In this guide, we will introduce the basic knowledge of visas and how to get an American student visa. We will also provide you with some skills and resources to ensure that your visa application process goes smoothly.
What is an American student visa? Do you need it? In order to study legally in the United States, all international applicants-those who do not have American citizens or permanent residency-must first obtain an American student visa. This international student visa allows you to live temporarily in the United States in order to attend an accredited school, language course or academic exchange program. Once you finish your course, your student visa will be over. At that time, you must leave America. However, you may return to the United States as a tourist or other visa (such as a work visa) in the future.
There are three kinds of visas for American students: F- 1 Visa: This visa is suitable for attending high schools or universities/universities (including language courses) in the United States, and is suitable for undergraduates and graduate students. M- 1 visa: this visa is suitable for non-academic or vocational study in the United States. Such plans are usually short-term and career-oriented. For example, you can take cooking school or medical training courses.
J- 1 visa: this visa is suitable for exchange visiting scholars, including international students, scholars, interns and mutual benefit students. Generally speaking, international students who want to study full-time undergraduate or postgraduate courses need an F- 1 visa. In contrast, if you are only interested in studying in an American institution for one or two semesters (and want to earn credits for your institution), then you need to apply for a J- 1 visa.
When should you apply for an American student visa? You can only apply for a student visa after you apply and are admitted to a school recognized by SEVP. (SEVP stands for student exchange and visitor program. All American schools that enroll F- 1 and/or M- 1 students must pass the certification of this program. Once you are admitted to the school you want to study, you can start applying for a visa.
Please note that you must receive the visa before the course start date. Although you can receive an American student visa 120 days before the start date of the course, you may not be able to travel to the United States with this visa until 30 days before the start date.
Before explaining how to apply for a student visa, briefly introduce the specific items you want to have in order.
1: passport. Every international student must hold a valid passport issued by his country. Passport must also be valid for at least six months after the end of your course in the United States. Therefore, any passport that expires during your stay in the United States or shortly after the end of the plan may not be available. It is necessary to apply for a new passport and use it. Passport procedures and fees vary from country to country. For more information about obtaining or updating passports, please check the government website of your country/region.
2. passport photo. As part of the application, you must submit a recent passport-style photo (within the last six months). This will be your visa photo, and you will upload and submit your online visa application later. The American visa website provides specific instructions on how to take and upload visa photos, as well as examples of acceptable and unacceptable photos. Please note that glasses are no longer allowed in visa photos from 20 16 1 1. 3: Cost. Finally, you need to have a considerable amount of money on hand so that you can pay all kinds of visa-related expenses. We will discuss in more detail what these expenses are and how to pay them in the future. But as a simple overview, the following are the fees required for American student visas:
I-90 1 SEVIS fee: F- 1/M- 1 student 350 USD, J- 1 student 220 USD (or short-term J- 1 project student 35 USD). All applicants must pay this fee. Visa application fee: this fee is $ 160. All applicants must pay this fee. Visa issuance fee (if necessary): This fee is only applicable to applicants of certain nationalities. You can visit the American visa website to see if you need to pay the visa issuance fee.