What is a "Visa"?
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The term "visa" is a highly misunderstood and misused term. Most people confuse the terms "visa" and "status" and think that they mean the same thing, they do not. A visa is a document that is issued by a U.S. consular officer at an overseas consular office. While it is required for anyone who wishes to apply for entry into the United States, it does not guarantee entry. The purpose of a visa is to demonstrate to the INS officer at the port of entry that the person holding the visa has been pre-screened and is eligible to be admitted into the United States, temporarily, for a purpose that is consistent with the type of visa the person holds. The purpose of a visa is to allow a U.S. consular officer to screen the applicant before issuing an entry document. Since consular officers have considerably more time available to them than INS officers at ports of entry, this screening is necessary to make certain that the applicant is entitled to the status sought. While it does not guarantee admission, a visa does establish that the applicant for admission meets all of the eligibility criteria.  The duration of a visa's validity or the number of entries authorized by it have no relevance to that person's subsequent admission into the U.S., unless the visa has expired or the holder has used up all permissible entries. Many people who hold ten year, multiple entry tourist visas mistakenly believe that they are free to come to the United States as many times as they wish and remain for as long as they wish during the ten year period. This is incorrect. The following excerpt form the Department of State's Foreign Affairs Manual is instructive with regard to the relationship between the validity period of a visa and a person's authorized period of stay: "9 Foreign Affairs Manual Section 41.112, Note 2.10 Period of Admission by INS:
The
validity
of a
visa
refers
to the
time in
which an
applicant
may make
application
to an
immigration
officer
at a
port of
entry
for
admittance
into the
United
States.
It has
no
bearing
on the
length
of time
for
which
the
alien
may be
admitted.
For
example,
an alien
whose
B-2 visa
may
expire a
week
after
entry
into the
United
States,
could be
admitted
by an
INS
officer
at a
port of
entry
for a
stay of
up to
one
year. On
the
other
hand, an
alien
whose
B-2 visa
has a
validity
of one
year may
be
granted
a stay
of only
one-week,
as may
be
determined
by an
INS
official
at a
port of
entry."
41.112 Note
3.2 Result
of
OverstayUnder
INA 222(g),
if an alien
overstays on
a
nonimmigrant
visa, that
visa is
automatically
voided. In
addition,
the alien
must apply
for future
nonimmigrant
visas in his
or her
country of
nationality,
unless the
alien
qualifies
for an
"extraordinary
circumstances"
exemption.
An otherwise
valid visa may
be used, even if
it is in an
expired
passport,
provided the
person using it
also has a
currently valid
passport.
Another FAM note
deals with this
specific issue:
41.112
N2.8
Visa
Valid
in
Expired
Passport
a. When
a
passport
containing
a valid
visa
expires,
the
expiration
of the
passport
has no
effect
on the
validity
of that
visa.
The
holder,
however,
shall be
informed,
at the
time of
application
for
admission,
of the
need for
a new or
renewed
passport.b. The passport should be valid for a minimum period of 6 months from the expiration date of the initial period of admission or contemplated period of stay in the United States. The passport may be either the one in which the visa stamp has been placed, or a new passport. Thus, an alien can present two passports; one which fulfills the visa requirement and the other the passport requirement. The alien's nationality, as indicated in the new passport, must be the same as that shown in the passport bearing the visa stamp. |
Please also see the U.S. Department of State information on this subject, found at http://travel.state.gov/visa/questions/what/what_4429.html
