A B visa is a short-stay, nonimmigrant visa for foreign nationals who wish to visit the US for temporary business activities (B1) or for the purposes of tourism, visiting family and friends, medical treatment etc. (B2). It is typically valid for up to 10 years, allowing visa holders to stay in the country for a maximum of 180 days per visit. You will not be allowed to work or study in the US on a B visa.
If you enter the US on a B1/B2 visa and later on wish to switch to a work visa to live and work in the country for a longer term, it is legally possible to do so. However, it is only expected that the US immigration authorities will be skeptical about such visa change requests, and your visa change application will be subjected to rigorous scrutiny.
This is so because when you apply for a certain type of visa to enter the US (or any other country for that matter), you do so for a particular purpose. So, in the current context, when you initially applied for a B1/B2 visa, your explicit intention was to either carry out short-term business activities in the country, such as participating in business meetings/negotiations or attending seminars or conferences, or come to the US for vacationing, visiting family and friends or receiving medical treatment etc., or may be a mixture of both, and then return to your country of residence.
However, now that you are trying to convert to a US work visa to remain longer in the country and take up paid employment here, the Department of State will, in most scenarios, be suspicious of your actual intention to come to the country in the first place. If you are not careful with your visa change application or the reasons therein, your current visa may be revoked and you may even potentially be barred from entering the US permanently.
It is, therefore, strongly recommended to consult with an immigration lawyer as soon as you decide to change your B1/B2 visa to a work visa in the US. Dial +1 844 290 6312 today to speak with our competent and experienced legal team.
