US B1/B2 Visitor Visa Requirements: Documents, Fees and Eligibility (2026 Guide)

If your passport is not from one of the 40-plus Visa Waiver Program countries, you cannot use ESTA to visit the United States — you need an actual visa, and for tourism or business that visa is the B1/B2. It is the workhorse of the US visa system: the B1 covers business visits (meetings, negotiations, conferences), the B2 covers tourism, visiting family and friends, and medical treatment, and consulates almost always issue them as a combined B1/B2 so one visa covers both purposes. Not sure which category applies to your passport? Check your nationality here — if you qualify for ESTA, the process is far simpler and you should not be applying for a B1/B2 at all.

This guide covers what you actually need: the eligibility test that decides most cases, the four documents every applicant must have, the evidence worth bringing even if nobody asks for it, and what the visa does — and does not — let you do.

Eligibility: your ties matter more than your paperwork

Here is the part most applicants get backwards. The B1/B2 is refused far more often for eligibility than for missing documents, and the legal reason is almost always the same: Section 214(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Under 214(b), the law presumes every visitor-visa applicant intends to immigrate — and it is your job to overcome that presumption by demonstrating strong ties to your home country and a credible plan to return.

What counts as ties? A stable job and income, family who stay behind, property or a business you own, studies in progress, and a trip that makes sense for your circumstances — clear purpose, realistic length, funds to cover it. A perfect folder of documents cannot rescue an application where the officer is not convinced you will go home; conversely, an applicant with obvious, verifiable ties can be approved in a two-minute interview with barely a paper examined. Prepare your story first, your paperwork second.

What you need to apply

The State Department requires four things from every B1/B2 applicant:

• A valid passport — as a general rule, valid for at least six months beyond your intended period of stay in the US (some countries have agreements exempting them from the six-month rule; your consulate's instructions will say).
• The DS-160 confirmation page — the DS-160 is the online nonimmigrant visa application every applicant must complete, and the barcoded confirmation page is what you bring to the interview. It is a long, unforgiving form; see our step-by-step DS-160 guide before you start.
• The $185 fee receipt — the machine-readable visa (MRV) application fee is $185, non-refundable whether you are approved or refused, and paid directly to the US government through the payment channel your local embassy specifies. Charta Visa never collects this fee — any service fee we charge is separate and shown separately. Full breakdown in our MRV fee guide.
• Your appointment confirmation — printed proof of the interview slot you booked through the embassy's scheduling system.

You will also need one photo, 5 x 5 cm (2 x 2 inches), to the official specification: taken within the last six months, plain white or off-white background, neutral expression, no glasses. The same photo is uploaded digitally inside the DS-160 (square JPEG, 600–1200 pixels); bring the printed copy in case the upload is rejected. Photo refusals are one of the most common — and most avoidable — reasons appointments get pushed back.

Supporting evidence worth bringing

Beyond the four required documents, supporting evidence is technically optional — and many officers decide without asking for any of it. Bring it anyway. If the interview wobbles, it is the folder on your lap that steadies it:

• Employment letter stating your position, salary, tenure and approved leave dates — the single strongest tie document for most applicants.
• Bank statements from the last three to six months showing you can fund the trip yourself.
• Trip itinerary — flight reservations, accommodation, an invitation letter if visiting family or attending a business meeting.
• Evidence of other ties — property deeds, business registration, enrollment letters, family documents.

Keep it organized and honest; do not pad it. And remember the interview itself is where cases are won — our guide to the questions officers actually ask walks through how to answer them.

Validity and how long you can stay

Two different clocks apply, and confusing them causes real problems. The first is visa validity — how long you can use the visa to travel to a US port of entry. This varies by nationality under reciprocity agreements: for many countries the B1/B2 is issued as a multiple-entry visa valid up to 10 years, while other nationalities receive shorter validity or single entries. The second is your period of stay, decided at the border by US Customs and Border Protection: on each entry, B2 visitors are typically admitted for up to six months, and the date on your electronic I-94 record — not your visa — is the date you must leave by.

One more thing worth internalizing: a visa is not a guarantee of entry. It lets you travel to a port of entry and request admission; the CBP officer there makes the final call. Travelers with valid 10-year visas can be, and occasionally are, refused entry. Keep every trip consistent with visitor status and this will almost never touch you.

The processing reality

The biggest variable in the whole process is not the form — it is the interview appointment wait, which ranges from days at some posts to well over a year at others, and shifts constantly. Check the current wait at your embassy with our US visa wait-times tool before you plan anything, and never buy non-refundable tickets around an appointment you do not yet have.

Approval odds are equally uneven: rates vary widely by nationality and by post, and when a B1/B2 is refused, the reason cited is usually 214(b) — insufficient ties. A 214(b) refusal cannot be appealed; you can reapply (paying the $185 again), but unless your circumstances have genuinely changed, expect the same answer. That is why it pays to get the application right the first time. No one — not us, not anyone — can guarantee a visa approval; what careful preparation does is make sure the decision is made on your real situation, not on a form error or a fumbled answer.

Charta Visa is a private visa-preparation and review service. We are not a government website and are not affiliated with the US government. Government fees, including the $185 MRV fee, are always paid directly to the US government.