1. 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.
   
2. Receive from that school the form I-20.
   
3. Complete the form I-901 and submit it, with its fee, to the U.S. government (see attached information.)
4. 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 $1800 per month available for the time period on the I-20.
  
• Language Pacifica's application fee of $95.

• 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.

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.

There is a new government fee and form, the I-901, for student visa applicants.

The fee is $100. 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.