Specific Work Activities Eligible for B-1 Visa Category

The B-1 Visa classification specifically excludes visitors coming to the U.S. to perform skilled or unskilled labor. However, exceptions are made to business visitors who may be eligible for B-1 business visas provided they qualify for one of the categories below.

  • Member of religious or charitable organizations, ministers on evangelical tour, ministers of exchanging pulpits, missionary work, or participants in voluntary service programs.
  • Member of Board of Directors of a U.S. corporation.
  • Personal or domestic employees of U.S. citizens residing abroad.
  • Personal or domestic employees of U.S. citizens on temporary assignment in the U.S.
  • Personal or domestic employees of certain non-immigrants meeting specific requirements.
  • Personal or domestic employees of Lawful Permanent Residents.
  • Certain professional athletes, such as golfers and auto racers, who receive no salary or payment other than prize money; members of a foreign-based team coming to compete in international competition; and amateur hockey players joining a professional team for brief tryouts with a National Hockey League team and whom receive only incidental expenses.
  • Yacht Crewmen. Crewmen of a private yacht who have a residence abroad which they do not intend to abandon, regardless of the nationality of the private yacht, provided the yacht will be sailing out of a foreign home port and cruising in U.S. waters for more than twenty-nine days.
  • Horse Races. Persons coming to perform services on behalf of an employer of the same nationality as a jockey, sulky driver, trainer, or groom.
  • Outer Continental Shelf Employees. B-1 visas can be issued to individuals for whom the U.S. Coast Guard has issued a waiver.
  • Prospective investors seeking investment opportunities to qualify for E-2 Visa classification.
  • Prospective intra-company transferees (L-1 Visa classification).
  • Commercial or industrial workers with specialized knowledge to install, service, or repair equipment or machinery purchased abroad or to train U.S. workers provided their services are required pursuant to a contract.
  • Foreign Airline Employees. Individuals coming to work with a foreign airline engaged in international transportation of passengers and freight in an executive, supervisory, or highly technical capacity who meet the requirements for E visa classification but for the lack of a treaty, and foreign-airline employees who are coming to join aircraft, as they are neither transits nor crewmen.
  • Individuals coming to the U.S merely and exclusively to observe the conduct of business or other professional or vocational activity may be classified under the B-1 visa category, provided the visitor pays for his or her own expenses. However, visitors who seek to gain practical experience through on-the-job training or clerkship’s must seek an H or L-Visa or an appropriate exchange visitors program under the J-Visa classification.
  • Peace Corps Volunteer Trainers. An individual invited to participate in the training of Peace Corps volunteers, unless the individual qualifies for an A-Visa classification.
  • Individuals employed by Foreign or U.S. Exhibitors at International Fairs or Expositions. Individuals coming to the United States to plan, construct, dismantle, maintain, or to be employed in connection with exhibits at international fairs or expositions.
  • Individuals Normally Classifiable under H-1 Visas or H-3 Visas. Cases where individuals qualify for H-1 or H-3 visas may be classified as B-1 visa business visitors in certain circumstances, e.g., a qualified H-1 or H-3 visa applicant coming to the United States to perform H-1 services or to participate in a training program. In such a case, the visitor must not receive any salary or other remuneration from a U.S. source other than an expense allowance or other reimbursement for incidental expenses.
  • Honorarium Payment. Under certain situations, B-1 Visa business visitors may accept an honorarium payment and associated incidental expenses for usual academic activities such as lecturing, guest teaching, or performing in an academic sponsored festival.
  • Artists coming to the U.S. to paint, sculpt, etc., who are not under contract with a U.S. employer and who do not intend to regularly sell their artwork in the U.S.
  • Participants in Cultural Programs. A professional entertainer may be eligible for a B-1 Visa if he or she is coming to the United States to participate only in a cultural program sponsored by the sending country; will be performing before a nonpaying audience; and all expenses, including per diem, will be paid by the member’s government.
  • Participants in International Competitions. A professional entertainer may be eligible for a B-1 Visa who is coming to the United States to participate in a competition for which there is no remuneration other than a prize (monetary or otherwise) and expenses.
  • Musicians may be issued a B-1 visa, provided the musician is coming to the United Sates in order to utilize recording facilities for recording purposes only, the recording will be distributed and sold only outside the United States, and no public performances will be given.
  • Still photographers may enter the United States with B-1 visas for the purpose of taking photographs as long as they receive no income from a U.S. source.
  • Medical doctor otherwise classifiable H-1 as a member of a profession whose purpose for coming to the United Sates is to observe U.S. medical practices and consult with colleagues on latest techniques, provided no remuneration is received from a U.S. source and no patient care is involved.
  • Medical Clerkship. An individual who is studying at a foreign medical school and seeks to enter the United States temporarily in order to take an “elective clerkship” at a U.S. medical school’s hospital without remuneration from the hospital. An elective clerkship affords practical experience and instructions in the various disciplines of medicine under the supervision and direction of faculty physician’s at a U.S. medical school’s hospital as an approved part of the individual’s foreign medical school education.