F Visa Category

Foreign nationals may enter the United States as nonimmigrants in order to engage in academic studies in this country, subject to certain restrictions. These students, who can range from elementary school students to doctoral candidates and persons engaged in post-doctoral studies, are classified in the F visa category.

Application Process

The foreign national seeking to enter the United States to study does not need any advance permission from the Immigration Service. The student must obtain a certificate of eligibility (INS Form I-20) from the academic institution at which he or she will enroll, and submit this certificate, together with a nonimmigrant visa application and supporting documentation, to a U.S. consulate in the alien's home country. Once the visa is issued, the student can apply at the border for admission to the U.S., the same as any nonimmigrant. A prospective student already in the U.S. in a different nonimmigrant status may apply to the INS to change to student status to undertake studies here.

Basic Requirements for Obtaining F-1 Status

1. The alien must be enrolled in an “academic” education program, not a vocational type program.

2. The alien must be enrolled in a school approved by the attorney general for the attendance of foreign students.

3. The alien must be enrolled in a “full course of study" at the school

4. The alien must be proficient in English or be enrolled in English language courses leading to proficiency.

5. The alien must have sufficient funds available to him or her to support him or herself completely during the entire proposed course of study.

6.  The alien must maintain a residence abroad that he or she has no intention of abandoning and must intend to leave the U.S. upon completion of his or her studies.