Applied for B1 Visa. Issued B1/B2. Can i enter US as a tourist?

[kaleameya]

Hi,

My company applied for a B1 visa for me to attend a meeting. meeting was in 1st week of january 2014. I was approved a 10 year multiple entry visa and Type/Class was R B1/B2. Annotations field is blank and validity is 10 years. Now i want to visit the US as a tourist for a week before the meeting and then continue to attend the meeting as scheduled. IS this allowed? What questions are likely to be asked at port of entry?

Thanks in advance

[raghvi]

Hi,

My company applied for a B1 visa for me to attend a meeting. meeting was in 1st week of january 2014. I was approved a 10 year multiple entry visa and Type/Class was R B1/B2. Annotations field is blank and validity is 10 years. Now i want to visit the US as a tourist for a week before the meeting and then continue to attend the meeting as scheduled. IS this allowed? What questions are likely to be asked at port of entry?

Thanks in advance

Yes this is fine. They may ask to see the travel itinerary, hotel bookings, and a confirmed return ticket.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

[kaleameya]

Yes this is fine. They may ask to see the travel itinerary, hotel bookings, and a confirmed return ticket.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

Thanks. I am visiting my wife working on OPT (I had declared this in my DS-160) who has an apartment on her name, so i wont be having any hotel bookings to show. also, my company will be booking the tickets for my return at a later time as there will be more people from my company joining the meeting. I wont be having those tickets in my hand when i leave. I will be having a letter which says that i have a meeting to attend and all my expenses will be covered by my company located here in India. That should be ok ?

[peace999]

Here is the thing;
By law, they can only give you one status either B1( business) or either B2( tourism) when you enter. And what they give you depends on what you tell them your purpose is. The implication of this is ; By default, a person on B2 ( tourist ) status is not allowed to do any B1 ( business) work but a person on B1 status
is allowed tourist( B2) activities.
So make sure , you tell them your main purpose is business so they stamp a B1 status on your passport and NOT B2. If they ask you why you are a week early tell them you will be visiting your wife on OPT. Do not tell them tourism first as what is told first is considered the main purpose. And tourism before meetings
does not sound good.
Now the return ticket; It is extremely important that you carry a tentative return ticket ( request this to the company) and changed later if the schedule changes.
They do not always ask to see a return ticket but they can and a return ticket is considered a strong evidence of intent to return.
It is also possible that their computers are updated automatically by your ticket bookings.

[kaleameya]

Here is the thing;
By law, they can only give you one status either B1( business) or either B2( tourism) when you enter. And what they give you depends on what you tell them your purpose is. The implication of this is ; By default, a person on B2 ( tourist ) status is not allowed to do any B1 ( business) work but a person on B1 status
is allowed tourist( B2) activities.
So make sure , you tell them your main purpose is business so they stamp a B1 status on your passport and NOT B2. If they ask you why you are a week early tell them you will be visiting your wife on OPT. Do not tell them tourism first as what is told first is considered the main purpose. And tourism before meetings
does not sound good.
Now the return ticket; It is extremely important that you carry a tentative return ticket ( request this to the company) and changed later if the schedule changes.
They do not always ask to see a return ticket but they can and a return ticket is considered a strong evidence of intent to return.
It is also possible that their computers are updated automatically by your ticket bookings.

Thanks. I am saying my passport has a visa stamped on it, and it says B1/B2. Now, the meeting i am supposed to attend is from 6th to 14th jan. However, no arrangements have been made by the company as it is usually their habit to do it a week or 10 days prior. plus 2-3 people will be joining the meeting but are in process of getting the visa. so the company would prefer to do the bookings in bulk. I requested my company to give me 2 weeks vacation prior to this meeting so that i can spend some time with my wife. So, my company asked me to book my ticket individually and that they would keep me informed about the arrangements via email. In such a situation, what is the best way to face the immigration person at the port of entry? I have all the necessary letters inviting me for the meeting etc. and other necessary letters.

[peace999]

Yes. All visas are stamped as B1/B2 and when you enter US , they stamp your passport with STATUS as either B1 or B2.
So, when you enter US, they will ask you what is your purpose and duration of your visit. Tell them you are here for official meetings
for xxx weeks. If they ask more you can show them the letters. If they ask why are you here so early, tell them you also want to
visit your wife.
There is nothing wrong with all that.
But do book a return ticket on your own if you have booked the ongoing ticket on your own. That is very important. If the schedule changes
you can change it later but you must have a confirmed return ticket when entering US.

[kaleameya]

Yes. All visas are stamped as B1/B2 and when you enter US , they stamp your passport with STATUS as either B1 or B2.
So, when you enter US, they will ask you what is your purpose and duration of your visit. Tell them you are here for official meetings
for xxx weeks. If they ask more you can show them the letters. If they ask why are you here so early, tell them you also want to
visit your wife.
There is nothing wrong with all that.
But do book a return ticket on your own if you have booked the ongoing ticket on your own. That is very important. If the schedule changes
you can change it later but you must have a confirmed return ticket when entering US.

Great. Thanks for the reply. Also, one new development has taken place. we need to wrap up the meeting till saturday 4th jan itself. so i need to be on site immediately after christmas. got an email from my boss saying meeting schedule has changed due to some unavoidable circumstances. Now i am going on the 20th, then meeting is on the 26th and ends on 4th. I have booked a return ticket on my own for the 5th of january and company would reimburse me that. So, now i also have a return ticket in my name of the 5th of january. Should this be fine now? I will mention my purpose is business.

Thanks a lot @peace999 for all your responses

[Priyank Tiwari]

My girl friend is coming one week before for conference.

Here is the thing;
By law, they can only give you one status either B1( business) or either B2( tourism) when you enter. And what they give you depends on what you tell them your purpose is. The implication of this is ; By default, a person on B2 ( tourist ) status is not allowed to do any B1 ( business) work but a person on B1 status
is allowed tourist( B2) activities.
So make sure , you tell them your main purpose is business so they stamp a B1 status on your passport and NOT B2. If they ask you why you are a week early tell them you will be visiting your wife on OPT. Do not tell them tourism first as what is told first is considered the main purpose. And tourism before meetings
does not sound good.
Now the return ticket; It is extremely important that you carry a tentative return ticket ( request this to the company) and changed later if the schedule changes.
They do not always ask to see a return ticket but they can and a return ticket is considered a strong evidence of intent to return.
It is also possible that their computers are updated automatically by your ticket bookings.

My girl friend is coming one week before a 5 days conference. Is it fine to say that She came to visit her boy friend when they ask her why she came one week before. She's having a confirmed return ticket.

[Priyank Tiwari]

My girl friend is coming one week before for conference on b1

My girl friend is coming one week before I.e. On 24th nov for a 5 days conference starting on 30th. How should she answer customs. Is it fine to say that She will visit her boy friend/ fiancé when they ask her why she came one week before. She's having a confirmed return ticket of 7th dec.

Please help me.

[Ideal sol]

It is better to say site seeing or visiting some relative than boyfriend.

This is my opinion not a legal advice.