In order to apply for a student visa, you must first apply and be admitted to a school in the U.S. When you are admitted to North Seattle Community College (NSCC) or International ESL, we will send you an I.N.S. Form I-20 which authorizes your study period. You can take that I-20 to the U.S. Consulate in your country and apply for your visa.
In order to obtain a non-immigrant, student visa, you must be able to prove the following:
- That you have strong ties to your home country which demonstrate your intention to return home after your studies (in other words, that you do not plan to immigrate permanently to the U.S.)
- That you have sufficient funds to pay for your financial needs while you are studying in the U.S., including tuition, health insurance, housing, travel expenses, etc.
- That you have legitimate intentions to study full time and gain education and training which will be useful in your home country
Once you receive your visa from the U.S. consulate in your country, you are eligible to come to the U.S. and "apply" for entry. An Immigration Inspector at the border (usually the airport) will decide if you are really admissible, looking for proof of the above criteria once again. Therefore, you may be asked to show your financial documentation again, or you might be asked to prove you really plan to study. You must also show the I-20 for the school where you intend to study.
Issued by your school, this document allows you to apply for a visa, and to enter or to re-enter the U.S. It shows where, what, and when you are authorized to study.
TIP: Keep the "Student Copy" (pages 3,4) I-20 for every school you attend as a permanent record of your immigration status in the U.S. When you enter the U.S., the "School Copy" (pages 1,2) will be kept by the immigration officer.
A visa is the stamp in your passport issued by a U.S. Consulate. It shows that the Consulate has reviewed your documents in your country and recommends your admission into the U.S. It does not guarantee that you will be admitted into the country, but it shows that you are allowed to apply at a port of entry for admission into the U.S. in a particular immigration classification (e. g. F-1, B-2, etc).
REMEMBER: The visa stamp does NOT tell you how long you can stay in the U.S., and the expiration date of the visa does not affect your length of stay in the U.S. (See "Period of Authorized Stay").
Upon entry into the U.S., every non-immigrant is given an I-94, a small card usually stapled to the passport page opposite the visa stamp. The I-94 shows how long you are allowed to stay in the U.S. Someone in B-2 (visitor for pleasure) status is given a date, usually 6 months from their arrival. A student in F-1 status has D/S instead of a date (See "F-1 Regulations and Procedures").
TIP: You will give the I-94 card away to an immigration official when you leave the U.S. (except for a brief visit to Canada or Mexico-see "Leaving and Returning to the U.S.") to notify the I. N. S. of your departure.
Your passport must be valid at all times. Report a lost or stolen passport to the police, as your government may require a police report before issuing a new passport. Talk to the consulate or embassy for your country (here in Seattle) to renew or replace your passport.
TIP: Keep your passport and other important documents in a safe place, such as a bank safety-deposit box. It is also a good idea to keep a copy of your passport in a separate safe place. You can obtain a Washington State ID card to use for identification purposes
To be "in status" means to be OK with the I. N. S. If you are following the rules of your visa, then you are in status. If you come into the U. S. on an F-1 student visa, you are allowed to stay in the U.S. for the Duration of your Status-as long as you stay "OK." If you have violated the rules of the F-1 visa, you are "out of status" and you are staying in the U.S. illegally.
TIP: If you stay in status, you may remain in the U.S. a very long time! Read the information below about staying in status, and you will be OK-even if your visa stamp has expired.
Employment refers to any work for which you are compensated, including money through a salary or tips, housing, goods, or other services.
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