The Immigration and Nationality Act provides two nonimmigrant visa categories for persons wishing to study in the United States. The "F" visa is reserved for nonimmigrants wishing to pursue academic studies and/or language training programs, and the "M" visa is reserved for nonimmigrants wishing to pursue nonacademic or vocational studies.
F-Academic Students and M-Vocational Students Requirements
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The student must be enrolled in an "academic" educational program, a language-training program, or a vocational program;
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The school must be approved by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS);
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The student must be enrolled as a full-time student at the institution;
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The student must be proficient in English or be enrolled in courses leading to English proficiency;
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The student must have sufficient funds available for self-support during the entire proposed course of study; and
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The student must maintain a residence abroad which he/she has no intention of giving up.
SEVP will facilitate and automate several processes affecting foreign students, such as:
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Visa issuance
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admissions to the U.S.;
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benefit requests; and
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information reporting.
Please visit the Student and Exchange Visitors Program, or SEVP website at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for more information.
Obtaining Approval to Receive Nonimmigrant Students
Petition
for Approval, Form I-17, must be filed with the district office with
jurisdiction for the the locality where the school is located. There are two
types of foreign students, F-1 and M-1 nonimmigrants. A school may be approved
for F and/or M students, as described below. However, an individual student's
classification depends on his/her principal educational goals.
F-1: Approval for attendance of academic students may be solicited by an
accredited college or university that awards bachelors, masters, doctorate or
professional degrees; an accredited community or junior college that provides
instruction in the liberal arts or the professions and awards associate degrees;
a seminary; a conservatory; an academic high school; a private elementary
school; or an institution that provides language training, instruction in the
liberal arts, the fine arts or the professions, or instruction in one or more of
these disciplines.
M-1: Approval for the attendance of non-academic students may be solicited by a
community college or junior college that provides vocational or technical
training and awards associate degrees; a vocational high school; a trade school
or a school of nonacademic training other than language training.
Current USCIS regulations recognize the following as approved schools
: A school operated as a public educational
institution by federal, state, or local government; and
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A school accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency.
If a private elementary or public or private secondary school does not fallinto one of these two categories, it must submit evidence that it satisfies the compulsory attendance requirements of the state in which it is located and that it qualifies graduates for acceptance by approved schools at a higher educational level, and in the case of a private elementary or secondary school, that it is accredited by an accrediting organization, certified by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Non-Public Education.
Approval Process
Petition for approval (Form I-17) is filed in duplicate with the district director in the school's locality. The following requirements must also be met:-
The Form I-17 must be signed by an officer of the institution who has authority to sign contracts.
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The petitioning school must submit certification indicating that it is licensed, approved, and/or accredited.
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