Most visitors are eligible for a 10 year visa: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_policy_of_the_United_Stat... (see section "Validity period").
Unfortunately, the treatment might not be the best. In that case, you can probably apply for a Canadian/UK/Schengen visa and get 80% of the effect without much of the hassle.
As for the girl, I'm not sure why she would think she would be let back in after being arrested in the US.
As for the girl it didn’t seem like a serious crime. But anyway I am only complaining about lack of privacy at the booths. And she was not arrested in the US. She was arrested in her country of residence. She had never been to US!
Isn't countries' embassies technically the territory of that country (as opposed to the country of whichever city it's located)?
It's up to the person in the embassy to decide. Just because you're eligible for it, doesn't mean you'll get it.
For my country, it's either 6 months or 10 years. I got a 10 year one, but a person in front of me got a six months one.
DUI isn’t a serious offence in the US, so that’s ok too.
It's definitively very serious, and can be enough to get a visa denied.
It doesn’t mean you need to drink and drive or that it will apply to you, I think I just went crazy lucky that day at the embassy.
"The penalties for drunk driving vary among states and jurisdictions. It is not uncommon for the penalties to be different from county to county within any given state depending on the practices of the individual jurisdiction. Some jurisdictions require jail time and larger fines, even on a first offense. For instance, Ohio requires a mandatory 72-hour jail sentence for a first offense conviction; however, the jail time component is satisfied by attendance of the Ohio A.W.A.R.E. Program, which is a 72-hour alcohol-education program. Compared to many other countries, such as Sweden, penalties for drunk driving in the United States are considered less severe unless alcohol is involved in an incident causing injury or death of another, such DUI, DWI or OWI with Great Bodily Injury (GBI) or Vehicular Manslaughter."
"Wisconsin regards first offense drunk driving as a municipal offense, and New Jersey treats all drunk driving cases without serious injury or death as traffic violations."
FYI, a US citizen with a DUI will likely get denied entry into Canada -- you usually need to be deemed "rehabilitated" or be granted a temporary stay visa before allowed in.
https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/402/~/entering-...
http://www.ncsl.org/research/transportation/state-ignition-i...
This not only costs thousands of dollars – a very significant amount of money to the vast majority of Americans – but it also SEVERELY limits an individual’s ability to drive a work vehicle.
Yes, prison time is not always involved, but the financial cost of a DUI can be quite serious.
https://www.adamgreenmanlaw.com/blog/can-you-go-to-canada-wi...
Young people are likely to stay for long, some times even tear their passports and throw away to become illegal immigrants.
Also there have been cases when elderly people from India visit the US on a B1/B2 Visa, and then work hourly wages as nannies.