Law Office of John F. Roth
210 Main Street
Nanuet, NY 10954
(845) 623-1100
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The Business Visa
You may also wonder whether you can invite your friend on a business visa. Again, the U.S. Embassy has broad discretion to turn down such visas. Typically, to succeed in obtaining a business visa you will have to show that: Wealth:
Your friend has a current business in her home country valued, at a minimum, in the tens of thousands of dollars.
Business Link:
You have a business with a previously demonstrated commitment to doing commerce with Russia, and you and your firm have a previous record of legitimate and significant commercial relations with your friend and her firm. Necessity to Travel:
Your business purpose cannot be achieved without bringing your business associate to America. Ties to the Community:
Even if you and your friend meet all of the qualifications stated above, your friend must still demonstrate that she has sufficiently strong "ties to the community". Such as to make it highly likely that she will return home when her visa expires. See Visitor Visa (on this site) for an explanation of this issue.
Penalties:
Note well: The The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) can exact severe penalties for any fraudulent visa application. The penalty can be up to five years in jail and $500,000 in fines. Such severe penalties are rarely imposed, but if you make any application that the INS deems to be fraudulent in any way, you will probably be barred from ever inviting another person into the United States on any type of visa.
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