Passport vs. Visa

A passport serves two purposes: to regain entry to the country of citizenship (i.e. the United States) and is a requirement by many countries to gain entry to the country you are visiting.

A travel visa can be a stamp or sticker placed by officials of a foreign country on a passport that allows the bearer to visit that country.

Visas are obtained from the proper embassy or local consulates of the country to be visited. Visit is defined as the reason for entry, usually business, tourist or transitory. There are over 270 countries that offer travel visas and literally thousands of different types of visas available based upon country, type of visit, and length of visit. A travel visa is an official government document that temporarily authorizes you to be in the country you are visiting. There are about 185 different types of visas.


There are two main categories of US visas:  Non-immigrant visa - for temporary visits such as for tourism, business, work, visiting family, or studying. Immigrant visa - for people to immigrate to the United States.