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    US F-1 Visa Process
    • 29 Mar 2024
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    US F-1 Visa Process

    • Updated on 29 Mar 2024
    • 5 Minutes to read
    • Contributors
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    Article summary

    Step 1: Obtaining the I - 20

    Documents Needed:   
    1.  Passport: Your passport needs to be valid for at least six months after the end of your undergraduate program.
    2.  The Letter of Admission/Acceptance into the program.
    3.  Certification of Finances: You need to prove your ability to pay for the total cost (known as the cost of attendance) of your program. To do this, you will need to fill out a form (provided in the student portal/login given to you by the University/Institution) that highlights your sources of funding, from parents, family members etc.
    4.  Bank Letter/Statements: Usually, you'll need to attach this to the Certification of Finances, however, some universities/institutions may need you to upload this separately. You need to obtain a bank letter/statements from your sponsor that covers their savings, deposit accounts, and other funds that  they will use to pay for your education. The statements should be for at least six months  The total pool of available funds (not including deposit accounts like fixed deposits or PPF accounts etc.) should be enough to cover the cost of attendance of the first year of your program. You need this for EACH sponsor, so both your parents, your relatives etc. as applicable. 
      1. Some universities/institutions may provide their own format for the bank letter/statements. Please make sure you read the instructions carefully. 
      2.  In many cases a format is not given, so you may default to using the following template:

    Bank Cover Letter Template

    TO WHOMSOEVER IT MAY CONCERN

    This is to Certify that Mr.******, R/O H. No.: 120-34-9, Somewhere, State, India has a savings bank account in our bank, bearing A/C No: ***** and the credit balance in the above account as on date is Rs X/- (Rupees X only), which is equivalent to USD Y (USD Y only) at the conversion rate of 

    USD 1 = Rupees A/-  The Fed - Foreign Exchange Rates - H.10 - February 07, 2022 (federalreserve.gov) 

    This Certificate is issued at the specific request of the account holder for their son, Mr.****** as a token of financial support for their educational program in the USA. 

    Signature

    Bank Manager's Name

    Phone number

    Address of Branch

    During the course of the admissions process, you will be allocated a student portal specific to each university/institution. To obtain the I-20, you need to login to the portal and navigate to the section where it allows you to fill in a I-20 request. (This process will vary for each university/institution so you should read up on specific instructions whenever applicable.) You will then need to fill in the details and upload the relevant documents mentioned above. After receiving the documents, the university/institution will grant you an I-20 (This is usually delivered electronically through a secure download that may require additional authentication like your student ID number, mobile phone number, date of birth etc. )

    Step 2: Paying the SEVIS Fee.

    Documents Needed:
    I - 20

    Open the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement website, click on the “Pay I-901 fee” link (given below) and make the payment (currently $200, it is subject to change). A fee receipt will be generated, which will need to be printed and kept as a pre-requisite for the visa Interview process.

    Links:
    https://www.fmjfee.com/i901fee/

    Step 3: The DS - 160

    Documents Needed:

    1.  I - 20
    2.  Passport
    3. Ticket Details: If you have already booked tickets for travel to the US, then you will need to mention the dates on the form.

    Register and create your profile on the Consular Electronic Application Center website (linked below), and start filling in the DS-160. Put down your SEVIS ID, the university/institution’s address, the details of your program(as printed on your I-20), and the details of accommodation that you may have received either from the university/institution’s Admissions Office or the Student Welfare teams.(If you have not planned/received accommodation yet, you may use your university/institution's address), You will also need to provide any dates of recent travel to the United States and details such as the name and address of any relatives residing in the U.S. (This is part of standard background checking procedures.) Following the submission of the DS-160, you will get a confirmation page with a bar code. Keep a printed copy of it for reference later in the interview process.

    Please note that the DS-160 (at the time of writing this article) does not allow you to save details to the form. You should plan to complete the form in one sitting. Each session of the form expires after 20 minutes of inactivity effectively resetting the form. 

    Links:
    https://ceac.state.gov/genniv/ 

    Step 4:  Paying the MRV/Student Visa Fee

    To pay the MRV/Student Visa fee, you need to first create a profile and follow the instructions given on the website given below. (The instructions and fees may be subject to change. Please read the instructions carefully.) 

    Once the fee has been received, you will receive a fee receipt (MRV fee receipt). Please print a copy as you will need this for the interview process. 

    Links
    https://www.usvisascheduling.com/en-US/

    Step 5:  Scheduling Appointments

    Documents Needed:
    MRV Fee Receipt Number

    After creating a profile on the US Visa Scheduling website you will need to first schedule an appointment with the Visa Application Centre (VAC) for your biometrics to be processed, After that, you should schedule your actual visa interview from the available slots. (There should be a calendar displaying available slots. These extend into future dates by about a few weeks so you should recheck them frequently if you are unable to get a slot in your first attempt.) Try and schedule your VAC interview at least two to three days before the actual visa interview.  Please note that you should interview in the same embassy/consulate as the one you processed your VAC in. 

    Links:
    https://www.usvisascheduling.com/en-US/

    Step 6: Visa Interview

    Documents Needed:
    1. Passport
    2. I-20 
    3. SEVIS fees receipt
    4. DS-160 application confirmation page with barcode and application ID number
    5. MRV fee receipt
    6. Printed copy of visa interview appointment letter
    7. 2 Photographs should be printed on the photo quality paper (Carry Extras)
    8.  Certification of Finances 
    9. Bank Statements/Letter
    10. Copy of Sponsor's ITR (Latest Available) 
    11. Standardized Test Scores (SAT/ACT, IELTS/TOEFL)

    Be early to the interview by at least half an hour and carry all the relevant documents listed above. Organize the documents so that you can access them whenever they are required. The interview is usually simple and will focus on the details of your intended program of study, your university/institution, and your academic background. Remain confident and answer all the case officer's questions calmly. Once the interview is over, you will be instructed to handover your passport. Your passport will then be delivered by secure courier to your mailing address in a short span of time. 

    For further questions, reach out to: info@collegelab.in

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