Restrictive B-2 Visitor Regulation Withdrawn
Posted Mar 21, 2003

We are pleased to report that the proposed regulation that would have limited most visitors / tourists to a one-month stay in the U.S. has been withdrawn. It is not yet clear if the proposal will be resurrected in the future. The initial proposed regulation, published April 12, 2002, would have changed the standard period of admission on a B-2 visitor's status in the U.S. from six months to one month. Individuals lacking satisfactory proof of a need to stay longer would have been given one month to visit the U.S. This was a significant change from the current regulation and practice that allows admission for six months, unless there is a specific reason to limit the visit to a shorter period. This important topic was initially reported in our March 29, 2002 MurthyBulletin article, Proposal to Reduce Tourist Stays to Only 30 Days! available on MurthyDotCom.

The proposed regulation met with strong opposition from a wide range of interested organizations and individuals. Dissention came from sources as diverse as the hotel industry, real estate brokers in vacation areas and immigrant groups concerned with assuring family contact, despite the great distances. In our April 19, 2002 article, Voice Your Concern on Proposals to Tourist Stays, we at MurthyDotCom and the MurthyBulletin provided our readers with information on how they could submit any concerns. The (then) INS received over 10,000 comments voicing opposition. These comments were taken seriously enough to withdraw the proposed regulation.

It is still possible that withdrawal of the regulation is only temporary. It could be reintroduced once all references to "INS" are changed to the "BCIS."