Visa Categories

Media and Journalist Visas (I)

Who Qualifies for a Media or Journalist Visa (I)?

• Primary employees of foreign information media engaged in filming a news event or documentary.
• Members of the media engaged in the production or distribution of film will only qualify for a media visa if the material being filmed will be used to disseminate information or news. Additionally, the primary source and distribution of funding must be outside the United States.
• Journalists working under contract - Persons holding a credential issued by a professional journalistic organization, if working under contract on a product to be used abroad by an information or cultural medium to disseminate information or news not primarily intended for commercial entertainment or advertising. Please note that a valid employment contract is required.
• Employees of independent production companies when those employees hold a credential issued by a professional journalistic association.
• Foreign journalists working for an overseas branch office or subsidiary of a U.S. network, newspaper or other media outlet if the journalist is going to the United States to report on U.S. events solely for a foreign audience.
• Accredited representatives of tourist bureaus, controlled, operated, or subsidized in whole or part by a foreign government, who engage primarily in disseminating factual tourist information about that country, and who are not entitled to A2 visa classification (Diplomats and Foreign Government Officials).
• Technical industrial information - Employees in the U.S. offices of organizations, which distribute technical industrial information.

NOTE: Representatives of the foreign press, radio, film, journalists or other information media, engaging in that vocation while in the United States, require a Non-Immigrant Media (I) Visa and cannot travel to the United States using a visitor visa nor on the Visa Waiver Program, seeking admission by the DHS immigration inspector, at a U.S. port of entry.

Documentation Requirements for Media and Journalist Visas

• Proof of employment - Provide the following:
  • Staff Journalist - A letter from the employer that gives the employee's name, position held with the company, and purpose and length of stay in the United States.
  • Freelance Journalist under contract to a media organization - A copy of the contract with the organization, which shows the employee's name, position held within the company, purpose and length of stay in the United States, and duration of contract.
  • Media Film Crew - A letter from the employer that gives the employee's name, position held within the company, title and brief description of the program being filmed, and period of time required for filming in the United States.
  • Independent Production Company under contract to a media organization - A letter from the organization commissioning the work, which details the name, title and brief description of the program being filmed, the period of time required for filming in the United States, and the duration of the contract.