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F-1 Student
Students studying at Language Pacifica 25 units per week or
more for at least 4 weeks are eligible for the F-1 student visa.
Student Visa Application Process
- Apply to
and be accepted by a school such as Language Pacifica which
is authorized by the U.S. Department of Justice to issue the
form I-20.
- Receive
from that school the form I-20.
- Complete
the form I-901 and submit it, with its fee, to the U.S.
government (see attached information.)
- Submit the
I-20, along with other paperwork including financial
statements, I-901 receipt, and passport, to the U.S.
government.
Language Pacifica
Application Checklist
To apply for the I-20, please submit the following to Language
Pacifica. When we have received them, we'll make the I-20 within
one business day and mail it by Global Priority, which takes
about 1-2 weeks.
- Language
Pacifica's application form, with sections 1, 2 and 3 filled
out, including sections 4 and 5 if applicable.
- Copies of
the financial statements that will be shown to the embassy,
showing that the student has at least $2000 per month
available for the time period on the I-20.
- Language
Pacifica's application fee of $95.
Notes
- It is
easiest to apply from abroad, to the U.S. Embassy in the
student's home country.
- If the
student is already in the U.S. on an I-20 from another
school, the I-20 must be transferred. To do that, the
student must apply to the new school (see below) and the
previous school must sign a transfer form authorizing the
transfer.
- If the
student is already in the U.S. on another type of visa, the
student must apply for a change of visa status. To do this,
apply to an approved school, receive the I-20, and then
submit the documents requested along with the I-539
(Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status) to the
local INS Service Center. We recommend consulting an
immigration lawyer when attempting to change visa status.
Requirements
Students on F-1 student visas are required to attend school
full-time. In addition, the INS must be notified within 10 days
of any change of address in the U.S.
I-901
There is a new government fee and form, the I-901, for student
visa applicants.
The fee is $200. It can be paid online by a credit card, or by
mail using a check or money order drawn on a U.S. bank. It must
be done after a person receives the I-20, but before that person
goes to the embassy to apply for the F-1 student visa.
Information can be found and payment can be made on the
government's I-901 web page.
- The form
takes about 10 minutes to complete.
- It can be
done by the student or by someone else for the student.
- To fill it
out, one must have the I-20 and the address to which the
receipt should be mailed; one should also have the passport
number, though it isn't necessary.
- If the
form is done online and paid by credit card, a preliminary
receipt can be printed immediately. This preliminary receipt
should be kept and taken to the embassy for the visa
application interview. If it is not possible to print the
receipt immediately, one must wait 4-6 weeks for the receipt
to arrive in the mail. It is not possible to print the
receipt later.
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