Applying for a Student Visa

Steps Towards a Student Visa

• Pay the SEVIS Fee and Set Your Appointment

  The first step to obtaining a student visa is completing the DS-160, paying the SEVIS fee and scheduling your appointment. This video will outline in more detail how to go about completing these tasks. Watch the SEVIS Fee and Setting an Appointment video.

• Gather the Necessary Documents

  After you have set your visa appointment with the embassy, you will want to gather all the necessary documents for the appointment. Watch the Documentation for your Interview video to learn more.

• Preparing for the Interview

  Once you have all of your documentation ready, you should start preparing for the actual interview. This video will give you an overview of the types of questions that a visa officer might ask as well as some helpful tips to use during the interview. Watch the Visa Interview video. You can also find more tips from the Study in the States website.

• Various Outcomes of the Process

  There are various outcomes of the visa process, which you will find out at the end of your visa interview. You can be approved, approved but you may have to supply additional documents, or your application can be put into administrative processing or denied. Our Various Outcomes in the Process video details what happens after your interview.

• Arriving to the United States

  When traveling to the United States, you’ll need to have important documents ready, like your valid passport and visa, I-20, and financial documentation. Watch the Arriving to the United States video to learn more about flying to the country and what to expect in your Customs & Border Protection interview.