Visas for the United States: the B1 “industrial worker”

What you should know

This is the visa that must be processed to send workers to participate in the installation of equipment that has been manufactured outside the United States and has been acquired by an American company. It could also be used to carry out commissioning, repair, maintenance and training activities on the handling of these same equipment.

It is a requirement that in order to process this visa, the sales contract, as part of the supply, explicitly includes all the aforementioned activities.

Traveling with a B1 industrial worker visa assures us that we will not have problems either when entering the country or at the workplace, since it explicitly includes authorization to work in the North American company that has purchased the equipment.

This visa can only be applied for while outside the United States, so we have to process it before traveling.

This visa has to be stamped in the passport, so the traveler will have to process an interview at the consular section of the United States Embassy in Madrid. The Barcelona consulate does not process visas.

Visas for the United States. The B1 industrial worker visa.

Visa duration.

By duration of the visa we have to understand the period during which the visa is valid and therefore we can use it to travel.

In the case of the B1 industrial worker visa , the duration of the visa will depend on the duration of the work to be carried out, but it could be up to 10 years.

Visas for the United States. The B1 industrial worker visa.

Maximum stay allowed and number of entries and exits.

The maximum stay allowed in the country when one enters with a B1 industrial worker visa is 6 months, although the final decision on how long we will be allowed to stay in the country will be made by the border control officer who receives us upon arrival and who will stamp on the I-94. There is no limit on the number of B1 industrial worker visas that we can process per year, nor on the number of days that we can spend in the United States in a year.

Visas for the United States. The B1 industrial worker visa.

Can it be extended?

This visa cannot be extended.

If you need to stay longer, you will have to leave and reapply for a new B1 industrial worker visa.

In principle there are no limits on the number of visas that can be applied for in a year.

Visas for the United States. The B1 industrial worker visa.

Processing time

By processing time we have to understand the time it takes for the United States government to process a B1 industrial worker visa.

The average processing time varies depending on the time of year but it can be calculated that it will be around 5 calendar days from the moment the interview is carried out.

The interview, depending on the work that the consular section of visas of the embassy has, can be given to us many months away. It can even happen in the event that, at the time of the request, there are no spaces available and we have to wait.

If the term is extended beyond what would be acceptable for our interests, there are cases in which it is possible to request an urgent interview.

We must take into account that the preparation of the documentation that is necessary to provide with each file is complex and its preparation may require many days, so it is advisable to start processing the B1 industrial worker visa between 2 and 3 months before the need.

Visas for the United States. The B1 industrial worker visa.

Processing fees

The official fee charged by the United States government for processing a B1 industrial worker visa is 160 $.