IMMIGRATION AND VISA
TYPE OF VISA AND DESCRIPTION OF VISA
If you have any questions or problems concerning your stay at Penn State or the conditions and terms of your visa status, you should contact the International Scholars and Faculty Services at (814) 865-0423 immediately. Any change in immigration and visa standing, if applicable, is subject to rigid rules and fixed time limits. Attention to time limits is vital. You may also contacts the USCIS, the U.S. Department of State regarding your visa.
B-1 Visa-Business
The B-1 category is allocated for aliens who seek to enter the U.S. to engage in temporary commercial, business, or professional activities related to their employment or business in their home country.
B-2 Visitors for Pleasure
The B-2 classification is used by those who whish to enter the U.S. for tourism or to make social visits to relatives or friends. It can also be used for those coming for medical reasons, attending conference, conventions, activities of a fraternal, social, or service nature.
Visitor Visas - Business and Pleasure
TN Visa
The TN (Trade NAFTA) category allows admission of Canadian and Mexican Citizens to the United States for the purposes of working for a U.S. employer as a professional on a temporary basis. Both Canadian and Mexican citizens can be admitted to the UN in increments of up to one year. Extensions of stay are granted in an up to one-year increments. TN status can be renewed each year indefinitely, provided that the stay is temporary in nature.
TN VISAS: Professionals Under NAFTA
O-1 Status
This category is for aliens who has achieved and sustained national or international acclaim for extraordinary ability in science, arts, education, business or athletics; or aliens who have demonstrated a record of extraordinary achievement in the television industry. All documents submitted to the USCIS must demonstrate that the alien has extraordinary ability in the area of interest.
For more information, please click on the following link: USCIS
VISA WAIVER PROGRAM (VWP)
Under the VWP citizens of certain participating countries may travel to the U.S. for business (WB) or tourism (WT) for 90 days or less without obtaining a visa. For more information and a list of countries participating int the Visa Waiver Program, please see the Department of State Web Page .
WB Status
Individuals entering the U.S. on business for 90 days use this.
WT Status
Individuals entering the US for tourism use this classification.
Eligibility
- Present a valid passport issued by home country and be citizen or national of country;
- Seek entry to the U.S as a nonimmigrant visitor for business or pleasure for a period of 90 days or less;
- Have name checked using an automated electronic database about admissibility to the US;
- Agree to waive any right to appeal of a denial of entry or order of removal;
- Complete and sign a visa waiver form ( I-94W);
- If on a business trip, a letter from Penn State University setting forth the terms of the visit.
Duration of Status:
Maximum duration period is 90 days.
Extensions of Change of Status
Individuals entering the U.S. under the VWP program are not eligible for an extension or change of status. The only option is to leave the U.S. and enter with another nonimmigrant status.
Employment And Payment From U.S. Source
The same rules of payment and employment of B-1 and B-2 nonimmigrants applies to VWP travelers.
Passenger Data
Carriers that transport visitors under the VWP are required by law to submit passenger data within 15 minutes of arrival and departure to the USCIS. Information submitted includes but is not limited to names, gender, nationality, date of birth, document number, date and time of arrival to the U.S. port of entry and port of arrival and traveler status.
Honorarium Payments
Under the American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act (ACWIA), an alien admitted under section 101 (a)(15)(B) may accept an honorarium and associated incidental expenses for a usual academic activity or activities (lasting no longer than 9 days at any single institution), if such payment is offered by an institution or organization and is made for service conducted for the benefit of the institution or entity and if the alien has not accepted such payment or expenses from more than 5 institution or organization in the previous 6 months.
For other visas, please visit USCIS