Non-Immigrant Visas

Students

IMPORTANT You should have your I-20 or DS-2019 when you come to your visa interview appointment. We cannot issue your visa until you submit your I-20 or DS-2019. Please note, however, that if your departure date is a month away, you may come to your appointment without your I-20 or DS-2019 and submit it later.

Persons wishing to attend academic institutions or vocational and recognized nonacademic institutions should apply for student visas. You cannot attend school full-time on a B-2 (tourist) visa.

F-1 (Academic) Visa: For students wishing to attend a university, secondary school, or language institute.

To obtain a student visa, you must demonstrate:

• Acceptance as a full-time student at a US Government-approved institution which will issue a SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System) compliant Form I-20.
The form I-20 should have a bar code on the right-hand side and be signed by the school official. This form is required to receive a student visa. The I-20 is not a visa.
If you arrive in the US with the I-20, but no student visa, you will not be allowed to enter the US.
Student visa applicants need to pay the visa application fee as well as the $200 SEVIS fee. You must pay both fees before applying for a visa. As of October 27, 2008, the SEVIS was increased to $200 for new I-20 SEVIS forms. Additional information about SEVIS fee procedures is available on the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (USICE) website at http://www.ice.gov/sevis/i901/index.htm.
• Adequate academic preparation, indicated by school transcripts, for the studies you plan to undertake
• Adequate English language skills or evidence that the school is aware of this and will provide language training
• Readily available funds to meet all expenses for the first year of study.  You also must satisfy interviewing officers that, barring unforeseen circumstances, adequate funds will be available for each subsequent year of study from the same source or from one or more other specifically identified and reliable financial sources. The following are examples of acceptable financial documentation: scholarship, fellowship or financial aid award letter from the school you will be attending, family business records, tax records, real estate records or bank books. Bank statements are not accepted as supporting documentation demonstrating adequate financial resources.
• Strong ties to the country in which you are applying for the visa and indications that you will leave the United States upon completion of your studies.

These factors must be established to the satisfaction of the consular officer. Since cases will vary, there is no set list of documents to submit.

Dependents: Spouses and/or children under the age of 21 need their own I-20 to accompany the primary applicant. The application procedure is the same.

If applying separately, submit a copy of the principal applicant's I-20 together with a copy of the principal applicant's visa and birth or marriage records showing relation to principal applicant.

Application Procedures: For information on applying for this visa, please see “How to Apply.”

For more information on student visa, please follow this link.

Due to new security regulations, some applications may require additional clearance and longer processing. Since the application process cannot be accelerated, please apply well in advance of your travel date, and do not purchase plane tickets until you have received your visa. Applicants should refrain from calling the Embassy to inquire about the status of their application. Visa applicants should never assume their application will be automatically approved.