VISA Requirements for Foreign Students
According to the United States’ Department of State, a citizen of a foreign country who wishes to enter the United States must first obtain a visa, either a nonimmigrant visa for temporary stay, or an immigrant visa for permanent residence. Non-immigrant foreign students planning to study in the United States must have an F-1 student visa. International students planning to enter the United States for short periods of recreational study (for example, a two-week semi-intensive English program while on vacation), may use a Visitor (B-1/B-2) visa for that purpose for as long as their visa is effective.
Before you can apply at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate for an F-1 student visa, you must first apply to and be accepted by a SEVIS approved school. Lingua Language Center is approved by U.S. Federal law to enroll non-immigrant foreign students in the school’s Intensive English Program.
The Definition of a International Student
How to apply for an F-1 student visa
There are several steps to apply for an F-1 student visa. The order of these steps and how you complete them may vary at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate where you apply. Please consult the instructions available on the embassy or consulate website where you intend to apply at the U. S. Department of State’s website.
Step 1
Apply to an approved U.S. academic institution such as Lingua Language Center.
Step 2
Receive the I-20 form with all the information the U.S. government needs about your term of study (level and field of study, dates to begin and complete your studies, and your ability to pay for your education).
Step 3
With a valid passport and the I-20 form, apply for an F-1 Student Visa at the nearest U.S. Consulate or Embassy
Step 4
If your Student Visa has been approved and it is stamped in your passport, then you can purchase your plane tickets.
Please note that being accepted by a school does not guarantee that you will be granted a student visa but it will put on the path towards obtaining a student visa. After you are accepted at Lingua, we will send you the I-20 form, which you will need in order to obtain an F-1 Student Visa. As part of the student visa process, you will need to show that you have sufficient financial resources (scholarships, sponsorships, loans, grants, subsidies, family or personal resources) available to pay for your studies and living expenses.
Before you can be issued a student visa, you must have a current passport from your home country, and it is your responsibility to make sure this passport stays valid throughout your stay in the United States. If your visa is due to expire during your stay in the US, you must apply for an extension to keep it valid.
For additional information, questions about fees for student visas and the experience of studying in the USA, please visit these websites sponsored by the United States Department of State.
How to Study in the States
SEVIS Fees
Higher Education in the U.S.
