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Nonimmigrant Visas

General Information

Opening Hours

Arrival-Departure Record (I-94)

Our Service Commitment

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Voluntary Departure/ Bond Returns

How to Read Your Visa

Application Process

Renewal of Lost, Expired, or Mutilated Visas

What to Expect

Additional processing

Visa Refusals

Visa Types

Business/Tourist

Student/Exchange

Work

Diplomatic/Official(A/C3/G)

Petition-based (H/L/O/P/Q)

Specialty Position E-3

FAQ

Immigrant Visas

American Citizen Services

visas for Athletes, artists, and entertainers (P)

The P visa classification provides for admission into the United States of certain athletes, entertainers, and artists, as well as essential support personnel. If you are a professional athlete or entertainer and intend to perform in the United States, you will need a P visa.

Under certain circumstances, you may be able to perform certain work or volunteer activities with a B1/B2 visitor visa instead of applying for a P visa. Reimbursement for travel costs and lodging is not considered pay. For example, amateur music or dance groups who give unpaid performances in the U.S. do not require P work visas. In order for a performer to travel to the United States on a B1/B2 visa, you must meet one of the following qualifications:

You are coming to the United States to participate only in a cultural program sponsored and paid for by the government of Israeli and will perform before a non-paying audience; or
You are a still photographer visiting the United States for the purpose of taking photographs, provided that you receive no income from a U.S. source (does not include journalists, see Media (I) visas); or
You are a musician coming to the United States to use recording facilities for recording purposes only, the recording will be distributed and sold only outside the United States, and you will give no public performances; or
You are coming to the United States to participate in a competition for which there is no remuneration other than a prize (monetary or otherwise) and expenses.

If you do not meet one of the qualifications listed above, you cannot enter the United States on a visitor visa and must apply with USCIS for P visa status.

Qualifying for P Status

Your sponsor is required to file a petition, Form I-129 P, on your behalf with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Your sponsor or employer should contact USCIS for further information on how to apply. It is the responsibility of the USCIS to determine whether the alien qualifies for the P visa category. Any questions concerning eligibility should be addressed to the appropriate USCIS office. Please contact your sponsor or USCIS if you have questions about your petition. Consular officers at U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv have no role in, or access to, the petition process.

USCIS will send you or your attorney and your sponsor a Notice of Action (I-797) when it approves your petition. You may apply for a P visa only after USCIS approves your petition. The Embassy will have no information about the status your petition until it has been approved.

Please remember that while the approval from USCIS grants an applicant legal status to work in the United States, you will still need to apply for a P visa to enter the United States. You should apply for a visa and pay the processing fee for you and your family as you would for any other visa type. However, you must not apply until you have received an approved petition.

As a P visa applicant, you must satisfy the consular officer that you have a residence abroad that you have no intention of abandoning.

Types of P Visas

Each of the following visa classifications requires that USCIS approve a petition from your sponsor before you apply for a visa. Please bring a copy or the original of the I-797 approval notice to the Embassy as proof for your interview.

The P-1 visa classification provides for admission into the United States of certain athletes, entertainers and artists, and essential support personnel. Individual members of the entertainment industry are not eligible for the P-1 visa classification, but individual athletes are. For members of the entertainment industry, the visa will be issued for a specific event only. However, individual athletes may be admitted for five years and a team for a period of six months.

The P-2 visa classification provides for the admission into the United States of an artist or entertainer, either an individual or group, involved in a reciprocal exchange program between an organization or organizations in the United States and Israel.

The P-3 visa classification provides for the admission into the United States of an artist or entertainer, either an individual or group, to perform, teach, or coach under a program that is culturally unique.

Families of P Visa Holders

Spouses and/or children under the age of 21 who wish to accompany or join the principal visa holder in the United States for the duration of his/her stay require derivative P-4 visas. Spouses and/or children who do not intend to reside in the United States with the principal visa holder, but visit for vacations only, may be eligible to apply for visitor (B-2) visas.

Spouses and children of P visa holders may study in private or public schools the United States on the P-4 visa without obtaining a student F-1 visa. However, spouses on P-4 visas may not work. If a spouse on a P-4 visa is seeking employment, he or she must seek the appropriate work visa to do so. You as the principal P applicant must prove that you can support your family financially during your stay in the U.S.

Before the Interview

You may apply for a P visa only after USCIS approves your petition. Before you appear at the Embassy for the interview for a P visa, be sure that you have completed the following steps and have collected the following documents to bring to the interview:

You have scheduled your visa interview on the Internet at http://visainfo.us-visaservices.com/.
You have filled out and printed the required forms to bring to your interview:

DS-156 application form for all applicants (to be filled out at http://visainfo.us-visaservices.com/ when you schedule your interview)
DS-157 supplemental form for all male applicants age 16 to 45, as well as all applicants, male or female, born in Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Sudan or Syria.

You have paid the processing fee at the post office and have a receipt to bring to your interview.
Your passport is valid and has at least one blank “Visa” page.
You have two photos that meet the photo requirements.
You have the original or a copy of the I-797 form from USCIS showing that the petition has been approved.
If you are applying for P-4 derivative visas for your spouse and/or children, you have all of the documents, fees, and photos listed above, as well as marriage and birth certificates proving your relationship and proof of your ability to financial support your family while in the United States.
If you have lived in the United States, you have previous I-797, I-20, or DS-2019 forms or proof of previous study or work visa status.
You have previous passports with U.S. visas or a list of entries and exits from the Ministry of Interior to bring to your interview.

At the Interview

At the visa interview, the consular officer will ask you to present all your documents and passport and will ask about the work you intend to perform in the United States and your qualifications. Please be prepared to answer these questions honestly and thoroughly, and the consular officer in turn will make the decision about your eligibility based on your answers and the documents you present.

Sometimes it may be necessary for the consular officer to take a few days to review the details of your application and supporting documents. If this is the case, the officer will return your passport to you and the Embassy will call you as soon as possible for further questions or to issue your visa.