You must have a student visa (F or M visa) to travel to the United States to study. The F-1 visa is most commonly used for university programs of study but is also used to attend high schools, elementary schools, seminaries, conservatories and other training programs including language training programs. The M-1 visa is for vocational programs, or other recognized nonacademic institutions, other than a language training programs.

F-1 visa and status validity are granted in two different settings – one, the consulate where the visa is granted, and then two, at the time of U.S. entry by US Customs & Border Protection (CBP) where status is typically granted for the duration of your program of studies.  Note that the Trump Administration plans to limit the program to the duration of the studies with a finite end-date (instead of allowing ICE to issue a “d/s” notation representing permission to stay in the U.S. for the duration it takes to complete studies while properly enrolled).  Meanwhile, M-1s are for a specific period (up to one year plus 30 days).

The reason the F-1 Visa is so important to sort out and obtain before you arrive to the U.S. is because you cannot submit a B-1 or B-2 application to a consulate knowing you will later change status from B-1/B-2 Tourist to F-1 Student while on U.S. soil. The concrete rule on B-1s is that you may not study after entering on a visitor (B) visa nor the Visa Waiver Program. And the exception to this rule can get you in trouble. If you obtain a change of status from USCIS from B-1/B-2 Tourist to F-1 Student while on U.S. soil, it may hinder a future F-1 visa stamping. [Note: You can get permission to undertake recreational (non-credit) study as part of a B-1 tourist visit.] 

Foreign nationals may study full-time in the U.S., rarely drop below 9 hours per semester and only after the first year is done.  

Steps to Obtain an F-1 Student Visa

Legally speaking, the F-1 visa requires the student to clear several steps:

  1. acceptance to an SEVP-approved school, 
  2. being able to prove funds sufficient to pay for the tuition and living expenses, and
  3. clear intent to return home after studies. 

A more thorough breakdown of the steps follows:

  1. Get accepted. Work with the school’s Designated Foreign Student Officer (known as a DSO in short).
  2. Receive a Form I-20 that the school issues to the prospective Student. 
  3. Pay the Sevis I-901 Fee.  (F and M students and J exchange visitors who do not pay the regulation-mandated I-901 SEVIS Fee after receiving a Form I-515A are later subject to (a) investigation (b) possible arrest, detention, deportation and denial of requested benefits and (c) possible bar from future entry into the United States. You pay here: https://www.fmjfee.com/i901fee/index.htm 
  4. Complete a DS-160 matching the proper consulate (in your home country unless your country is feeding to another consulate) at https://ceac.state.gov/ceac/. 
  5. Set up a Nonimmigrant Visa Portal in the Nonimmigrant Visa portal for your country.
  6. Pay consular processing fees to U.S. Department of State in the portal.
  7. Set an appointment on the NIV portal of your country.
  8. Attend the appointment with a consular officer who will face-to-face adjudicate your eligibility for the F-1 by looking at your host of documents proving acceptance, ability to pay funds for the education and living, and the clear intent to return home (to leave the U.S.!) at the end of your studies.
  9. Attend your school as per the terms of your I-20 the DSO has issued.
  10. Leave the U.S. within 60 days of the end of the schooling. OR else, use that 60 days to transfer schools, change status, or apply for other options.  But without work permission, an F-1 cannot work or study during this time and must depart by the end of the 60 days or forfeit the remainder of the period if they leave and try to re-enter. 

Employment Authorization. During Student Status, certain individuals can apply for work authorization in different ways.  Most notably the F-1 Student Visa offers Optional Practical Training (OPT) available for one, or three years if it is a STEM-approved program. Your lawyers should work with you on determining your eligibility for STEM 3-year work authorization and also work with the employer to make sure that the employer properly fills in the Training Program documents and is using e-Verify for I-9 purposes, a key component to use the visa. 

Curricular Practical Training, otherwise known as CPT, is also permitted for off-campus employment with an employer who prepares a Training Plan showing how the program will supplement the F-1 Student’s course of studies with concrete learning. 

Not least, for people who find themselves facing economic hardships, they can apply for on-campus employment by working with the DSO.

M-1 students generally cannot work off-campus during studies.

Two friendly reminders for Students.

  • Maintain your status according to the terms of your I-20.You must study full-time and follow visa rules; violations can lead to deportation.
  • Be careful of your Social Media posts. Students must be careful about their social media handles and what they post because certain online activities such as displays of pornography or anti-semitism will result in deportation. 
Student Visas

You must have a student visa (F or M visa) to travel to the United States to study. The F-1 visa is most commonly used for university programs of study but is also used to attend high schools, elementary schools, seminaries, conservatories and other training programs including language training programs. The M-1 visa is for vocational programs, or other recognized nonacademic institutions, other than a language training programs.

F-1 visa and status validity are granted in two different settings – one, the consulate where the visa is granted, and then two, at the time of U.S. entry by US Customs & Border Protection (CBP) where status is typically granted for the duration of your program of studies.  Note that the Trump Administration plans to limit the program to the duration of the studies with a finite end-date (instead of allowing ICE to issue a “d/s” notation representing permission to stay in the U.S. for the duration it takes to complete studies while properly enrolled).  Meanwhile, M-1s are for a specific period (up to one year plus 30 days).

The reason the F-1 Visa is so important to sort out and obtain before you arrive to the U.S. is because you cannot submit a B-1 or B-2 application to a consulate knowing you will later change status from B-1/B-2 Tourist to F-1 Student while on U.S. soil. The concrete rule on B-1s is that you may not study after entering on a visitor (B) visa nor the Visa Waiver Program. And the exception to this rule can get you in trouble. If you obtain a change of status from USCIS from B-1/B-2 Tourist to F-1 Student while on U.S. soil, it may hinder a future F-1 visa stamping. [Note: You can get permission to undertake recreational (non-credit) study as part of a B-1 tourist visit.] 

Foreign nationals may study full-time in the U.S., rarely drop below 9 hours per semester and only after the first year is done.  

Steps to Obtain an F-1 Student Visa

Legally speaking, the F-1 visa requires the student to clear several steps:

  1. acceptance to an SEVP-approved school, 
  2. being able to prove funds sufficient to pay for the tuition and living expenses, and
  3. clear intent to return home after studies. 

A more thorough breakdown of the steps follows:

  1. Get accepted. Work with the school’s Designated Foreign Student Officer (known as a DSO in short).
  2. Receive a Form I-20 that the school issues to the prospective Student. 
  3. Pay the Sevis I-901 Fee.  (F and M students and J exchange visitors who do not pay the regulation-mandated I-901 SEVIS Fee after receiving a Form I-515A are later subject to (a) investigation (b) possible arrest, detention, deportation and denial of requested benefits and (c) possible bar from future entry into the United States. You pay here: https://www.fmjfee.com/i901fee/index.htm 
  4. Complete a DS-160 matching the proper consulate (in your home country unless your country is feeding to another consulate) at https://ceac.state.gov/ceac/. 
  5. Set up a Nonimmigrant Visa Portal in the Nonimmigrant Visa portal for your country.
  6. Pay consular processing fees to U.S. Department of State in the portal.
  7. Set an appointment on the NIV portal of your country.
  8. Attend the appointment with a consular officer who will face-to-face adjudicate your eligibility for the F-1 by looking at your host of documents proving acceptance, ability to pay funds for the education and living, and the clear intent to return home (to leave the U.S.!) at the end of your studies.
  9. Attend your school as per the terms of your I-20 the DSO has issued.
  10. Leave the U.S. within 60 days of the end of the schooling. OR else, use that 60 days to transfer schools, change status, or apply for other options.  But without work permission, an F-1 cannot work or study during this time and must depart by the end of the 60 days or forfeit the remainder of the period if they leave and try to re-enter. 

Employment Authorization. During Student Status, certain individuals can apply for work authorization in different ways.  Most notably the F-1 Student Visa offers Optional Practical Training (OPT) available for one, or three years if it is a STEM-approved program. Your lawyers should work with you on determining your eligibility for STEM 3-year work authorization and also work with the employer to make sure that the employer properly fills in the Training Program documents and is using e-Verify for I-9 purposes, a key component to use the visa. 

Curricular Practical Training, otherwise known as CPT, is also permitted for off-campus employment with an employer who prepares a Training Plan showing how the program will supplement the F-1 Student’s course of studies with concrete learning. 

Not least, for people who find themselves facing economic hardships, they can apply for on-campus employment by working with the DSO.

M-1 students generally cannot work off-campus during studies.

Two friendly reminders for Students.

  • Maintain your status according to the terms of your I-20.You must study full-time and follow visa rules; violations can lead to deportation.
  • Be careful of your Social Media posts. Students must be careful about their social media handles and what they post because certain online activities such as displays of pornography or anti-semitism will result in deportation. 
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