Q: I am not living in my
home country. Can I apply somewhere else?
A: The American consulates in each country of the world
make the decision about whether or not a visa applicant must
be in his/her own country in order to apply for a visa.
However, the general custom is that an international student
will be allowed to apply for a visa in countries other than
his/her own.
Q; What is SEVIS?
A. SEVIS is the Homeland Security Database. Homeland
Security is now requiring F-1 students to pay a $200 SEVIS
fee before the student can apply for the visa. Students
will need a receipt showing payment of the fee before they
can go to the visa interview.
Q. How do I pay the SEVIS fee?
A. Students can go to
www.fmjfee.com and apply on line using
a credit card which is the fastest way to make this payment.
Students will receive an e-mail receipt which they will take
to the consulate office at the time of their visa
interviews.
Q: I don't have a credit
card. How can I pay for the fee online?
A: HTIR can assist you in
paying the SEVIS fee. Please contact us at
admissions@htir.com
Q. Can my spouse or children accompany me to the US?
A: A spouse will be allowed to apply for a visa to
accompany the student. The spouse (with children) may apply
at the same time the student applies, or may wait for
several months to apply until after the student arrives in
the U.S. and gets settled. The spouse will need to show
additional financial support or a bank statement with
sufficient additional money to support him/herself (and
children) when accompanying the student spouse to the U.S.
Q: Will I be able to obtain a student (F) visa
to go to the U.S. to study if I have already applied for
Diversity Immigrant Lottery and have been denied?
A: A student visa (F) is a temporary visa in which the
applicant must prove his/her intent to return to the home
country after graduation. Anything in the student's
background that suggests that the student's real intent is
not to return to his/her home country may cause the
application to be rejected. So, especially in the case of
an applicant who has previously applied for the "lottery"
immigrant visa, the visa officer may view that application
as an absolute indication of the intent to immigrate (rather
than to study). Consequently, getting an F visa may be
much more difficult for such a person.
Q. Do I need permission from Immigration Services in order
to work off campus?
A. Students will have an F-1 student visa and, by the nature
of the university's "co-op" program (which requires
internship employment) no further permission is required by
the Immigration Service. Once the student finds employment
that is certified to be "curriculum related", the university
will issue the appropriate authorization signature allowing
the student to begin working.
Q: Can I take a break during summer quarter to return to my
country then return back to school for fall quarter?
A: Students must attend school full time for 2 consecutive
semesters (9 months and 18 credit hours) before they are
eligible to take a vacation from their studies.
However, some schools do not have summer breaks scheduled
into their curriculum.
Q: What is required in order to bring my spouse and family?
A: In order for your spouse and/or children to accompany
you, the university must issue a separate I-20 form. Your
family can apply for an F2 (dependant) visa. The university
will need the following information for each family member
(including spouse): full name, date of birth, country of
birth, and country of citizenship.
Q: If my visa is valid for only 2 years, will I need to get
it extended before it expires?
A: Having a 2 year visa does not mean that you have to go
back to your home country at the end of two years. Rather,
you can stay for as long as you like beyond the two years to
finish your education in the U.S. The length of the visa
just limits how long you have to cross the border into the
U.S. That is, if, during those two years you want to go
home to visit a number of times you can use that visa
(permission to cross the border into the U.S.) as often as
the visa permits. But, after the two years are over, you
need to renew your visa so that, if you leave the U.S. and
come back, you will have a valid visa to do so. All visas
can generally be renewed for students who are legally in the
U.S. and want a longer time to leave the country for a visit
to their home countries.
Q: I am already in the US on a B-1 visa. Can I change to
F-1?
A: If you are going to change to F-1, which you need to do
in order to get into the paid internship program at the
university, it is much better to do that while in your home
country. If you come to the U.S. and then apply for a
change of status to F-1 it can take up to several months of
waiting while the immigration service processes your
application. But if you take your I-20 form from the
university to the consulate in your home country and apply
for an F visa, the decision can me made immediately by the
visa officials there. Then there will be no delay in your
starting school and getting a paid internship job.