Select B1/B2 instead of B2 even when traveling for only tourism and NOT business.

[omkar86]

B1 is for business travel

B2 is for tourism/medical treatment

B1/B2 is for business and tourism combined

 

I have seen people select the visa type as combined B1/B2 instead of B2, even they know for sure they are traveling for visiting purpose and NOT business purpose. I thought that is a mistake and when applying for my parents visa the application agency I used also made the same mistake; they selected the B1/B2 type. My parents visitor visa was rejected both times in 2012 April & May. I thought the visa type could be one of the reasons. So I am thinking of choosing the B2 type next time I apply for them.

 

On the contrary, the statistics are showing B1/B2 has higher acceptance rate. I checked some statistics regarding number of visas issued for each type over the years from official website and turns out that the acceptance rate in B1/B2 category has been consistently higher than individual categories i.e. B1 and B2. Also the number of total visas issues are much higher in the combined B1/B2 category.

 

I would really appreciate any comments on this. Should I select B1/B2 or B2? OR it doesn't have ANY impact on the likelihood of acceptance?

 

Thanks!

Omkar

[jairichi]

Choosing B1/B2 or just B2 does not have any effect on visa outcome.