An A Visa is a category of non-immigrant
visas allowing travel to the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
issued to ambassadors, diplomats, government officials, and their support staff.
Types
A-1
The A-1 visa is granted to many people such as ambassadors,
ministers,
diplomats
A diplomat (from ; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state, intergovernmental, or nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or international organizations.
The main functions of diplomats a ...
, consular officers, and their immediate family members.
While government officials normally do not qualify for an A-1 visa if they are traveling for non-official, non-governmental purposes,
heads of state
A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "he head of state
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads
* He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English
* He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana)
* Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...
being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...
and
heads of government
In the executive branch, the head of government is the highest or the second-highest official of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a ...
always qualify and must apply for an A visa regardless of their purpose of travel.
Visitors on an A-1 visa
cannot be tried under US law for a crime, and may travel to and from the country an unlimited number of times. There is no maximum length of stay for individuals admitted on an A-1 visa, and there is no requirement to maintain a foreign residence.
[
]
A-2
The A-2 visa is granted to certain government officials, employees, their immediate families, and their technical and support staff.[ This includes military personnel traveling for reasons not related to ]NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
. Those typically admitted under an A-2 visa include:
* Individuals traveling to work at a consulate
A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth countries, a ...
or embassy
A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a Sovereign state, state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase ...
in the US
* Individuals traveling to the US on the written request of their home country
* Members of foreign militaries stationed at US military installations
* Representatives from the African Union
The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The b ...
or European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
[
]
A-3
The A-3 visa is granted to attendants, servant
A domestic worker is a person who works within a residence and performs a variety of household services for an individual, from providing cleaning and household maintenance, or cooking, laundry and ironing, or care for children and elderly ...
s, and employees of those in the US under A-1 or A-2 visas.[ A-3 recipients fall into two categories: those paid by the principal applicant's home government, and domestic employees paid by the principal applicant themselves. The maximum duration of stay is three years, and individuals are exempt from US taxes.][
]
Notes
References
External links
8 CFR § 214.2(a)
Link to Title 8, Code of Federal Regulations.
Visa wait times
Visa wait times at consulates around the world
United States visas by type
United States immigration law
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