waiver if the applicant was 18 or older at the prior issuance and has no visa refusal history.
- 2026-01-01: The proclamation of December 16, 2025 took effect. Entry is fully suspended for nationals of 19 countries (Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Yemen) and partially suspended for nationals of 20 more (Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burundi, Cote d'Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, Zambia, Zimbabwe), which for every partial country except Turkmenistan suspends B, F, M and J issuance and directs consular officers to shorten the validity of all other nonimmigrant visas. Holders of Palestinian Authority travel documents are also covered. It bites on nationals who were outside the United States on January 1, 2026 without a valid visa.
- 2026-06-09: The State Department created a $750 fee for an expedited B-1/B-2 interview appointment by temporary final rule, amending 22 CFR 22.1. Paying it secures an appointment within ten business days at selected posts, subject to availability. The MRV fee is still payable on top. The pilot runs through December 31, 2026.
- 2026-08-03: The pilot was finalised as a permanent Visa Bond Program. Bonds are now set at $10,000, $15,000 or $20,000, with $15,000 the expected default, $10,000 where the applicant cannot pay that and $20,000 where the officer judges $15,000 insufficient. The visa is refused under INA 221(g) until the bond is posted. The maximum adjusts for inflation from October 1, 2027 and every seven years after.
Where it goes wrong
- Birth tourism (traveling primarily to give birth in the United States) is explicitly barred and is actively screened for
- No dependent visa category exists; each family member must independently qualify
- Overstaying triggers unlawful-presence bars and, for nationals of designated countries, forfeiture of a posted visa bond
- A letter of invitation or affidavit of support is not required and is not a deciding factor in adjudication
- Mandatory in-person interviews since October 2025 have lengthened appointment wait times at many posts
- Nationals of countries on the partial travel-ban list (effective January 1, 2026) cannot be issued a B-2 visa at all
Also in visitor
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