Student Visa Eligibility
Many students want to study in foreign countries, but they do not have any clue or idea regarding how to apply for the admission in various schools of USA and from where they should start their process of migration to USA. International student who wants to attend qualifying institution for further education has to undergo student visa procedure for USA.
Check whether the school you want to attend is certified by the USA Investigation and Custom Enforcement and Student Exchange Visitor Program. You can find out list of qualifying schools on the ICE website. The student has to apply and get admission to the desired learning institution and avail SEVIS Form I-20.
The student who wants to study elementary and secondary school will get H-4 or L-2 status from ICE which is non-immigrant status. There are elementary and secondary schools in USA are issued I-20 with the approval from ICE. You can find out list of these schools from ICE website. Hence, getting I-20 form is the first step for USA student visa procedure.
The student has to qualify following to get USA student visa eligibility.
- The student has to prove that he had enough funding to attend school in USA.
- The student do not intend to settle permanently in USA after completing his studies
- The student must have cleared required admission process and is proficient in English language.
There are number of other processes to get USA student visa. The student with F-1 visa can attend public secondary school in USA for 12 months, however they has to reimburse the public school full cost of their presence. The student who is married and wishes to study in USA needs to apply for F-2 status for their qualifying family members. Spouse of F-1 students are allowed to stay in USA but not allowed to work in USA. The dependent child of F-1 student must be under the age of 21 years. The children of married F-1 student are allowed to study public elementary and secondary school.
If the student is presently staying in USA with different non-immigrant status have to change their student as student before he attends school in USA. In this case, the student can apply for USA student visa at consulate or at Embassy other than US. With the change in the status, the student gets eligibility for USA student visa or F-1 visa.
The Citizenship and Immigration Services i.e. CIS, has some rules and regulations for F-1 students. The students come under F-1 category can work on-campus but not off-campus during first year of their academic studies. They can work maximum 30 days prior to the beginning of their campus studies. While in the second and succeeding years, students are allowed to work at off-campus but as a part of their educational studies or at a place which prove helpful in their studies.
When to applying for Student Visa
Students can apply for student visa earlier to give sufficient time for visa processing. Ideally, student should apply for student visa as they are prepared for it.
United States Embassy or Consulate issues your student visa 120 days or less in advance to your starting date of your course. If you apply before 120 days prior to your course registration or commencement date as specified on Form I-20, the US Embassy or Consulate will hold your application until the ideal date of issuing your visa. This extra time will be used by consular to process your application.
US embassy consular can conduct visa interview for applicants from age 14 to 79. There can be exceptions if requested by US Embassy or Consulate.
Take care while preparing your travel plan, as Department of Homeland Security regulation advice students to enter USA 30 days or less prior to the course start or report date specified in Form I-20.
The student wishing to enter US prior to 30 days to course start or report date should apply and qualify for the visitor’s visa. Before the course starting or report date, the person entered on visitor’s visa has to change his status as a student. He has to file Form I-539, application for change of Non-immigrant status by paying the required fees obtain approval for a change to Exchange Visitor status. You require submitting Form I-20 to the Department of Homeland Security regulation office. Hence, one needs to get approval on the change of his status from visitor to student before actually start studying.
The students who are already studying in US can apply for extending the period of the stay any time as he is intending to continue his study. Continuing student can enter US at any time before their course start date.
|
