Nonimmigrant Visa Types
Crew Members and/or Transit (C1/D, C1)
C1/D visas are issued for pilots, air hostesses, stewards, seamen or employees on board a ship whose services are required for normal operation, or crew members traveling to the United States as passengers to join vessel or aircraft should apply for this type of visa.
C1 visas are issued to aliens proceeding in immediate and continuous transit through the U.S. Transiting aliens have to demonstrate that the principal purpose of the trip is to transit the U.S. While the law does not require transiting aliens to demonstrate a residency abroad which they do not intend to abandon, this category is in many ways similar to that of a B1/B2 temporary visitor. Where the alien qualifies for both, the latter is usually accorded.
Russian citizens need C1 transit visas even when transiting the United States on a single flight which stops at a U.S. port-of-entry before proceeding to a non-U.S. destination. For more details please visit www.uscis.gov
