Attending a 19 week non-academic course on a B1/B2 visa

[Ashish Sawhney]

Can I attend a 19 week non-academic (no college or university credits) laboratory-based course on a B1/B2 visa?  The course meets twice a week on Mondays and Wednesdays, rest of the week I am supposed to work on the weekly assignments which is mainly laboratory work and documentation.  Please advise.  Thanks.  

[Provence]

It's a legally grey area. 

Here are some examples of activities permitted with a visitor visa: 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/tourism-visit/visitor.html

Business (B-1)

• Consult with business associates
• Attend a scientific, educational, professional, or business convention or conference
• Settle an estate
• Negotiate a contract

Tourism (B-2)

• Tourism
• Vacation (holiday)
• Visit with friends or relatives
• Medical treatment
• Participation in social events hosted by fraternal, social, or service organizations
• Participation by amateurs in musical, sports, or similar events or contests, if not being paid for participating
• Enrollment in a short recreational course of study, not for credit toward a degree (for example, a two-day cooking class while on vacation)

[Provence]

Plus, assuming you're currently not in the US, CBP could wonder about your ties and how you'd manage 19+ weeks off from whatever you do in your home country. 

[pontevecchio]

You should run this by the course organizers.

[JoeF]

It depends.

See this webpage from the University of Colorado, Boulder:https://ce.colorado.edu/resources/students-with-a-b1b2-tourist-visa-or-visa-waiver/

"Tourists on B1/B2 visas, or on the visa waiver program, are eligible to enroll as long as:

• Enrollment in University of Colorado Boulder coursework is for solely recreational purposes.
• Course work is limited to one credit-bearing course per semester or less than 18 clock hours of noncredit enrollment per week. Fulltime enrollment is not allowed.
• The course will not be used for credit toward a degree, diploma or certificate.
• The coursework is incidental to the tourist’s visa to the U.S.and not the main purpose of the visit."

So, you can't just come to the US to take that course. You can come for tourism, and for a short time of a break from the tourism activities, you could take such a course. Your main reason to visit still has to be tourism.

Disclosure: I have friends who are professors at UC Boulder.

 

[pontevecchio]

Instead of playing coy and pandering to the LCD, why don't you tell us the name of the program and we may be able to help you better.