See last week’s entry for an introduction to the topic of support on a B visa.
Once you are here in B status, there may be options for stretching your resources. As stated above and last week, you can’t work here as part of the US economy. But there may be some other possibilities. This is mostly directed toward people who are here on B-1s as missionaries, because a lot of people coming here as missionaries are often on shoe-string budgets, and the work that they do is not naturally income producing. Most of the options that I would suggest would work best within a religious situation, and many of these suggestions simply wouldn’t work for most B-1 business visitors. On the other hand, some of these suggestions may work for B-2 visitors who want to do some volunteer work while they are visiting here in the US, and some of them might work for people who volunteer in non-religious non-profit situations as well.
Most m-ssionaries who are here in the US on a B-1 visa are supported by people in their home countries. Although the statue nowhere says that this is allowable, I think that it is assumed to be allowable under the regulations because they are clearly allowed to come as missionaries on a B-1 visa. The regulations specifically anticipate that they could be here for more than a year, so there has to be an assumption that they will be receiving support from abroad.
On the other hand, I know that there are people who come here on B-2 visas who volunteer with religious organizations and they are supported as m-ssionaries from their homeland. In my opinion, that is probably not completely legal because, in reality, they are working here as m-ssionaries on a B-2. However, since they are allowed to have friends in their home country provide them with money to live on while they are here on a B-2, and they are “volunteering” rather than working, I think this situation will probably not cause any real difficulty. But, if they should run into a border official who is a stickler for the rules, they could get in trouble for this arrangement.
One option for B-1s who are here in the US as m-ssionaries is that they can be provided with housing and food by the organizations for whom they are volunteering. This is a frequent arrangement for B-1s. Remember that the housing and food cannot be in return or payment for the volunteer service. But it can be given to allow the B-1 missionary to serve. Again, this is not specifically allowed by the law or regulations, but I think it is within the scope of what is expected.
I know that B-2s also volunteer for organizations and receive room and board. I think that this is a marginal activity for B-2s. I don’t know that it is not allowed, but I think that it is not really within the scope of what a B-2 is supposed to be doing — B-2s are visitors for pleasure, and, not only are they working/volunteering but they are also receiving room and board to enable them to do it. I could imagine a border official saying that this is not allowable.
Check back next week for my final suggestions on this topic.
I hope this is interesting and helpful. Remember that this is not legal advice. It is just a summary of certain aspects of immigration law which may or may not apply to your situation. I encourage you to consulate an attorney if you think any of this may apply to your situation.
Gunnar Armstrong
757 Appleton Road, Elkton, MD 21921