The B-1/B-2 visitor visa covers business trips and tourism, costs $185, and is decided at a short interview against the presumption that you intend to immigrate. It does not guarantee entry, and it does not set how long you may stay. That is decided by a border officer after you land, and recorded on your I-94.
US Visas
USA Visitor Visa B-1/B-2: Requirements, Process and Costs
What the B-1/B-2 Visa Covers
B-1 covers business activity such as consulting with associates, attending a conference, negotiating a contract or settling an estate. B-2 covers tourism, holidays, visiting friends and relatives, and medical treatment. Neither permits study, employment, paid performances, work as foreign press, permanent residence or birth tourism. Most applicants are issued a combined B-1/B-2 visa. The application fee is $185 and an interview is normally required.
The category is the largest in the US system by volume. On the FY2024 worldwide workload table, 6,498,004 B-1/B-2 visas were issued and 2,497,104 refused. Almost all of those refusals were made under section 214(b) rather than for any specific ineligibility, which tells you where the difficulty lies.
What the Visa Does Not Do
A visa is permission to travel to a port of entry and ask to be admitted. The State Department is explicit that it "does not guarantee entry into the United States" and that Customs and Border Protection officials at the port of entry hold the authority to permit or deny admission. Being refused entry after a visa was issued is unusual, but it is legally possible.
The Difference Between B-1 and B-2
The distinction is one of purpose, not of privilege. B-1 permits business activity that stops short of working in the United States; B-2 permits leisure and personal purposes. Because most travellers do some of both, consulates typically issue the combined B-1/B-2 visa and leave the purpose of each trip to be stated on arrival.
Permitted and Prohibited Activities
| Permitted | Not permitted |
|---|---|
| Consulting with business associates | Study toward a qualification |
| Attending a scientific, educational, professional or business conference | Employment in the United States |
| Negotiating a contract | Paid performances |
| Settling an estate | Work as foreign press |
| Tourism, holidays and visiting friends or relatives | Permanent residence |
| Medical treatment | Birth tourism |
Source: US Department of State, visitor visa guidance, travel.state.gov.
The Line Between Business and Work
Attending meetings, negotiating and conferring are business. Delivering services to a US client, filling a role, or being paid from a US source is work, and needs a different category. The practical test consular and border officers apply is where the productive activity and the payment sit, not how the trip is labelled on an itinerary.
What You Have to Prove
There is no points test and no published financial threshold. The requirement is to satisfy the officer that you qualify for the category and that you have overcome the presumption of immigrant intent by showing ties to your home country strong enough to compel your return.
How Ties Are Assessed
Employment, a business, property, studies in progress, dependent family and a history of travelling and returning all count. None is decisive on its own. The officer weighs your circumstances against what is typical for applicants of your profile at that post, which is why identical documents produce different outcomes in different countries.
Where Issuance Is Currently Suspended
Presidential Proclamation 10998, effective 1 January 2026, fully suspends visa issuance for nationals of a listed group of countries and partially suspends it for others, the partial list covering B-1/B-2, F, M and J visas and all immigrant visas. Visas issued before that date were not revoked, and exceptions exist for lawful permanent residents, certain dual nationals and some diplomatic categories.
Documents You Will Need
The mandatory list is short. What separates a strong application from a weak one is the supporting evidence you can produce if the officer asks for it.
- Passport: valid for your intended stay. A valid US visa in an expired passport remains valid and may be used alongside a new one.
- DS-160 confirmation page: completed online, with a photograph meeting the published requirements uploaded.
- Fee receipt: $185, paid before booking the interview and non-refundable.
- Appointment confirmation: for the interview at the embassy or consulate.
- Evidence of ties and funding: employment or business documents, evidence of income or savings, and anything showing what you are returning to.
- Trip details: dates, accommodation and, where someone else is paying, evidence of who they are and why they are paying.
How to Apply
The process is the same worldwide, though appointment availability varies enormously by post. Complete the DS-160 online, upload a compliant photograph, pay the application fee and attend the interview. The State Department notes that wait times for appointments vary by location, season and visa category.
Paying for an Earlier Appointment
A pilot programme running from 18 August 2026 to 31 December 2026 allows B visa applicants at six posts to pay $750 for an interview within ten business days, subject to availability. The participating posts are Mission Canada, Mission Mexico, Embassy Bogota, Embassy Guatemala City, Embassy San Jose and Embassy Tegucigalpa.
What the Expedite Fee Does Not Buy
The fee is separate from and additional to the $185 application fee, and it is not refundable: an applicant who cancels or does not attend forfeits it. The State Department states plainly that payment "does not guarantee visa issuance or expedited processing, it only provides an earlier appointment". It has no effect on administrative processing afterwards.
The Interview
Since 1 October 2025 an in-person interview is required for almost all applicants, including those under 14 and over 79. The former age-based exemptions have been removed. A narrow renewal waiver survives for B-1, B-2 and B-1/B-2 holders applying within twelve months of expiry, where the previous visa was issued for full validity and the applicant was at least eighteen when it was issued.
What Officers Ask About
Questions come from your DS-160 and cluster around purpose, funding, ties and travel history. The interview is usually a few minutes long, so the first answer carries most of the weight. Our interview preparation guide covers the format in detail, and the grounds officers refuse on are worth reading before you file.
Fees
The application fee is the same for every non-petition-based nonimmigrant category, and it is payable before the interview is booked.
Visitor and Visa Waiver Costs
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| B-1/B-2 application fee | $185 |
| Border crossing card, age 15 and over | $185 |
| Border crossing card, under 15 | $15 |
| Expedited B appointment, pilot posts only | $750 |
| ESTA, from 1 January 2026 | $40.27 |
Sources: US Department of State fee schedule; Federal Register notice on FY2026 DHS immigration fee adjustments.
When You Do Not Need This Visa at All
British nationals and others from Visa Waiver Program countries can normally travel for stays of 90 days or less on an approved ESTA instead, provided they hold an e-passport. The programme is closed to anyone who has been refused a US visa, and to nationals who have travelled to certain listed countries since the relevant cut-off dates. Our analysis of published refusal data explains why that exclusion matters.
How Long You Can Stay
The visa's expiry date is not your permitted stay. A visa states the period during which you may travel to a port of entry and request admission. The period you are actually allowed to remain is set by the Customs and Border Protection officer at the border, who provides an admission stamp or a paper Form I-94.
Check the I-94, Not the Visa
The I-94 record is the document that governs your status, and it is the one to check after every entry. Travellers who assume a ten-year visa means a ten-year stay, or that the admission period matches what they requested, account for a meaningful share of accidental overstays. An overstay affects future applications and can end Visa Waiver Program eligibility.
Extending or Changing Status
Extensions of stay and changes to another nonimmigrant category are handled by USCIS from inside the United States, not by the consulate that issued the visa. Filing does not by itself guarantee the extension, and the application must be made before the authorised stay expires. Leaving and re-entering to reset the clock is not a substitute and attracts scrutiny at the border.
Sources: US Department of State, visitor visa guidance; the consular fee schedule; the Visa Waiver Program requirements; the expedited appointment pilot programme; and Presidential Proclamation 10998.
Volumes are from the FY2024 worldwide workload table. Full costs across categories are in our US fee breakdown, British charges in our Home Office fee guide, and naturalisation costs in our N-400 cost guide. Figures verified 24 August 2026.
Frequently Asked
Questions about the B-1/B-2 visitor visa
$185, the standard fee for non-petition-based nonimmigrant categories. It is paid before booking the interview and is not refundable, whatever the outcome. At six posts taking part in a pilot until 31 December 2026, a further $750 buys an interview appointment within ten business days, subject to availability.
For as long as the Customs and Border Protection officer authorises on entry, recorded on your admission stamp or Form I-94. The visa's own expiry date governs when you may travel to a port of entry and seek admission, not how long you may remain. Always check the I-94 after each arrival.
Usually not. Visa Waiver Program nationals with an e-passport can travel for 90 days or less on an approved ESTA, which costs $40.27 from 1 January 2026. You need a visa instead if you have ever been refused a US visa, or if you have travelled to certain listed countries since the applicable cut-off dates.
The category does not permit employment, paid performances or work as foreign press. Permitted business activity is limited to things such as consulting with associates, attending conferences, negotiating contracts and settling an estate. Where the productive work and the payment sit is what officers look at, so take advice if your trip is anything other than clearly personal or clearly meetings.
Yes. The State Department confirms that a valid US visa in an expired passport remains valid unless cancelled or revoked, and may be used together with a new valid passport when you travel. Do not have the old visa removed or the page destroyed when renewing your passport.
No. A visa allows you to travel to a port of entry and request admission. Customs and Border Protection officers hold the authority to permit or deny entry, and they also set the period of stay. That is why the answers you give on arrival should match the purpose stated in your application.
Yes. Since 1 October 2025 an in-person interview is generally required for all nonimmigrant applicants, including those under 14 and over 79. The previous age exemptions were removed. A limited waiver remains for B-1, B-2 and B-1/B-2 renewals within twelve months of expiry where the earlier visa was issued for full validity to an applicant aged eighteen or over.
Extensions and changes of status are decided by USCIS from within the United States, and must be applied for before your authorised stay expires. Approval is not automatic. Leaving and immediately re-entering to obtain a fresh admission period is not an alternative and attracts scrutiny from border officers.
On the FY2024 worldwide workload table, 6,498,004 B-1/B-2 visas were issued and 2,497,104 refused, a refused share of 27.8%. That counts every refusal recorded in the year, including those later overcome. Country-level adjusted rates are published separately and are calculated on a different basis.
No. Each traveller needs their own DS-160, their own fee payment and, in almost all cases, their own interview. Applications can be scheduled together at the same post, but they are decided individually, and one family member being issued does not mean the others will be.