General Student Visa requirement for US

The United States welcomes foreign citizens who come to the U.S. to study. Before applying for a visa, all student visa applicants are required to be accepted and approved by their school or program. Once accepted, educational institutions will provide each applicant the necessary approval documentation to be submitted when applying for a student visa. Students can apply within 120 days from the start date of I-20 and can travel within 30 days from the start date of I-20.

The most common type of student visa is the F-1 Visa, if you wish to engage in academic studies in the United States at an approved school, such as an accredited U.S. college or university, private secondary school, or approved English language program then you need an F-1 visa. You will also need an F-1 visa if your course of study is more than 18 hours a week.

Step 1
Pay the visa application fee. 

Step 2
Complete the Nonimmigrant Visa Electronic Application form. 

Step 3
Schedule your appointment. You will need three pieces of information in order to schedule your appointment.
 1: Your passport number
 2: The date you paid your fee
 3: The ten (10) digit barcode number from your E application. (The form will be provided online by the university you wish to apply through)

Step 4
Visit the U.S. Embassy or Consulate on the date and time of your visa interview. You must bring a printed copy of your appointment letter, one photograph taken within the last six months, your current and all old passports, and the original visa fee payment receipt. Applications without all of these items will not be accepted.

Documents required for a Student Visa

Documents signifying strong financial, social, and family ties to your home country that will compel you to return to your country after your program of study in the United States ends.

Financial and any other documents you believe will support your application and which give credible evidence that you have enough readily-available funds to meet all expenses for the first year of study and that you have access to funds sufficient to cover all expenses while you remain in the United States.

Duplicates of bank statements will not be accepted unless you can also show original copies of bank statements or original bank books.

If you are financially sponsored by another person, bring proof of your relationship to the sponsor (such as your birth certificate), the sponsor's most recent original tax forms and the sponsor's bankbooks and/or fixed deposit certificates.

School documents that show what you have studied before. Useful documents include school transcripts (original copies are preferred) with grades, public examination certificates (A-levels, etc.), Standardized test scores (SAT, TOEFL, etc.), and diplomas.