Thousands of students go to US for higher studies and getting graduate degrees in various fields of Medicine, Management, Law, Engineering etc. Clearing competitive exams and getting an admission in any US university is the first step and getting the F-1 Student Visa is the final step. So all the Students who wish to study in United States, needs to apply for U.S. F-1 Student Visa with the U.S Consulate or Embassy. First you need to fill up the I-20 form which is the formal application and confirmation of your acceptance as a student given by the university. The form confirms your admission too. This visa is actually a non-immigration document which certifies that the person carrying it is allowed enter within the boundary of the country and is allowed to study in the University in which he got the admission.
Following is the procedure of the whole process involved for getting the F-1 Student Visa:
- Eligibility on the basis of Examination – GRE/GMAT/SAT are the examinations that you will need to give to be considered eligible for the student visa. These exams are related to different fields and you need to undertake any of these on the basis of your interest and aptitude. GMAT is held for students of management and GRE for the students of engineering. Tests centers are all over the world and mostly computer based. TOEFL is another exam based on English which is also considered as the parameter for the eligibility of any student for this visa.
- Processing for the visa – After undertaking the exams and getting admission in any US university, the next step is to take permission from the US Embassy. It must be cleared in the application that the student has a non-immigrant intent i.e. he/she is coming to USA genuinely for educational purposes only and not just to enter in the country for immigration purpose. The student will need to show that he has backing of all the financial resources required to study and is not indulged in any illegal activity to bear the cost of study.
- Documents needed – Following documents must be presented before the Embassy:· Written application to the school· Institution’s qualification criteria for admission (i.e. TOEFL / SAT/ GRE etc.)· Student’s prior academic record and financial support evidence.
· An acceptance letter allowing the student to study.
· Passport
- Approval of Visa – If everything is found to be correct and authentic you will be issued an F-1 Student Visa finally.
Though this visa is issued purely for the purpose of studies to be undertaken by the holder, still the holder of F-1 Student Visa may obtain a permission to work on campus or off the campus. If you wish to work off campus than you have to prove that you are going through some financial hardships which require you to work and earn money for yourself. There could be any reason like university increasing its fee, financial misbalance due to medical emergency or unexpected hardship of the financial source.
