Occasionally people people apply for a tourist visa when they actually need a transit visa. While these visas are much more limited in scope, they generally require less scrutiny and the standards for showing ties to one’s home country (as with tourist or business visas) are generally less stringent, as the focus is kept squarely the necessity to enter the U.S. only temporarily for the purposed of making a stop on the way to a final destination. Therefore, this visa is exclusively for citizens of a foreign country traveling in immediate and continuous transit through the U.S. en route to a foreign destination.

Sometimes, due to the fact that the tourist/business visa (B1/B2) is generally given for up to ten year periods, while the C-1 may only be awarded for the time period for the planned trip to be completed, makes it the best one to apply for, but it all depends on the individual circumstances of each case. The C-1 is typically applied for one has not had a tourist visa previously and when the person is simply stopping in an airport to change planes or refuel or is going to take a cruise from a U.S. port of call.

The transit visa application is submitted at a U.S. consulate or embassy abroad. Steve Maggi specializes in preparing application packets for clients, filling out all forms, and assessing the unique situation of the applicant and assisting them in preparation for their interview with a consular officer. Scrutiny has risen exponentially in the past few years and a higher percentage of C visa applicants are being rejected. That is why preparing for the interview with an experienced attorney is recommended. Please see the following link for visa refusal rates to gauge how difficult it is to get the visa in your home country.