What is the difference between an immigrant visa and a non-immigrant visa?

There are two basic categories of visa, an Immigrant Visa and a Non-Immigrant Visa. Non-immigrants are aliens who are coming to the United States for a temporary period of time and for a specific purpose. For example, if you are coming to the U.S. as a temporary visitor for pleasure, under U.S. law you would apply for a "B-2 Visa". If granted, you may come to the U.S. for a temporary period of time and you may only engage in activities consistent with being a visitor, such as sightseeing, visiting friends and relatives. You would not be permitted to enroll in school and study nor would you be allowed to work, as that is not consistent with a B-2 visa. If you are in the U.S. on a Tourist Visa, it is possible to change status to a different category, such as student, assuming you qualify. Immigrant visas are for aliens who are entering the U.S. with the intention to make the U.S. their permanent residence. Immigrant visas are subject to numerical limitations. That means that each of ...  more

An immigrant visa is the one that allows a foreigner to immigrate to the United States. For details please visit our main page on immigrant visas. A non-immigrant visa can be issued to an alien who wants to travel to the U.S. for a temporary stay. There are several different categories of non-immigrant visas (tourist, student, etc.). Please refer to the Visa Category Chart and the section on non-immigrant visas.

There are two basic categories of visa, an Immigrant Visa and a Non-Immigrant Visa. Non-immigrants are those who are coming to the United States for a temporary period of time and for a specific purpose.  more

An immigrant visa is the one that allows a foreigner to immigrate to the United States. For details please visit the internet page at http://www.usembassy.kz/consular/iv.shtml on immigrant visas. A non-immigrant visa can be issued to an alien who wants to travel to the U.S. for a temporary stay. There are several different categories of non-immigrant visas (tourist, student, etc.). Please refer to the Visa Category Chart and the section on non-immigrant visas.  more

An Immigrant Visa is the one that allows a foreigner to immigrate to the United States. For details please visit our main page on immigrant visas. A Non-Immigrant Visa can be issued to an alien who wants to travel to the U.S. for a temporary stay. There are several different types of nonimmigrant visas (tourist, student, etc.) For the list of visa types please visit our main page on nonimmigrant visas.  more