Impact of staying for 4 months on B1

[pepiboo]

Hi,

I am new to this forum. My query is, will it impact my future travels to US on B1 visa, if I stay for 4 months?

I am a citizen of India, cuurently in US on a business visit on behalf of my company. My primary purpose of visit is to attend meetings and training, mostly shadowing masters on new tools. My I 94 permissible stay is for 6 months. I was supposed to stay for only 6 weeks. However, due to hiccups in the project, I was unable to learn what I had come to learn, hence my stay was extended for another 8 weeks. My entire travel has now totaled to a week less than 4 months. or 3 months and 3 weeks.

I have heard scary stories about Visas being rejected on the basis of the duration of stay in US. Is staying on B1 for 4 months a matter of suspicion? What happens If I apply for a L1 or a student visa(suppose) in future, will my duration of stay now impact the decision of whether I get any other visa? I have heard from a few colleagues that L1 may be rejected. Infact, a person did exploit using B1 to stay in US and immediately applied for L1 as soon as she returned to India. Her L1 was rejected on the grounds that she was trying to work on B1 and now applying for L1. Not only that, her B1 was slashed off as well.

I do have a genuine reason of staying here longer than expected and that I am not trying to Work while on B1 visa. What if after 6 months, I have to make another visit to the USA, are there troubles during immigration in that case? I am more concerned about applying for L1 and being rejected, even after say 5 years? Thinking of all the possible cases makes my stay uncomfortable here.

In any case, I do not want that this duration of stay in US becomes a reason for this being my last visit to USA.

[peace999]

Due to the recent misuse of B1 by some Indian companies, the consulars have been
more strict regarding future L1s and B1/B2s
In your case, I do not think 15 weeks will pose a major problem.
Especially if you space your next visit properly ( 6 months is fine).
I suggest you keep some documentation relating to what you did during those 15 weeks.

[pepiboo]

Thats great news. Thanks a lot Peace999. What documents would you suggest to keep? Does a letter from my Company office at US stating that I came to visit/ attend meeting and support, not yielding salary out of any organisation based in US help?

[peace999]

You can get your company to give you a printed list of major activities in which you took part
during your visit.

That is just my impression .
I am not an immigration lawyer , so if you wish to be doubly sure about your long stay on B1,
talk to a good lawyer over phone or email.

[raghvi]

To add to what Peace has already mentioned, its become difficult for visa applicants to justify their long stint on B1 visa. Anything more than a few weeks on B1 is being questioned during subsequent visa interviews. There is a perception built up that B1 are being used to circumvent H1s and L1 and people are actually working/coding/testing on B1 visas. Many companies misused ,and are still misusing, B1 visas to make people work on Per diems on B1 instead of paying the stipulated salaries, hence USCIS and VOs are particularly strict nowadays. This is my personal opinion.

[orange]

Impact of staying for 4 months on B1

Hi Friends,

Here I come with a similar situation.
I have come to US with a plan of staying for 12 weeks. And my I-94 allows me to stay for 6 months. So can I stay here and leave just before I complete the 6 months period ?, what is the best way or suggested way for me so that I do not mess-up my future for any reason coming to US back but not with in the same year but later or future years.

1) Is it okay if I stay for 6months in US and then do not apply for any VISA in the same year for a come-back but in later years ? or
2) It will definitely impact my future come back with in 1-2 yrs span ?
3) And what is the minimum time I need to wait before reapplying for any VISA if I happened to stay for 6 months ?

Please help me on this.

Thank You in Advance ...!!!

[peace999]

Hi Friends,

Here I come with a similar situation.
I have come to US with a plan of staying for 12 weeks. And my I-94 allows me to stay for 6 months. So can I stay here and leave just before I complete the 6 months period ?, what is the best way or suggested way for me so that I do not mess-up my future for any reason coming to US back but not with in the same year but later or future years.

1) Is it okay if I stay for 6months in US and then do not apply for any VISA in the same year for a come-back but in later years ? or
2) It will definitely impact my future come back with in 1-2 yrs span ?
3) And what is the minimum time I need to wait before reapplying for any VISA if I happened to stay for 6 months ?

Please help me on this.

Thank You in Advance ...!!!

*When does your B1/B2 visa expire? Is it a 10 yr multiple entry visa ?

*COming back to US in future; do you plan to do it on a B1/B2 or a different kind of visa Like H-1 etc.