What is a Visa?

 

A visa is issued by the U.S. embassy as a seal in your passport.  It specifies that you are eligible to apply for an entry to the U.S. in a specific immigration status.  If you are a citizen of other countries like Thailand or China, and you want to travel to the U.S., generally you must first get a U.S. visa.  And, that U.S. visa will be placed or stamped inside of your passport, which is issued by your government.  

 

Once I have a visa issued by the U.S. Government, is it a guaranty that I can enter into the U.S.?

 

No.  Having a U.S. visa is only a permission for you to travel to an airport, a port of entry, or land border crossing.  Once your foot step out of the plane, you will go directly to the immigration inspection at your destiny airport.  There, you will present the U.S. visa stamp along with other visa document like I-20 for a student.  This means that you are asking for a permission of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Customs and Border Protection (CBP) inspector to enter United States.  DHS/CBP inspectors will review these document and authorize for a specific status and for a specific period of time in the document called I-94 system and finally put an ink an entry stamp in your passport.  Now you can take all of your baggage and get on a taxi to out of the airport!

 

A visa does indicate that a consular officer at a U.S. Embassy/Consulate has determined that you are eligible to seek enter for that specific purpose.   

 

What is an I-94?  

 

This identifies when your last date of entry into the U.S.A. was.  It is issued to you on arrival, and you will be asked for it when applying to adjust status, for example.  If you believe you have lost one, you can request a copy of your travel records at: https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/#/home

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