For decades, the United States of America has been one of the topmost students’ destinations globally, as they offer in-depth learning opportunities to Indian as well as other international students, in some of the prestigious colleges and reputed universities. And if you’re planning to study in the United States, I must say, it is one of the most appreciable and logical decisions you will be taking in your life for securing a better future.

The steps to voyage into the US for education actually begins when you start applying in your choice of college and university and it is followed by applying for the visa. You can apply for a visa in the United State of America Embassy of India that is present in the states of Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, New Delhi, and Mumbai. There are three types of visas offered by the US which are F1, J1, and M1. While you might have heard that a VISA process is clumsy, difficult and takes a lot of time, but in reality, it is actually not. With proper preparation like gathering all necessary documents mentioned in the visa forms, will actually pacify the entire process. DS -160 is the form that you need to fill online in the website www.ceac.state.gov/genniv/ and then you have to take a print out of the confirmation page with the machine readable barcode. After this, go to our nearest HDFC bank and pay the visa application fee and keep the receipt with you.

Details of US Visa:

1. F1 Visa – F1 visa is issued to the foreign students who want to continue their academic or English language program. You can apply for the F1 visa for the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) institution. For this, you have to pay a $200 bill to the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) and following this you will be provided with an I-20 by the college that you’ve applied into and then you have to carry this form in the consular office during your F1 visa interview. And if you’re traveling to the US with your partner and children, then you need they need to have individual I-20 forms and there’s no need for them to enroll in the SEVIS. You should entirely focus on the interview process, based on which you will be granted an F-1 student visa. You can be awarded a US visa 120 days prior to the college’s/university’s course commencement. And you can start your journey within 30 days of the course commencement.

2. J1 Visa – This visa is granted to exchange students, professors, teachers, professional trainees, seasonal workers in the corporate.

3. M1 Visa – This visa is issued to students, who look forward to attending a vocational training or a non-academic program.

In the above-mentioned visas, an F1 visa is key for you to start your educational journey.

What are the Documents required for the Visa Interview?

1. The DS-160 or non-immigrant application form.

2. A recent passport-sized photograph.

3. A valid passport.

4. Visa application fees receipt.

5. Certificate of eligibility for non-immigrant F1 students status – DS 120.

6. Bank statement or financial supporting documents for your stay in the US during education.

7. Diploma, Degree, Transcripts, Certificates, and scores of GMAT, SAT etc.

US Visa Interview

It is the most important of all as, during this 5-10 minutes interview, you will be assessed and figuratively measured personally. The interviewer will want to see your desire for studying in the United States. Your fingerprint will be taken before the start of the interview process and documents will also be verified along with that. You have to convince the Consular officer on what factors you have decided to study in the US. After that, they will take your passport for printing visa and you will be informed when you will get your visa back.

Even if you’re not selected or visa gets postponed, then you will have fair chances of reapplying, following the same procedure.

After Getting Visa

When you land in the US, your visa, passport, and I-94 will be verified by the immigration officials. And if you don’t want to get sent back, keep all your documents ready as officials will thoroughly verify all the documents including certificates, identification, visa, passport, photocopies of your recent photographs.

Want to know more about why USA is the go-to place for International students.

Read at:

Why USA will always be the Holy Grail for Indians to Study abroad