Apply for a visa (non UK countries)

Apply for a visa (non UK countries)

To study in the USA as a foreigner, you need a so-called F-1 visa. This is a non-immigrant visa. This means that it is a temporary residence permit. Usually the F-1 visa of a prospective student is issued for 5 years.

Important
The F-1 visa only allows entry into the USA in conjunction with a valid I-20 form. This form will be issued by your college after you have been officially admitted there.
Important:
With an F-1 visa, you may enter the United States no earlier than 30 days before the Program Start date on the I-20. Plan your travel accordingly.

Preliminary Steps:

Check Form I-20

The information on your Form I-20 must match the information on your passport and application forms. Your name and date of birth are especially important. So check the entire document and let your college know immediately if anything is wrong. Please sign the I-20 on the 1st page, otherwise you do not need to fill in anything.
Here you can see what an I-20 looks like and where to find the important data for the visa application.

Important:
You cannot enter the USA without a paper I-20 (!!), you must show it every time you enter and leave the country. Make sure you have a digital copy on your cell phone in case of an emergency.
Have the I-20 stamped by your university before leaving the country.

Have your passport photo ready

When filling out the application forms, you will be asked to upload a passport photo. The American authorities have precise ideas about what the photo should look like. The following links will take you to the photo requirements of the immigration authorities.

Step 1: Fill out application form DS-160

You can fill out the DS-160 application form online. You can access the form via this link. Filling out the form is time-consuming. Allow at least 75-90 minutes.
  1. Select consulate and enter displayed code
  2. Click on Start an Application
  3. Write down your Application ID (top right)
  4. Select and answer security question
  5. Enter personal data
Tip:
In U.S. Social Security Number and Passport Book Number you can click Does Not Apply.
  1. Enter the address of the university in Address where you will stay in the US. The exact dates of your stay can be found on the I-20
  2. Select F-1 Visa under Travel Information and enter the remaining data
  3. Enter passport data (select REGULAR PASSPORT and click DOES NOT APPLY for Passport Book Number and National ID)
  4. Enter contact person in the USA: use the school official that is shown on your I-20
  5. Enter details of your relatives or friends
  6. When asked for study or work experience:
    1. PRESENT: From the Dropdown menu select NOT EMPLOYED. In the box below, write a short explanation of your current status, for example:
      1. Student still in school finishing A-Levels/BTEC this summer (if you are still completing your A-Levels/BTEC this year))
      2. High School Graduate in Gap Year (if you have finished A-Levels/BTEC in the past year)
      3. University student (if you are already studying at a University here and will go to the US as a transfer student)
    2. PREVIOUS: Answer the question "Have you attended any educational institutions at a secondary level or above" with "YES". Then you will be asked to input your secondary schools including their addresses:
      1. Put the school, where you completed you GCSE certificates
      2. Also put the school where you have completed/will be completing your A-Levels
      3. Also put your university, if you are already a student at a university here
      4. As you can see, you might put 1, 2 or 3 instiutions here
      5. COURSE OF STUDY is always ACADEMIC
  7. Questions about social media activity: Please add your social media handles for the platforms tha apply to you from the drodown menu.
  8. Answer security questions
  9. You can usually answer "no" to questions about social media activity 
  10. Answer security questions
  11. Enter your SEVIS ID (you will find it at the top of the I-20)
  12. Upload a photo. If necessary, you can reduce or enlarge the photo online, there are some free image editing programs online for this purpose
  13. Check the information
  14. Sign and submit
  15. Click on Print Confirmation and print out the confirmation page with the barcode
  16. Bring a printout to the interview appointment at the consulate / embassy or send it by post

Step 2: Schedule an interview appointment

The interview appointment is a central part of the visa application. The appointment takes place on site at an American consulate or embassy. You should make the appointment at the consulate or embassy you selected when you first filled out Form DS-160.
Tip:
You can find the current availability of dates for the various consulates and embassies here. 

Create an account

You arrange the date for the consulate visit online via a specially designed booking portal. 
  1. Go to the website to pay the visa fee and the next steps
  2. Click on the country where you will go to the embassy, e.g. France - not USA
  3. Click on non-immigrant visa and visa login
  4. “Don't have an account yet? - Click on “Register now
  5. Select login details and the 3 security questions
  6. Enter and send data

Pay the application fee

Before you can choose an available interview date, you must pay the application fee. Here you can find an overview of the current visa fees.
  1. Click on Arrange appointment in the top left-hand side menu
  2. Fill in forms and follow the instructions
  3. Select payment method
  4. Pay a fee. 
Hint:
Depending on the method of payment, it takes up to 24 hours until the booking calendar is activated and you can then make the appointment. You can uns a debit credit card, this will be the fastest way to make the payment 

Book an appointment

After the consulate has received the fee, the booking calendar in your account will be activated for you. You will receive a message that you can now make the appointment.

Step 3: Pay SEVIS I-901 fee

In addition to the application fee, an F-1 visa application is subject to the SEVIS fee. You pay this fee online by credit card. Currently the SEVIS fee is $350 US Dollar.
  1. Call up this website 
  2. Click on the PAY I-901 FEE above
  3. Enter your home address and click on SUBMIT
  4. ou'll find the school code on the I-20 If the school code does not fit into the given fields, please insert 5 numbers into the field after the 214F instead of 4 numbers.
  5. Complete payment by entering your credit card details


Interview at the Consulate

Interview date sounds worse than it is. Basically, an immigration officer will just ask you a few questions about your planned college stay and take the papers. You will need the following documents for the appointment:
  • Printing the DS-160 confirmation page
  • I-20 (all pages)
  • Valid passport
  • SEVIS payment document
  • Interview appointment confirmation
  • 2 recent photos (biometrical)
Hint:
3 - 4 weeks before you need to be in the US, you can request an emergency appointment.
Please read our article How and when do I request an emergency appointment?

Important: Reciprocity Fees charged for some countries

The so-called RECIPROCITY FEE is charged because US citizens also have to pay a fee to apply for a visa in the respective country. You pay this fee directly at your visa interview at the US Embassy by credit card. German and Austrian citizens do NOT have to pay this fee.

  1. For SWITZERLAND and LIECHTENSTEIN only: $375 (CH) or $900 (LI) for a 60 months visa
  2. For IRELAND: $1.480 for a 60 months visa
  3. Other countries: Please use this link to look up the respective fee for your country
     
    If you do not pay this fee, your visa will only be issued for 1 or 2 years instead of 4! You want to avoid having to re-apply for a visa every year and rather pay this fee ONCE at the start!

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