Rights & liberties
visa
Permission to travel to a U.S. port of entry and request admission. Immigrant visas lead to permanent residence; nonimmigrant visas are for temporary stays.
In full
A visa is issued by a consulate abroad and is not itself admission: a Customs and Border Protection officer decides at the port of entry, and the admission period is recorded separately. Nonimmigrant categories cover tourists, students, temporary workers, and others, each with its own conditions on work and duration.
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A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.