State visits to the United States

State and official visits to the United States are formal visits by the head of state (state visit) or chief of government (official visit) from one country to the United States, during which the president of the United States acts as official host of the visitor. State visits are considered to be the highest expression of friendly bilateral relations between the United States and a foreign state and are, in general, characterized by an emphasis on official public ceremonies.

The first visit of a foreign state to the United States was the state visit of the then-independent Kingdom of Hawaii in 1874; this was followed by the state visit of Brazil in 1876. Since then, numerous heads of state and government have been formally received by the president of the United States in Washington. In addition to, and more frequently than, state and official visits, the United States also receives foreign dignitaries on official working visits, which are primarily functional trips that occur with less or no ceremony.

State visits are visits to the United States led by a foreign head of state acting in his or her sovereign capacity. They are, therefore, described as a "visit of [name of state]". State visits can only occur on the invitation of the president of the United States, acting in his capacity as head of the United States.

Official visits, in contrast, are usually visits by the chief of government of a foreign state. Like state visits, they can only occur on the invitation of the president of the United States, though are offered in the president's capacity as chief of the federal government of the United States. The visit of a crown prince may also be classified as an official visit. Both state and official visits generally consist of a four-day stay in Washington by the visitor, during which a range of welcoming ceremonies are performed. They are often followed by a tour.

State visits to the United States are always reciprocated, at a later time, with a state visit by the United States. U.S. diplomatic policy is to host no more than one state visit from any single nation in a four-year period. Because of these rules, some visits of foreign states with executive presidents may be classified as official visits, instead of state visits.

There are, in addition, working visits and official working visits, which are of a largely functional nature and done to conduct business, such as negotiations, consultations, or treaty signings.

Private visits are visits of a head of state or chief of government to the United States for personal reasons, such as a holiday or for medical treatment.

Due, perhaps, to the geographic isolation of the United States, the first visit by a foreign head of state occurred until nearly one hundred years after independence, when President Ulysses S. Grant received King Kalākaua of the Kingdom of Hawaii in December 1874. This was followed, two years later, with a visit by Emperor Dom Pedro II of the Empire of Brazil, again received by Grant.