Hi people! Kindly tell please. What is the normal validity of a us conference visa? Is it date stipulated and for how long? or is it the normal 2 yrs mult-entry visa? Thanks

As far as I know there is no separate category called Conference Visa , A business or tourist visa will be issued for an individual going for a conference . The US consulate issues a 2 year visa to Nigerians in the b1/b2 category . However at the port of entry you will be issued an I-94, which will be stamped with the latest date you can legally remain in the US . If you were granted a visa for going for a conference , you will be stamped per the conference dates or your airline tickets if they match the period of the conference dates to a reasonable degree

two year visiting or business visa does not grant legal permission to stay in the US for two years , you can only legally stay for the validity of your I-94

The F1 , J1 and H1 categories grant legal presence for the period of study or employment, even beyond the validity of the visa stamp

hope that helps

@Pittbaby: thanks for taking out time to explain things. could the visa be a 2 week visa with the date and place of the conference written on it? Or is it always a 2 year mult-entry visa? Cos I hear tht the visa could just be for the for the purpose of the conference only.

not sure if a name will be printed in the visa, and only under special circumstances will the US embassy issue a visa for less that two years. If you have other plans in the US,  inaddition to the conference , I will advise that you explain that at the point of entry and have supporting documents i.e address of family member to be visted ,  ticket dates to support your return and proof of job/ occupation you will be returning to, that way your I-94 will be stamped for the period you require . If you dont do this and overstay your period , your will not be granted entry the next time and will have problems getting a new visa ( of course exceptions have occurred)

see instructions i found for US embassy in UK for those attending conferences in the US . Again this is no different from a B1/B2 visa , you will just have to provide the documents below where applicable

Academics/Doctors/Researchers: Those traveling to the U.S. to attend a conference or to undertake research or training, will be required to submit detailed information on the conference (where, when, organized by, topic, etc.) including a conference brochure if possible, a complete CV/Resume, a list of publications, the names and contact details of three people who can provide a reference, a description of the subject to be discussed/researched/taught, a tentative itinerary, an abstract of any conference paper to be presented, a letter of invitation from the organization in the U.S. and information about funding for the trip, e.g. a letter from the UK institution if they will fund the trip, or bank statements if self-funded.

http://www.usembassy.org.uk/nireland/nivisa.html

@Pittbaby:Thank u

@ Afulstop,

If the visa is granted for the conference, the normal catergory is B1/B2.  For New or first-time traveler, the visitor/business visa is usually 3months single entry,and the information  on the visa includes the issuing date and location of the conference. However, one could be luck to get 2yrs visa with multiple entries.

Spend a little time and go through this web site. It is a wonderful web site full of information. The web site is www.touristvisas.info

@MOG2009: Thank u sooo much! That was wot I was wondering cos I've actually heard of 3months visas but was not sure about the terms.

my bad i have heard frequently that the US only gives 2 year visas . i have only seen less than three years in special circumstances where entry is based on a very specific issue . well we live to learn

Usually conferences are annotated meaning exact place, date, duration and time of conference is printed on visas, but then again the interviewer has the power to use his/her discretion in inserting annotations. Sometimes, visitor's visas are annotated with the name, address of person one is visiting and duration of visit e.g 'visiting Sharon Smith at 1141 Greenacre Valley, New Jersey from Oct 15 to Nov 5 2010".

@all: tnx for all your contributions.my cousin got his us conference visa today.A 3 mths single entry visa annotated with place and date of the conference.is he eligible for a renewal on expiration of current visa? Will he get mult-entry next time?

He cannot renew a single entry visa,except multiple.

@MOG2009:does tht mean he has to reapply like a fresh applicant? Wot is the point of giving a single entry visa?

Us is giving 3months single entry?

When did that start? O ga oh.

I always thought the minimum type of visa issues is 2 years multiple entry visa ?

I wanted to apply for us visa but I want two years minimum multiple entry.

I was thinking of using conference as reason of trip but with what am Reading here maybe am better off using hotel reservation.

afulstop:

@MOG2009:does tht mean he has to reapply like a fresh applicant? Wot is the point of giving a single entry visa?

Yep, He got 2 reapply like a fresh applicant. However, he may be granted 2-5 years multiple visa because of his honesty.  Mind you, I used the word "may be granted".  Mostly, the reason for granting single entry visa is because of the reason behind the trip"conference" for 2-5 days. Also,It could be the traveler's first trip  to the United States.

Speaking from experience i applied for a 3days conference in the united states and was giving a 2yrs multiple entry visa well some others did apply and was given 3months 2months n all DAT, don't know why mine was diffrent , i also did get a Canadian visa and i am currently in Canada Windsor to be precise. and for those who know Canada very well from Windsor to Detroit by road is less than 10Min's drive well i did drive with ma cousine to Detroit we where re interviewed our car checked we paid 5 dollars each and was given a I-94 white paper allowing us free entry n exit into US for the next 6months, was DAT easy we drove into Detroit picked up his aunty n was out in less than 60Min's fastest trip i ever made in my entire life,

Dantecmu:

Speaking from experience i applied for a 3days conference in the united states and was giving a 2yrs multiple entry visa well some others did apply and was given 3months 2months n all DAT, don't know why mine was diffrent , i also did get a Canadian visa and i am currently in Canada Windsor to be precise. and for those who know Canada very well from Windsor to Detroit by road is less than 10Min's drive well i did drive with ma cousine to Detroit we where re interviewed our car checked we paid 5 dollars each and was given a I-94 white paper allowing us free entry n exit into US for the next 6months, was DAT easy we drove into Detroit picked up his aunty n was out in less than 60Min's fastest trip i ever made in my entire life,

Q: Did you have any valid visa in your passport before  the U.S visa was issued?

@MOG72009:u used the term "maybe granted a 2-5yr visa". Does this mean its not even certain? Does it not count tht he used the 3mths visa for the stated purpose and returned to nigeria? Pls enlighten me.

Yep, is not certain because the issuing of non-immigrate visa is a privilege and not a right. They could decide to issue you this visa basic on their protocol or assessment. The issuing of "2years multiple visa" is base on the reason for your trip. Most people don't understand the following words, "purpose of trip". The purpose of trip could be "vacation" or "visiting". If you filled the dotted line with "vacation". You will need  to provide or make available to the Consular Officer the  hotel reservation for  5-10 days  in  one of U.S, City or State. However, if you filled the dotted line with "visiting", you need to provide a letter of invitation from someone in the US. This lack or little understanding of this purpose of trip affect the out come of visa applicants. I'm speaking from experience, the consular officer have three to five questions to asked you within 5-10mins max and these questions are the same questions you answered in your DS-156 and also restof the forms. Most of the time, the questions are tied or connected to the purpose of your trip such a schooling, visiting or vacation etc. For example, if you write on the form "vacation" and you told the consular officer at the interview that you are "visiting" or "staying with a relative"  this is a red flag and it means you lied on your application. Based on this ground, the consular officer have the right to deny or refuse that applicant a visa. Therefore, the purpose of visit or trip should be detailed and the same word repeated to the consular officer too. In orderwords,I will advised your cousin to used this visa for the stated purpose and returned to Nigeria.

afulstop:

@MOG72009:u used the term "maybe granted a 2-5yr visa". Does this mean its not even certain? Does it not count tht he used the 3mths visa for the stated purpose and returned to nigeria? Pls enlighten me.

Before I immigrated, my first US visa was a 3 months visa to a conference in Washington. It was annotated with place and date of conference. When it expired, i reapplied and was refused for no reason. Three months later I was issued with a 2 yrs mult.

Us is giving 3months single entry?

When did that start? O ga oh.

I always thought the minimum type of visa issues is 2 years multiple entry visa

my dear my sentiments exactly never heard of 3 months from US before . But I guess several witnesses to prove that it exists . But there seems to be no clear reason when they give the 3 months vs 2 year.  Afterall my ghanian friend got 10yrs on her virgin passport 

wonderful! 10yrs

MOG2009:

Q: Did you have any valid visa in your passport before  the U.S visa was issued? 

yep lots of dem 2, i mean am on ma second passport now ,

@Dantecmu,this could be one of the reason they (US Embassy) issued you the 2years multiple visa the second time.

no clue

Hi All,

I have a US NIV interview in early August in Lagos for A 5 days conference in my area of business in September. I've only been to Dubai earlier in the year, what are my chances.

My goal is to establish a mean of visiting US frequently for business henceforth.

Good tips and advice will be highly appreciated.

Where can I get conferences I can use to travel to the State?

@larrymilla:hi there! I will recount my cousins gist to me about his experience at the us embassy in lagos.Prior to his appointment/interview at embassy, he had registered for a 3 day jci/united nations conference in nyc.he went to the embassy with his fresh virgin nigerian passport, conference invite,hotel reser,bank statement,payslips letter of employment etc.He was not asked to present any of the docs except the bank statement and to explain wot the conference was all about.No mention of his previous refusal. He was granted a 3 month single entry B1/B2 visa.He also met with other people going for the same conference. Some were granted 1 month, some 2 yrs mult. He said the kind of v
isa u were issued on tht day depended on the interviewing visa officer.Plus most of the peeps were not asked to present any docs.most of them were first time travellers or had done *uk* or dubai. He thought it was a walk in the park!,  Personally, I think tht getting a us visa is Gods'favour cos everytime I go for my renewals, I see/hear all sorts of categories of refusals even with previous us travellers! So when I get mine I simply thank God.My tiny piece of advice: knw all u need to about your intended conference,take all neccessary docs with u cos u never knw, pray for Gods' favor and go with mucho confidence.Goodluck

@Afulstop
Thanks for the ginger my dear sista, I shall return here to share the testimony by God's grace.

Pittbaby:



my dear my sentiments exactly never heard of 3 months from US before . But I guess several witnesses to prove that it exists . But there seems to be no clear reason when they give the 3 months vs 2 year.  Afterall my ghanian friend got 10yrs on her virgin passport 

Yep. It may not be common in US Embassy in Naija but in some countries that's like the standard practise. Once you have sufficient ties to your country dey just dashed them 10yrs even on a Virgin passport. I was shocked when I first heard it. I also remembered when 3months was like the standard for Naija issuance, now dey dash pple 2yrs multi even for first time.

10yrs visa?  Ghanaian passport is good for 5years to the best of my knowledge except if they recently changed it and there's no way in this world any American embassy will issue a visa valid even after the expiration of the passport. infact the last date to get a visa on any passport is aat least6months to the expiration of the passport or your rreturn(i could be corrected). The most you can get for a B1/B2 visa is 2yrs multiple PERIOD! anything else is renewal or extension and like some have mentioned here earlier, you only spend what is written on your I-94 (arrival/departure card) at the port of entry. You can have a 2yrs multiple and at the port of entry they'll give a date that is not morethan 10days and staying morethan the date on the I-94 without extension is against the USCIS law.