APPLYING FOR AN F OR J ENTRY VISA
If you will be traveling outside of the U.S. and the visa in
your passport is expired, remember that you will have to apply
for a new visa in order to re-enter the U.S. Your visa cannot be
renewed; you must apply for a new visa. Note that an expired
entry visa in your passport does not mean your legal status in
the U.S. has expired. The visa in your passport is needed for
entry to the U.S. only and has no impact on your legal status
after you have been admitted.
Unfortunately, you cannot apply for an entry visa inside the
U.S., and ideally, it is best to apply for it at a U.S. Embassy
or Consulate in your home country*. Since visa processing
procedures differ slightly at every embassy and consulate, be
sure to check the website of the location where you will be
applying. A list of websites for U.S. Embassies and Consulates
worldwide can be
found here. You should then review the
non-immigrant visas for students section of the website.
You will be required to set up an appointment to submit the
application and be interviewed. You can check this website for
an estimated wait time for a visa appointment and estimated
processing times. You may want to ask a family
member or friend in your home country to make the appointment
for you. Be sure to provide that person with your passport
number. Make the appointment as early as possible in your travel
plans in case there are any delays in processing your visa.
The embassy/consulate website will list what forms are required
and they are available online. You should also take the
following documents: passport, expired visa, current and all
previous I-20s or DS-2019s, a recent transcript (from the
Registrar), recent financial certification for one year of
expenses (such as bank statements, an assistantship offer
letter), and any other documentation which supports your student
status. You will also need to demonstrate non-immigrant intent
in the interview, which means you are not intending to immigrate
to the U.S. Some examples of support for this are: proof of
employment or other plans after completing studies, proof that
you have a spouse or children remaining in your home country,
proof that you own property in your home country.
Be sure that your I-20 or DS-2019 has been recently signed for
travel. Also, if your level of funding has changed, you will
want to update your I-20 or DS-2019 with the current funding
information to match the financial certification documents you
will provide. If your spouse or children are applying for
dependent visas, the F-1 or J-1 student should request I-20s or
DS-2019s from International Programs for Students. Note
that yearly expenses on the F-1 or J-1 document will be
increased by $2,500 for a spouse and $1,000 for each child when
a spouse and/or child is applying for an F-2 visa.More
information on applying for F-1 or F-2 Visas can be found on the
U.S. Department of State's website at:
travel.state.gov/visa/tempvisitors_types_students2.html
Information for J-1or J-2 Visas can be found at:
travel.state.gov/visa/temp/types/types_1267.html#1
*Renewing your visa in a country of which you are
not a citizen can be especially risky. If you are denied the
visa, you may be denied re-entry to the U.S. and forced to
return to your home country, or you may experience security
check delays which lengthen your stay in that country.
International Programs for Students does not recommend this
option to students because of these risks. If you choose to do
this, be sure to research the process in that country very
carefully.
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