What do the asterisks on my American VISA mean?

What do the asterisks on my American VISA mean?


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Get the American visa can always be considered a great relief for many. And after so much paperwork, money, and interviews, that card represents the first step to visiting the most emblematic places in the United States. However, having it in hand is not always a guarantee that immigration officials will lay out the ‘red carpet’ for your arrival. In reality, the key to knowing how many questions you will have to answer before entering the United States is in the asterisks that appear below your photograph, today we will tell you their meaning:

Why are there asterisks below my American visa photo?

Have you American visa in hand is only the first entry filter to the United States. In reality, those who issued your document carefully analyzed your profile to determine how many asterisks They were going to place under your photo. As a general rule, all american visas tourism (B1 and B2) have at least one asterisk displayed. What you should pay attention to is how many yours has: the greater the number of asterisks, the more rigid and strict the immigration officials will be as soon as you try to enter the US.

The function of the asterisks is to measure how much risk there is that you will try to stay permanently in the United States. When the consuls and other officials analyzed your type of work, your family, your property and your relatives in the United States to see if they were going to grant you the American visa; They also assigned you a ‘risk profile’ without you noticing. Therefore, the meaning of the asterisks Below your photo on the visa, it looks like this:

  • An asterisk: no or low risk that this tourist will try to stay in the United States
  • Two asterisks: moderate risk for this tourist to stay living in the United States
  • Three asterisks: high risk that this person will attempt to immigrate illegally to the United States and/or intend to stay

For all of the above, as soon as you teach your American visa At US ports of entry, officials will look carefully at the number of asterisks that they see in it. Depending on the case, your questions will be much more rigorous or much more relaxed. The general recommendation is that if for some reason you have three asterisks In your document, be as prepared as possible to justify your entry: carry itineraries, specify where you will stay, perfectly document your departure and return, etc.

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