The International Student

The International Student

HOW TO APPLY FOR A VISA.

Enclosed with your admission letter is the Form I-20. This is the certificate of eligibility that allows you to go to the United States Embassy or Consulate to apply for an F-1 student visa.

Student visa applicants should generally apply at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate with jurisdiction over their place of permanent residence. Although visa applicants may apply at any U.S. consular office abroad, it may be more difficult to qualify for the visa outside the country of permanent residence.

After the University or College has accepted you as a prospective student, it is the role of the United States Embassy to make the final decision about your application to enter the United States.

If the Embassy denies your application for a visa, you will not be able to enter the U.S. Visa denials happen often and happen in every country in the world.

In some countries, it is very difficult to get an F-1 visa. It is therefore very important that you understand what you must do to successfully obtain a visa.

United States law requires the consular officer reviewing your application to assume that you intend to stay in the United States permanently after you complete your studies. It is your responsibility to prove otherwise.

It is a necessary precaution that the embassy must take to avoid issuing visas to individuals who intend to permanently remain in the United States after the completion of their studies.

To increase your chances of obtaining a student visa you should take the following precautions:

a) Be specific and definite about your plans. Be prepared to state what you intend to study and what kind of career it will prepare you for in your country.

Be ready to explain why it is better for you to study in the United States than in your country. If the course you wish to study is not offered in your country at the University level, tell the consular officer.

b) Show ties to your home country with documents. If your family owns a business, take with you letters from the bank describing the business.

If you are married and leaving a spouse behind, bring a copy of your marriage certificate. If you have a brother or sister who studied in the U.S. and then returned home, take a copy of your brother's or sister's diploma and a statement from an employer showing that they have returned home.

If possible, show that an individual or company in your home country will give you a job when you return.

If you cannot get a promise of employment, try to get a letter saying that you will be considered for a job, or that the company needs people with the kind of education you are coming to the U.S. to receive.

Also bring with you all of your papers, including academic records, passport, financial documentation, TOEFL scores etc. This is the best thing you can do to get a visa.

c) Many students have financial sponsorship coming from sources in both their home country and the U.S. It is advisable to present the documentation from your home country first.

d) If you are already a university student in your home country, your application will probably be denied until you complete your degree. After you complete your degree, you may apply to enter the U.S. for further education.

e) If you application for a visa is denied, you may apply again. Sometimes, you may re-apply with the same I-20 and more documentation.

If you are not able to get an I-20 in order to begin classes on time, contact the International Student Advisor at the school that issued the I-20 and they will issue a new I-20 to you for the following semester.

In some cases, the University will assist you if your visa application is denied. However, your school does not always try to help with visas. Often, the consular officer is correct in refusing to grant the visa. At other times, your school cannot know whether or not the decision was fair, since the consular officer saw you and spoke to you.

Your school may help you argue about your visa denial if you give them enough information and they believe that the denial was unfair. Consular officers are not educators and they are not qualified to offer academic advice.

In order to assist you, your school will need the following information:

(I) The location of the consulate where you applied for the visa, including the address or FAX number. (II) The name of the consular officer who denied the visa. (III) Reason(s) given by the consular officer for denying the visa. Provide as much information as you possibly can.

If you have an I-20 and know that it is difficult to obtain a visa from the U.S. embassy in your country, do not enter the U. S. on a tourist visa. It may be difficult to change your status to that of a student after you arrive in the U.S. If it is your intention to be a student and you enter the U.S. as a tourist, you have misrepresented your intentions to the consular officer.

If you must enter the U.S. on a tourist visa and plan to receive an I-20 from your University, before your tourist visa expires, ask the consular officer to give you a ''prospective student" tourist visa. This status will be easier to change when you are in the U.S. By following these suggestions, you will improve your chances of getting a student visa.

If you need more information about student visas and other immigration matters, you should contact a U.S. embassy or consulate, or the U.S. Information Service, or the International Student Service at the school you will be attending.

The Immigration laws are constantly changing, to be always informed of the changes as it affects students, check with your International Student advisor or directly with the U.S. embassy.

Reinstatement To Lawful F-1 Status

A student who has fallen out of status may seek reinstatement under certain circumstances. This is available to a student who for example has failed to maintain a full course of study or transferred to a different school without authorization.

The student must show that the violation was a result of circumstances beyond his/her control or that failure to get reinstatement would constitute an extreme hardship.

You should be aware that reinstatement is never available to a student who has worked without authorization.

The student applies for reinstatement by completing Form I-539 with a new Form I-20 showing full time attendance at an approved school with an explanation of the reasons why reinstatement is warranted, and other relevant evidence. This is then submitted to the INS.

Have any questions? see the Q&A page.