Overview:
Many international students dream of a better future by obtaining a degree in higher education in the United States. Of the many who apply, few succeed due to the complicated application procedures required to obtain a nonimmigrant visa for foreign students. It is known as a nonimmigrant visa, because a nonimmigrant is anyone who is permitted to enter the United States temporarily for a specific purpose. However, a foreign student who is traveling to the US primarily as a tourist and wants to take a course of study of fewer than eighteen hours per week will not require such a visa.  In contrast, a foreign student who plans to take a course of study of more than eighteen hours per week must obtain a student visa.

Types of visas:

1. F1: An F1 visa is for students who wish to attend a university, high school, seminary, or college. The F1 visa is the most popular among students.
2. M1: An M1 visa is for vocational studies only.

Ways to apply depending upon the student’s location:

1. Application from outside of the United States.
2. Application while physically present in the United States.

Steps for students outside of the United States:

1. List those schools in which you are interested;
2. Determine which of the schools are approved by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) by contacting the  schools and asking whether each approved school accepts international students;
3. Submit your application for acceptance to each approved school and, if you are qualified for admission, ask that each such school send you a Certificate of Eligibility (Form I-20 A-B for an F1 visa and Form I-20 M-N for an M1 visa);
4. Take each such Certificate to the nearest US embassy for an interview to obtain your F1 or M1 visa, whichever is applicable. Note: You may apply for the visa as late as 120 days before your start date of your academic program in the US.  If you apply earlier than 120 days, the embassy will hold on to your application until it is able to issue the visa;
5. At the embassy, you will have to demonstrate that you have enough financial resources to pay your tuition and your living expenses in the US. You must also demonstrate that you intend to return to your home country after your studies in the US are over; and
6. When arriving at the US port of entry, the immigration official will stamp your duration of stay in the US and attach a form I-94 (arrival/departure card), which you must keep secure, since it is the only proof of your lawful entry into the US. Note: All first time students can enter the US only thirty days prior to the start date of your academic program. If you want to enter the US more than thirty days prior to the start of your academic program, you must obtain a visitor’s visa.

Steps for students inside the United States:

1. If you are already in the United States on any other visa and want to get a student’s visa, list those schools in which you are interested;
2. Determine which of the schools are approved by the USCIS by contacting the schools and asking whether each approved school accepts international students;
3. Submit your application for acceptance to each approved school and, if you are qualified for admission, ask that each such school send you a Certificate of Eligibility;
4. At the embassy, you will have to demonstrate that you have enough financial resources to pay your tuition and your living expenses in the US. You must also demonstrate that you intend to return to your home country after your studies in the US are over; and
5. Visit the US Embassy and get your F1 or M1 visa stamped.

Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS):
Each student’s visa category is strictly monitored by the federal government through an Internet based information system known as SEVIS. Every student has a unique ID number issued by SEVIS, which is printed on each student’s I-20 form. The educational institute is responsible for reporting all the information regarding a student to the government.

Family Members:
Each student granted a student visa may bring his or her spouse and children into the US, for as long as the student will be in the US, through a derivative class of visa known as an F2 visa, which is a dependent visa.  Dependents coming on this visa are not allowed to work in the US. Each dependent must show the embassy proof of the dependent’s relationship with the student, such as a marriage certificate or a birth certificate. 

Employment:

1. Generally, a student cannot work for more than twenty hours per week during the student’s course of study in the US. However, during annual vacations, a student can work up to forty hours per week.
2. If a student maintains a full-time student status, he/she is allowed to work on-
3. campus at the school into which the student has been admitted.
4. If a student is in financial need he/she can work off-campus by demonstrating and applying to the USCIS for employment authorization.
5. During or upon completion of a student’s course of study, a student can apply to the USCIS for optional practical training for a period not to exceed twelve months.  During this twelve month period, however, if an employer is willing to hire and sponsor a student as an immigrant worker, the employer can petition for H1B status for the student. For more details on H1B status, please refer to our H1B information section. Note: An M1 student cannot change status to F1 or H even if the M training helped the student qualify for the H classification.

Duration of stay:
A student may stay in the US during the course of his/her studies, provided that the student maintains a full-time student status. If a student’s visa expires while he/she is in the US, but the student’s Form I-20 and Form I-94 are still valid, then he/she may legally continue to stay in the US. However, if a student’s visa expires while the student is outside of the US, then the student must obtain a new visa for re-entry to the US. Exception: A student who is visiting outside of the US to a country that neighbors the US, such as Mexico, Canada, or any of the adjacent islands, for a period of less than thirty days, then the student will be permitted to re-enter the US.

The USCIS provides a grace period of sixty days to F1 students and thirty days for M1 students to return to the student’s home country after completion of studies in the US. However, after completion of the course of study in the US, students can either continue to study at the same institute or at another institute by enrolling in a different full-time program. If a student overstays more than sixty days, the student will be in violation of the immigration laws of US, will be deported to the student’s home country, and will be denied future entry into the US.

Transfer to another school:
A student may transfer to another school as long as the student maintains full-time student status in the school in which the student is enrolled. If a student is eligible for admission to the new school, the student should obtain a form I-20 from the new school and report the transfer to the school in which the student is enrolled.

Why seek legal advise?
Don’t let your dreams shatter, because of difficulty understanding the intricacies of the immigration laws of the US.  Hire a professional immigration attorney to work for you and to turn your dreams into a reality. If you have any further inquiries, contact us.  We will be more than happy to answer them.