5 Steps to Getting Your U.S. Student Visa
Read Time: 4 minutes
We’re diving right in to the good stuff today.
Here are the 5 steps to getting your U.S. student visa:
Step 1: Choosing Your Visa Type
There are 3 types of student visas- M-1, J-1, & F-1.
M-1 student visas are given for vocational programs, like learning how to held or operate heavy machinery (thing construction vehicles, cranes, etc.).
J-1 student visas are for short-term study that doesn’t lead to a degree in the U.S. For example, if you live in Germany and want to study in the U.S. for one semester and transfer those credits to your German school, then the J-1 might be a good option for you.
F-1 is the ‘traditional’ student visa. This is for people enrolling in a complete program, like a bachelor or masters degree.
Having clarity on your educational goal is the first step to not only getting your U.S. student visa, but the right student visa based on your goals.
Step 2: Choosing the right U.S. School
There are a lot of things to consider when choosing the U.S. school that’s right for you.
Consider the geographic location, like do you prefer the mountains, beach, big city, etc.
Consider the school size. Do you want to attend a big school with the traditional student experience? A small school with low student-teacher ratios? Something in between?
Whatever you’re looking for in the college experience, there’s a school out there for you. Take some time and do your research to find the best fit.
(College Board has some great school finder tools available for free.)
Step 3: Getting Admitted
Here’s where the rubber hits the road.
Reach out to the school and learn about their admissions requirements.
It’s going to take some work.
Based on the school you apply to, you may not hear back for several months. If this is the case, it’s smart to apply to multiple schools just in case you don’t get in to your preferred school.
Depending on where you apply, you may also have to pay application fees.
At most newer, smaller schools, there are either no application fees or low ones, and you hear back about your application much sooner- typically within 2-4 weeks.
After you go through the steps and get admitted, you’ll be issued an I-20. Congrats! Now you can begin applying for your visa.
Step 4: The Visa Interview
Now things are getting exciting.
You’ll schedule your visa interview with the local U.S. embassy. To learn more about embassy wait times, you can visit the State Department website.
Ahead of the interview, you’ll need your I-20, a completed DS-160 form, and you’ll pay the I-901 fee.
When you go to the interview, remember that:
You are entering the U.S. to be a student.
The student visa is a non-immigrant visa. This means that you are not planning to move to the U.S. permanently, but rather come to the U.S. for a specific period to study and then return to your home country.
Of course, if you have other goals for once you’re here that’s fine, but keep that to yourself during the visa interview.
Step 5: Get Your Visa and Come to the U.S.
Congratulations!
You got admitted to a U.S. school, you passed your interview, and now you get to come to the U.S. to study!
Make sure to let your school know that you got your visa. Use this time also to do a final check that you’ve submitted all the registration documents that your school requires. This is also usually where you make the tuition payment for the first semester.
You can enter the U.S. as early as 30 days before your program of study.
Your school will have a check-in process for you to complete. Typically it involves attending New Student Orientation.
Now you’re here and you get to start…
Living your American Dream!
See you next week,
Josh
