H1 vs B1 Visa

When traveling abroad, you should always be sure that you have the proper documents with you. Most of the time, people find it difficult to secure a visa and often they do not know which type of visa to apply for. Visas are used for a number of reasons when entering a country, so you must secure a visa depending on the purpose of your visit.

A person can have multiple visas at the same time but is only permitted to have one visa status. Your purpose for entering a country helps you determine which visa to use to in order to gain the right status. Foreign passport holders can have a H1 or B1 visa, but they are only allowed to legally stay in the United States temporarily.

Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, a H1 visa is a non-immigrant visa in the U.S. Employers are allowed to employ workers with H1 visa, but only on a temporary basis. As soon as the person who holds a H1 visa leaves the job offered by the sponsoring employer, he must leave the country or apply for a change of status. On the other hand, a B1 visa is what foreign citizens who want to do business in the U.S. should seek to obtain when entering the country. Having a B1 visa makes a person a temporary visitor for the purpose of conducting business in the United States. This is what you want to hold if you want to purchase some supplies and other materials, attend a convention or hold business meetings in America.

U.S. employers and recruiters seek candidates with a H1 visa. Like all U.S. workers, a H1 visa holder who wants to be employed in the U.S. should have the skills needed for the position he or she is applying for. If you are consistently employed in the U.S, you can stay for a maximum of 6 years on a H1 visa. This is significantly longer than time permitted to a B1 visa holder. Those who have a B1 visa can legally stay in the country for at most 3 months. A B1 holder is expected to do all necessary business transactions within that period. Among the things that a person can do while in possession of a B1 visa are: settling an estate, contract signing and business negotiations.
To secure a B1 visa, you must be able to meet the requirements under the Immigration and Nationality Act, section 214 (b). The candidate must have a permanent residence in the home country and should not have the intent of leaving for good. A permanent residence can be justified by a permanent job, family and property in the home country. You should also prove that you or your employer have the means and resources to pay for your stay in the U.S. As soon as a person obtains the B1 visa, he or she is allowed to perform legal business activities in the U.S. but must not provide services and other activities that are basically for the benefit of a U.S. employer.

A person applying for a H1 visa, on the other hand, must be a Bachelor’s degree or a Master’s degree holder. If not, he or she must have earned a certificate from an accredited school or training center. The most important thing to be able to enter with a H1 visa is an employer who has offered a job and filed a petition with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service. A H1 visa holder can be employed in medicine, law, health, engineering, architecture, business, arts, physical and social science or other occupations that require a Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent.
Summary:

1. A H1 visa is needed by foreigners who seek employment in the United States. A B1 visa allows a person to perform business transactions temporarily.
2. A college degree or equivalent is required to obtain a H1 visa. Getting a B1 visa requires you to prove your means to pay for the trip and business expenses.
3. When you have a B1 visa, you are not allowed to express interest in permanently moving to the United States.
4. H1 visa holders can legally stay in the U.S. for six years, as long as they are employed. B1 visa holders are only given 3 months of legal stay in the country.

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