Updated November 11, 2026

B-2 tourist visa: allowed activities, Form I-94 rules, and how to extend or change your stay

A B-2 tourist visa is a temporary nonimmigrant visa for visiting the United States for tourism, vacation, seeing family or friends, or getting medical treatment. Under U.S. Customs and Border Protection rules, you apply on your own at a US embassy or consulate abroad, and a CBP officer at the port of entry sets your actual authorized stay on Form I-94. If you need to stay longer or switch to another status, USCIS recommends filing Form I-539 at least 45 days before the expiration date on your Form I-94.

What is a B-2 tourist visa and how does it compare to B-1 and the Visa Waiver Program?

US immigration law divides visas into two main categories: immigrant visas for people who intend to live permanently in the United States, and nonimmigrant visas for foreign nationals entering temporarily. Visitor visas are nonimmigrant visas for people who want to enter the United States temporarily for business on a B-1 visa, for tourism or pleasure on a B-2 visa, or for a combination of both purposes on a B-1/B-2 visa.

Citizens of certain designated countries can travel to the United States without a visa under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) for business or pleasure. However, the VWP only allows stays of 90 days or less, and VWP visitors cannot file an application to extend their stay beyond the 90-day timeframe or change status to another nonimmigrant or immigrant category. If your trip is longer or you might need the ability to apply for an extension or change of status through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), you need a visitor visa rather than the Visa Waiver Program.

Comparison of B-2, B-1, and Visa Waiver Program rules from CBP and USCIS

What activities are allowed and prohibited on a B-2 visitor visa?

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) publishes clear examples of what you can and cannot do on a visitor visa. Your planned activities must match the B-2 category both when you speak with the consular officer abroad and when you answer inspection questions at the US port of entry.

If you want to travel to the United States for reasons other than business or pleasure, such as degree study or employment, you must apply for a visa in the appropriate category before you travel.

• Allowed on B-2: Tourism and vacation (holiday).
• Allowed on B-2: Visiting friends or relatives.
• Allowed on B-2: Medical treatment.
• Allowed on B-2: Participating in social events hosted by fraternal, social, or service organizations.
• Allowed on B-2: Participating as an amateur in musical, sports, or similar events or contests, if you are not paid for participating.
• Allowed on B-2: Enrolling in a short recreational course of study that is not for credit toward a degree, such as a two-day cooking class while on vacation.
• Prohibited on a visitor visa: Academic or vocational study for credit.
• Prohibited on a visitor visa: Employment of any kind.
• Prohibited on a visitor visa: Paid performances, or any professional performance before a paying audience.
• Prohibited on a visitor visa: Arriving as a crewmember on a ship or aircraft.
• Prohibited on a visitor visa: Working as foreign press in radio, film, print journalism, or other information media.
• Prohibited on a visitor visa: Permanent residence in the United States.

How do you apply for a B-2 visa?

Under US federal law, applicants must apply on their own to visit the United States. A relative or employer does not sponsor or petition for a tourist visa through USCIS the way they do for most immigrant visas. Instead, an individual applies directly to a US consulate or embassy abroad for a B-2 tourist or B-1 business nonimmigrant visa.

Having a visa issued by a US embassy or consulate does not guarantee entry into the United States. A visa simply indicates that a US consular officer has reviewed your application and determined that you are eligible to travel to a port of entry for a specific purpose.

What happens at the US port of entry and how does Form I-94 work?

When you land at a US port of entry, a CBP officer inspects your documents and decides whether to admit you. CBP officers conduct the immigration, customs, and agriculture components of the inspection process and determine whether you are eligible for admission under US immigration law.

When CBP authorizes your admission, you are issued a Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record, which proves your legal visitor status and shows your authorized period of stay. Foreign visitors no longer need to fill out a paper Form I-94 upon arrival by air or sea because CBP gathers arrival and departure records automatically from electronic travel records. At land borders, CBP also issues I-94 records electronically rather than giving out a paper stub, and encourages travelers who require an I-94 to apply using the CBP Link mobile application or the CBP I-94 website.

Your visa expiration date and your Form I-94 expiration date are not the same thing. To see when your authorized stay ends, check the date in the lower right-hand corner of your Form I-94.

• How to get your I-94 record or print a copy: Use the 'Get Most Recent I-94' option on the CBP I-94 website or the CBP Link mobile app to view your number or print a paper copy for government agencies, schools, or employers.
• Requesting a paper form at arrival: You can ask for a paper Form I-94 during CBP inspection, which CBP accommodates in a secondary inspection setting.
• Replacing a lost I-94: If you lose a paper Form I-94 and need a replacement through USCIS, you file Form I-102, Application for Replacement/Initial Nonimmigrant Arrival/Departure Record.
• Recording your departure by air or sea: CBP records your exit electronically through carrier manifest data. If you were issued a paper Form I-94, surrender it to the commercial carrier, the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA), or CBP when you leave.
• Recording your departure by land: If you received an electronic I-94 and leave by land without re-entering the US before the expiration date stamped in your passport, your exit might not be recorded automatically. If you are not a resident of Canada or Mexico, carry evidence of your departure such as an entry stamp requested from CBSA when entering Canada or from the Instituto Nacional de Migracion (INM) when entering Mexico, transportation tickets, pay stubs, or other receipts. Travelers can also use CBP's Verify My Exit (VME) mobile capability to biometrically record their departure.

How do you extend your B-2 stay in the United States with Form I-539?

If you want to stay in the United States beyond the date shown on your Form I-94, you must apply for an extension of stay with USCIS by filing Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, before your authorized stay expires. USCIS recommends applying at least 45 days before the expiration date on your Form I-94.

Under a September 14, 2026 federal court order, USCIS still accepts the 08/28/24 edition of Form I-539 and is not accepting the 09/15/26 edition. If you mail a paper form, make sure the 08/28/24 edition date and page numbers are visible at the bottom of every page and that all pages come from the same edition.

To qualify to extend your stay, you must meet five conditions set by USCIS: you were lawfully admitted into the United States with a nonimmigrant visa, your nonimmigrant visa status remains valid, you have not committed any crimes that make you ineligible for a visa, you have not violated the conditions of your admission (such as working without authorization), and your passport is valid and will remain valid for the entire requested period of stay.

• Filing Form I-539 online: You may file Form I-539 online to extend or change to B-2 status only if you are applying for yourself alone, without co-applicants (or if a legal or accredited representative is filing for a single client without co-applicants).
• Filing as a family: If you apply with family members, you have two choices. You can apply together on paper using Form I-539 (plus Supplemental Form I-539A for each co-applicant) and pay a single filing fee, or each family member can apply online individually and pay a separate fee for each application.
• Late filings and falling out of status: If you file after your Form I-94 expires, you are out of status and may be barred from returning or removed (deported) from the United States. USCIS excuses a late Form I-539 filing only in limited circumstances where you demonstrate that the delay was due to extraordinary circumstances beyond your control, the length of the delay was reasonable, you have not otherwise violated your status, you are still a bona fide nonimmigrant, and you are not in removal proceedings.

How do you change your status from a B-2 tourist visa?

If your original reason for visiting changes while you are in the United States, such as deciding to transition from a tourist to a full-time student, you must file a request with USCIS to change your nonimmigrant status before your Form I-94 expires. USCIS recommends applying as soon as you determine that you need to change to a different nonimmigrant category.

Do not assume your change of status is approved while it is pending, and do not begin your new activity until USCIS approves your application. In particular, if you are currently a B-2 nonimmigrant tourist, you must not begin attending school as an academic or vocational student until USCIS has granted your change of status. Even if you are approved for another status that starts in the future, you must file Form I-539 to bridge any gap between the expiration of your current B-2 status and the start date of your new status.

Not every status change requires an application. If you were admitted to the United States for business reasons in the B-1 visa category and want to remain in the United States for pleasure before your authorized stay expires, USCIS states that you do not need to apply to change your nonimmigrant status.

Worked example: calculating your Form I-539 timeline from your Form I-94

Below is a worked timeline created by our team using the USCIS 45-day recommendation and Form I-539 rules. The traveler and dates are invented to show how to plan around your Form I-94 date.

Suppose Maria enters the United States on a B-2 tourist visa on May 1, 2026, to visit her sister and travel around the West Coast. She checks the CBP I-94 website after landing and downloads her electronic Form I-94, which shows an Admit Until Date of October 31, 2026, in the lower right-hand corner. In August, her family decides to host a milestone reunion in December, and Maria wants to request an extension of stay through January 15, 2027.

• Step 1, Check passport validity: Maria verifies that her passport does not expire before January 15, 2027, because USCIS requires her passport to remain valid for the entire requested period of stay.
• Step 2, Calculate the 45-day recommended filing date: Counting back 45 days from her October 31, 2026 Form I-94 expiration date gives a target filing date of September 16, 2026.
• Step 3, Choose online vs. paper filing: Because Maria is traveling alone without a spouse or children as co-applicants, she is eligible to file Form I-539 online through her USCIS account instead of mailing the 08/28/24 paper edition.
• Step 4, Submit before the hard deadline: Maria submits her online Form I-539 on September 14, 2026, well ahead of the October 31, 2026 expiration date on her Form I-94, and receives a near-instant receipt notification in her USCIS online account.

Practice example

What is the purpose of your visit to the United States, and how long do you plan to stay?

Give a clear, specific answer in one or two sentences that names your exact B-2 activity, where you will be staying, and your planned departure date. Make sure your stated plans fit permitted B-2 rules such as taking a vacation, visiting relatives, getting medical treatment, or taking a short two-day recreational cooking class, and do not involve employment, paid performances, or academic study for credit. Have your travel dates, the address where you will stay, and evidence of your return plans ready in case the consular officer or the CBP officer at the port of entry asks a follow-up question.

Both consular officers and CBP officers at the port of entry check that your activities match the B-2 tourist classification and that you intend to leave the United States at the end of a temporary stay.

This is interview practice, not legal advice. For questions about your own case, talk to an immigration attorney. Visaful is not affiliated with the U.S. government or the Department of State.