Change B1/B2 Visa to Work Permit

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.

Page Contents

• Can I Convert My US Visit Visa to a Work Visa?
• What Are My Work Visa Options in the US?
• Changing B1/B2 Visa Status to an H-1B Visa
• Eligibility Conditions for Changing from B1/B2 Visa to Work Permit
• The 90-day Rule and Changing Visa Status
• Required Documents for Changing Visit Visa to Work Permit
• Process of Changing Status From B1/B2 to Work Visa
• Misrepresentation: What You Must Know
• How Can IAS Help?
• Frequently Asked Questions

The most common nonimmigrant work visas that grant temporary work authorization in the US are:

• H visas, such as an H-1B visa for foreign nationals working in a specified professional or academic field, or an H-2A visa for seasonal temporary workers in agriculture etc.
• I visas for foreign media persons representing an overseas media company
• L Visas for temporary intra-company transferees, either at the executive/management level (L-1A) or through a specialized expertise (L-1B)
• O Visas for extraordinary and exceptional global talent
• P Visas for foreign nationals excelling in art, performance, or sport
• R Visas for nonimmigrant religious workers

Moreover, if you have the right combination of skills, knowledge, and experience, and can find a US employer willing to sponsor you, you may also seek to change status from a B1/B2 visa to a Green Card (officially known as the Permanent Resident Card), which will allow you to live and work in the US permanently.

However, you will have to prove to USCIS that your decision to apply for a Green Card happened during your stay in the US and not before applying for your B1/B2 Visa.

Of the various US work visa options, the most popular among foreign nationals as well as US employers is the H-1B visa, so much so that the US government has put a cap of 65,000 new H-1B visas to be issued annually (plus 20,000 visas for master’s degree holders).

In fact, it is not uncommon for foreign nationals entering the US on a B1/B2 visa to seek a US employer, who will be willing to sponsor them and file a petition on their behalf to convert to H-1B status. Some of the most important reasons behind the foreign workers’ preference for the H-1B visa are as follows:

• A H-1B visa has comparatively lenient requirements than other types of US work visas
• It allows the visa holder to hold multiple jobs at the same time, work full-time or part-time, and change employers
• It allows migrant workers to live and work in the US for up to six years with extensions
• Your employer will be required to pay the prevailing wage for the position as well as all applicable benefits
• The H-1B visa offers certain benefits to visa holders’ spouses and children
• It also allows the visa holder to lawfully seek to become a permanent resident in the US

To change your B1/B2 visa to a work visa in the US, you must meet the following criteria:

• You were lawfully admitted to the US on a B1/B2 visa
• Your B1/B2 visa is still valid
• You have not engaged in any activities that led to a violation of your B1/B2 visa conditions while in the US, such as:
• Taking up paid work in the US
• Enrolling in a study course
• Marrying a US citizen or permanent resident
• Undertaking any other activity that is not allowed on a B1/B2 visa, e.g. do a paid performance etc.
• You have not committed any crime(s) which would make you inadmissible to the US

Apart from these general conditions, you will also have to meet the eligibility requirements for the US work visa type you are going to switch to.

To prevent immigration abuse, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has the 90-day rule in place as one of the principal ways to confirm the applicant’s travel intent to the US. The 90-day period starts from your most recent US entry date, and is applicable to your latest visa for the country.

This rule states that if single-intent nonimmigrant visa (e.g. a B1/B2 visa) holders change their intention or reason to stay in the US through marriage or a visa status change within 90 days of their arrival, they will automatically be presumed to have misrepresented their original intentions for obtaining a US visa.

If you break the 90-day rule, the onus is on you to convince USCIS that you have had a genuine reason or an emergency situation to do so. While breaking the rule will not automatically result in a visa denial, USCIS takes misrepresentation very seriously and may revoke your current visa as well as deport you from the country if they are not convinced of the genuineness of your plea.

You will need to submit the following forms and supporting documents to change your B1/B2 visa to a work visa in the US:

• Form I-129 for change of status to certain employment-based classifications, such as H-1B, H-1B1, H-2A, H-2B, H-3, L-1, O-1, O-2, P-1, P-2, P-3, P-1S, P-2S, P-3S, Q-1, and R-1 nonimmigrant visas, to be filed by your sponsoring US employer
• Form I-539 for your spouse and unmarried children under 21, if applicable
• Form I-94, Arrival – Departure Record
• Proof of financial stability
• Proof of significant ties to your country of residence
• Any other documents proving your original intent to return to your country of residence when you had a B1/B2 visa

Using the wrong category of form may result in visa rejection or denial by USCIS. You will not be refunded your filing fee if your change of status application is denied.

The process of changing your visa status from B1/B2 to a US nonimmigrant work visa must start with your prospective employer filing a ‘Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker’ (i.e. Form I-129) with USCIS. They may also have to obtain a labor certification or other similar approval from the Department of Labor before filing Form I-129 for certain temporary worker visa categories.

Each petition must be accompanied by its appropriate filing fees. You will also have to submit all required initial evidence and supporting documentation with your petition.

Upon the receipt of the petition, USCIS will review the same to ascertain its completeness. After that, they will let the petitioner know when the visa applicant will have to visit their local USCIS Application Support Center (ASC) for biometrics services appointment.

Please keep in mind that while you should try to avoid initiating the visa status change process within 90 days of your arrival to the US, you must start the process at least 45 days before your current B1/B2 visa validity expires.

While changing your B1/B2 visa is technically possible, please be aware that you may be permanently prohibited from entering the US if USCIS has reason(s) to believe that you have:

• Affirmatively made a misrepresentation or submitted false information in your evidence
• Made a misrepresentation before a US official
• Knowingly and intentionally made a misrepresentation
• Made the misrepresentation on the visa application or application for admission to the US yourself
• Been aware of a misrepresentations made by your agent or lawyer
• Misrepresented something relevant to your application etc.

We recommend that you consult a competent lawyer with expertise and experience in US immigration policies and processes before you apply for a visa status change. Call us today on +1 844 290 6312.