Student Visas

In order to qualify for a student visa, you will be required to establish the following:

• That you can pay for your education and all living expenses associated therewith from an identified and reliable financial source - Specifically, that you have enough readily available funds to meet all expenses for the first year of study, and that adequate funds will be available for each subsequent year of study. An M-1 student visa applicant must be able to evidence that sufficient funds are immediately available to pay all tuition and living costs for the entire period of intended stay.
• That you have successfully completed the course of study normally required as a prerequisite to enrollment in the U.S. educational program you wish to attend;
• Unless coming to participate exclusively in an English language training program, either that you are sufficiently proficient in English to pursue the intended course of study, or that the school you will attend has made special arrangements for English language courses or will teach the course of study in your native language;
• That you have been accepted for a full course of study with a U.S. educational institution; and
• You must establish to the satisfaction of the consular officer that you have binding ties to your residence in a foreign country which you have no intention of abandoning, and that you will depart the United States when you have completed your studies.

F-1 visas are not available for students below the high school level, and are also not available for students who wish to attend publicly funded adult education programs. To attend a public high school (grades 9 - 12) on an F-1 visa, the applicant must submit evidence that the local school district has been reimbursed in advance for the unsubsidized per capita cost of the education. High school attendance under an F-1 visa is limited to 12 months. (Please note that this rule does not affect other visa categories, such as the J-1 exchange visitor program, or programs for qualified school aged children of aliens holding other nonimmigrant visas.