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I will travel to New York for business and I would like to take my cousin with me on this trip. We plan to stay over the weekend and I would like to use that time between my business meetings to do some tourist visits/sightseeing together with my cousin.

Is there a risk that he could be denied access to the USA because we have different purposes of visit?

This is a five-day trip and we will stay at the hotel, he is 19 years old and I'm 40.

Should we access the Immigration officer together (because we are travelling together and I'm "taking care" of him) and explain the situation or should he approach separately?

We are Croatian citizens and will apply for B-1/B-2 visas.

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    Stating your nationality, place of residence, the type of visa/visa waiver you plan to use, and possibly personal circumstances would probably help others answer you.
    – jcaron
    Commented Jan 14, 2016 at 13:07
  • You can approach together because you are travelling together.
    – phoog
    Commented Jan 14, 2016 at 18:53

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From what you have described this is no problem. You may need to explain the situation if you approach US CBP together, but you are doing nothing wrong. It is perfectly allowed to do tourist activities on a business trip, and two people travelling together do not need to be travelling for the same purpose.

Since you are supporting your cousin financially on this trip (I presume) it is probably wise to enter together in case the officer has questions about his ability to fund himself.

I advise that you each fill out a separate customs declaration (i.e., do not use the "only one person from a family needs to fill out a customs form" provision) because you are entering for different purposes.

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  • It's always safe to present separate forms. The officer can always combine them. I traveled with a girlfriend many years ago. We were not formally related and we did not live at the same address, although we were staying at the same address in the US. He threw out her form and added her to mine.
    – phoog
    Commented Jan 14, 2016 at 18:55

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