Nonimmigrants - Visa Types - Business or Pleasure Visitors - Who From Canada And Mexico Needs A Visa?
Generally speaking, travelers temporarily visiting the United States must obtain visas unless they are citizens of countries that participate in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) and are eligible to participate in that program. Travelers under the VWP must not plan to stay in the U.S. for more than 90 days, must be traveling for business or pleasure, and must meet certain basic criteria. However, most citizens of Canada and Mexico are eligible to enter the U.S. without visas, except in certain circumstances, defined below.
Do I Need A Visa?
Different rules are in place for Canadian and Mexican citizens and permanent residents.
Canadian Citizens And Permanent Residents
The general rule is that Canadian citizens do not need to obtain travel visas to visit the U.S. temporarily. However, some categories of Canadian travelers do require visas, and these categories are defined by the purpose of the alien's trip to the U.S. Canadian citizens who are traveling to the U.S. in the following categories need nonimmigrant visas: foreign government officials; international organization employees and officials; NATO officials on assignment in the U.S.; treaty traders and investors; fiances and their children; and alien spouses and children of U.S. citizens and permanent residents who are completing the immigration process while in the U.S. Also, permanent Canadian residents must have visas to travel to the U.S. unless both they and the countries from which they hail are eligible for participation in the VWP.
Mexican Citizens And Permanent Residents
For business and visitor travel to the U.S., both citizens and permanent residents of Mexico must have nonimmigrant Border Crossing Cards (BCC), which are machine-readable, biometric visas.
Who Can Obtain A Visa At A U.S. Border Post?
Third country nationals who are either in Canada or the U.S. may wish to apply for visas at U.S. border posts. Two categories of aliens are not eligible to do this: nationals from countries designated as state sponsors of terrorism and aliens who previously overstayed either a visa date or an arrival-departure date in the U.S. Others may apply by making an appointment either by telephone or over the Internet and by completing the application form sent to them after their appointments are scheduled.
Copyright 2011 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.
