F-1 visa
for students
F-1 Visa
for students
F-1 VISA
Aimed at students
The first step for a prospective nonimmigrant student is to be accepted for enrollment in an established school that is certified by the SEVP. In general, for academic students attending a university, college, secondary school, private primary school, seminary, conservatory or other academic institutions, including a language training program, an F visa is the appropriate category. For students attending vocational training institutions or other recognized non-academic institutions, other than a language training programme, an M visa is generally the appropriate category.
If you are going to the United States primarily for tourism, but want to do a short course of study that is recreational, and the course is less than 18 hours per week, you can do so with a visitor visa (B). If your course of study is 18 hours or more per week, you will need a student visa. If you are traveling to the US to attend seminars, conferences, or a study program to earn academic credit, you will need a student visa.
See the updated list of countries with which the United States maintains a commerce and navigation treaty at U.S. Department of State’s Treaty Countries.
Application
When should I apply for the F-1 student visa?
Students are recommended to apply for their visa in advance to have enough time to process it.
Students can apply for their visa as soon as they are ready to do so.
Students should note that embassies and consulates may issue their student visa 120 days or less in advance of the date of registration for the course of study. If you apply for your visa more than 120 days before the start or registration date listed on the I-20 form, the Embassy or Consulate will hold your application until it can issue the visa. Consular officials will use this extra time to process the application.
Students are advised of Department of Homeland Security regulations requiring all initial or novice students to enter the US 30 days or less prior to the start date of the course of study or registration they are seeking. appears on Form I-20. Please consider this date carefully when making travel plans to the United States.
A beginning student who wishes to enter the US earlier (more than 30 days before the course start date), must qualify and obtain a visitor visa. A prospective student notation will appear on their visitor visa and the traveler must make their intention to study clear to the US immigration inspector at the port of entry. Before beginning any study, you must obtain approval to change your Exchange Visitor status by submitting Form I-539, Application for Change of Nonimmigrant Status and paying the fee. You must also submit the required Form I-20 to the Department of Homeland Security office where the application is made. Please note that studies cannot begin until the classification change is approved.
Continuing students can apply for a new visa at any time, as long as they have maintained student status and their SEVIS records are up to date. Permanent students can also enter the United States at any time before their classes begin.
What should you know about it?
What is SEVIS and SEVP?
The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) is designed to help the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of State better monitor school and exchange programs and category F, M, and J visitors. Exchange visitor and student information is maintained in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). SEVIS is an Internet-based system that maintains accurate and up-to-date information on nonimmigrant students (F and M visas), exchange visitors (J visas), and their dependents (F-2, M-2, and J-2). SEVIS allows schools and program sponsors to transmit mandatory information and event notifications via the Internet to DHS and the Department of State (DOS) throughout a student’s or exchange visitor’s stay in the United States.
All student applicants must have an I-20 generated by SEVIS and issued by a DHS-approved educational institution, which they present when applying for their student visa. Your school is responsible for entering your information for the I-20 student visa form into SEVIS. The consular officer will need to verify your I-20 record electronically through the SEVIS system in order to process your student visa application. Unless exempt, all principal applicants for F-1 or M-1 must pay a SEVIS I-901 fee to DHS for each individual program.
Requirements to obtain a student visa
The Immigration and Nationality Law is very specific regarding the requirements that applicants must meet to qualify for the F-1 student visa. The consular officer will determine if you qualify for the visa. In addition, applicants must demonstrate that they adequately meet the student visa requirements, including:
- Have a residence abroad, without immediate intention to abandon that residence
- Intend to leave the United States upon completion of the course of study
- Owns r sufficient funds to undertake the proposed course of study.
Apply for a student visa
As part of the visa application process, an interview at the consular section of the embassy is required for visa applicants aged 14 to 79, with few exceptions. People 13 years old or younger, and 80 years old or older, do not usually require an interview unless requested by the embassy or consulate. The waiting time for an interview appointment for applicants can vary, so it is strongly recommended to apply for a visa in advance.
During the visa application process, usually at the interview, an inkless fingerprint will be quickly taken. Some visa applications require additional administrative processing, which takes longer after the visa applicant’s interview with a consular officer. Additionally, since each student’s personal and academic situation is different, two students applying for the same visa may be asked different questions and required to submit different additional documents.
Process
Required documentation
Each student visa applicant must submit these forms and the documentation explained below:
- Form I-20A-B, Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Status (F-1 visa) – For Academic and Language Students or Form I-20M-N, Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Status (M- 1) for Vocational Training Students. She will need to submit a SEVIS-generated form, I-20, provided to you by her school. You and your school official must sign the I-20 form.
- Online nonimmigrant visa electronic application, form DS-160.
- A passport valid for travel to the United States and with a validity date of at least six months beyond the applicant’s intended period of stay in the United States (unless country-specific agreements provide for exemptions). If more than one person appears on the passport, each person who wants a visa must fill out an application.
- One (1) 2×2 photograph (according to the United States consulate).
- An MRV fee receipt to prove payment of the visa application fee.
- The receipt of the SEVIS I-901 fee.
All applicants
Must be prepared to provide:
- Transcripts and diplomas from the institutions they have previously attended
- Results of standardized tests required by the educational institution, such as TOEFL, SAT, GRE, GMAT, etc.
- Financial evidence showing that you or your sponsoring parents have sufficient funds to cover tuition and living expenses for the intended period of study. For example, if you or your sponsor is a salaried employee, please bring income tax documents and original bank books and/or statements. If you or your sponsor are a business owner, please bring business registration, licenses, etc., and tax documents, as well as original bank books and/or statements.
Requirements
Spouses and children
Applicants with dependents must also provide:
Proof of the student’s relationship with his or her spouse and/or children (for example, marriage and birth certificates.)
It is preferable for families to apply for F-1 and F-2 visas at the same time, but if the spouse and children must apply separately later, they must bring a copy of the student visa holder’s passport and visa, along with with all other required documents.
- The relationship between organizations is established.
- Subsidiary employment requires executive, supervisory, or essential skills.
- The terms and conditions of employment have not otherwise changed.
USCIS must approve any substantive changes to the terms or conditions of E-1 status. A “substantive change” is defined as a fundamental change in the basic characteristics of the employer, such as, but not limited to, a merger, acquisition, or significant event that affects the merchant’s or employee’s previously approved relationship with the organization. The treaty merchant or business must notify USCIS by submitting a new Form I-129 with fee, and may simultaneously request an extension of stay for the affected treaty merchant or employee. The petition must include evidence demonstrating that the affected treaty merchant or employee continues to meet the requirements for E-1 classification.
Have the account
- It is important that you depart the United States on or before the last day you are authorized to be in the United States on any trip, based on the end date specified on your Arrival-Departure Record, Form I-94. On the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) website you will find information on how to successfully maintain your immigration status while you are a student or exchange visitor.
- Overstaying the time period authorized by DHS places you out of status in the United States, which is a violation of U.S. immigration laws. This may make you ineligible for a future visa to return to the United States.
- Staying illegally in the United States beyond the date authorized by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials, even for one day, results in the automatic cancellation of your visa, according to immigration law , INA 222(g). In this situation, you will need to reapply for a new non-immigrant visa, usually in your country of nationality.
A visa allows a foreign citizen from abroad to travel to the United States port of entry and request permission to enter the United States. Applicants should be aware that a visa does not guarantee entry into the United States. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials have the authority to allow or deny admission into the United States.
Visiting students must have their Form I-20 in their possession each time they enter the United States. If you are allowed to enter the United States, the CBP officer will determine the length of your visit on the Arrival-Departure Record (Form I-94). Since the I-94 form documents your authorized stay in the US, it is very important that you keep it in your passport.
Students who are inside or outside the United States and have been absent from classes for more than five months will likely need a new visa to enter the United States.
All renewal applicants must submit:
- All items listed in the Required Documentation section
- A new I-20 or an I-20 that has been endorsed on the back by a school official within the last 12 months.
How long can I stay on my F-1 student visa?
When you enter the United States on a student visa, you are typically admitted for the duration of your student status. That means you can stay as long as you are a full-time student, even if the F-1 visa in your passport expires while you are in the United States. For a student who has completed the course of study listed on the I-20, and any authorized practical training, the following additional time is allowed in the US prior to departure:
- F-1 Student – 60 additional days, to prepare to leave the US or to transfer to another school.
- M-1 Student – 30 additional days to leave the US (Fixed period of time, in total should not exceed one year). The 30 days to prepare for departure are allowed as long as the student has maintained a full course of study and has maintained departure status. An M student may receive extensions of up to three years for the entire program.
As an example regarding the duration of status, if you have a visa valid for five years that will expire on January 1, 2009, and you are admitted to the US for the duration of your studies (often abbreviated in your passport or on your I-94 card as “D/S”), you can remain in the US as long as you are a full-time student.
Even if January 1, 2009 passes and your visa expires while you are in the United States, you will still have legal student status. However, if you leave the United States with an expired visa, you will need to obtain a new one by applying at an Embassy abroad before you can return to the United States and resume your studies.
TAKE THE FIRST STEP
Don't postpone your dreams
We support your process of moving to the United States with the appropriate type of visa for your profile. (E1, E2, EB-2, F1, among others)
TAKE THE FIRST STEP
Don't postpone your dreams
We support your process of moving to the United States with the appropriate type of visa for your profile. (E1, E2, EB-2, F1, among others)
