On April 30th 2014, mail summary was my application has undergone an initial review and so
that I can check the status of my application by visiting the UB International
Admissions. Back to back I got Username and Password.
After a day, I-20 tracking number was updated and through
the available link in the UB International
Admissions Website I enrolled for International Orientation with UB
Person number.
Enrolling for Orientation should be
done before flying. It does not matter after receiving I-20 or not, because it
requires only UB Person number to enroll.
My Suggestion :
Enroll after receiving UB Person number later we may forget about it, better to
wrap it up.
On May 4th 2014, I got
my I-20 !
To be done after having I-20 in hand :
If you are looking for a Loan then
beforehand make a list of Banks with respective interest rates and make sure
you have all documents required.
Bank manager ask for an I-20 to
start the Loan process.
It took me two weeks to get Loan
Sanctioned letter. But for Visa Interview Loan processing letter is also
accepted.
US Student (F 1) VISA Application
Process
Step
1: Booking your Visa date - as a student you would be applying for the F1 visa.
You will need the I-20 from the university you want to study at, to book a
date.
1. Complete
the DS-160 form.
The link to the
actual form is available at the bottom of this page. You do not need to upload your
photo in the DS160 form. Your photo (& fingerprints) will be taken during
your OFC appointment (details given in point 4).
Note: In case you make a mistake in the DS-160 form (which you realize
after submitting the form), just fill and submit a new DS-160 form.
Note:
You need not submit the DS-160 form to book a date, but you need the form
Number before you
proceed to STEP 3
Please
refer to the DS-160 FAQ section at the end of this document.
2. Create an
Account at http://www.ustraveldocs.com/in/index.html.
Once you create an account and login fill in the required information step by step
till you come to the payment page. (do not go to the update profile tab)
3. Pay your VISA
Application fees. You can pay this online (online payment receipt takes 2
days to get activated) or you can pay it at Axis Bank or Citibank (the receipt
is activated generally On the same day). Refer http://www.ustraveldocs.com/in/in-niv-paymentinfo.asp.
Before going to the bank, you must print and carry the applicable U.S. visa fee
collection slip (called the
4. Book your dates.
Continue with the booking of the visa date by logging into your account. You
will be asked to book 2 dates
A: Visa interview
appointment. You can select your dates according to your convenience.
Generally dates open
up only 2 to 3 weeks in advance.
B: OFC (Offsite
Facilitation Center) Appointment - where you will be only be fingerprinted and
photographed. This is not an interview, but just an administrative process. You
will need to carry the following documents for the OFC appointment.
· Passport (which
does not expire at least for 6 months from the start of your course)
· Appointment
confirmation letter
· DS 160 Confirmation
page
· I-20
You will be required
to select your OFC Appointment date at least 1 day before your visa date.
5. Pay your SEVIS
Fee. All students have to pay the SEVIS fee. This fee has to be paid at
least three working days prior to
the actual visa date.
NOTE: You
do NOT have to pay the SEVIS fee to book your visa date.
To pay the SEVIS fee
you will have to visit the website www.fmjfee.com. Here
you will have to fill the I-901 form and pay $200 as SEVIS fee.
Print
the receipt (I-901 form) that you get after paying the fees.
While paying the
fees, the site gives you an option for an expedited receipt delivery of the payment
receipt at an additional payment of $35. You need NOT avail this service.
Just print the online receipt that you receive on confirmation of the payment
and that is sufficient. You do NOT require the original receipt.
You
can print the SEVIS receipt immediately or it can be printed later by accessing
your SEVIS payment information online.
Note:
· If you do not have
a printer readily available, you can email yourself the DS-160 confirmation page,
appointment letters etc and can print it later.
· Black and White
printouts are fine (of the DS 160 confirmation page, appointment letters, SEVIS
payment receipt). You do NOT need a color printout.
· You will need to
finalize the university before you submit the DS 160 form and/or pay the SEVIS
fee.
· You cannot appear
for your visa interview more than 120 days before the start date on your program
(as mentioned in the ‘No later than’ date on the I-20). You will not be allowed
to enter the U.S. more than 30 days before the start date as on your I-20
Part
2: Showing how you plan to finance your education
Step
2: Deciding on your financials.
The most common ways
that you can sponsor your education is
· Education Loan
· Funds from family
(parents/grandparents/ brother/sister etc)
Educational
Loan
If you are planning
on availing an education loan, please visit your local bank and ask them about the
educational loan procedures. Visit 3 to 4 different banks to find out their
requirements and interest rates. An educational loan can be obtained from a
branch that is closest to your area of residence. Most banks offer a loan up to
Rs 20 to 30 Lakhs (against collateral security) and between Rs 4 to 7 Lakhs
without collateral security. You need not have an account with a bank to obtain
an educational loan.
Funds
from Parents/Family
To demonstrate how
much funds are available with your family to support you, please see the document
‘Sample Financial Statement’ below. Prepare a statement similar to this.
You do NOT have to get this certified from your Chartered Accountant
(CA).
Documents
needed during the Visa:
Mandatory Documents:
· Passport
· I-20
· DS-160 Confirmation
page (will be stamped during your OFC appointment)
· Visa Appointment
letter
· SEVIS Fee payment
confirmation page
Note: Photograph is
not required. Your photograph will be taken during the OFC appointment.
Other Documents:
Proof of funds
(whichever are applicable in your case)
· Loan approval and/ application
letter.
· Your Bank Passbooks
or Monthly/quarterly Bank Account transaction statements (in case your bank
does not issue a passbook). The statements/passbooks should show transactions
for the past 3 to 4 months (preferably 6 months).
· All original fixed
deposit receipts that you have.
· A statement of your
account showing the shares/mutual funds you own and their current market value.
· Originals of
NSC/NSS certificates, PPF passbooks etc
· Tax returns for the
past three years (at least two years) of your sponsor.
· Two to three recent
salary slips of your sponsor (in case your sponsor is employed)
Academic Documents:
· Degree/Diploma Mark
sheets, degree certificates (if available)
· GRE/GMAT/TOEFL
score cards. If you don’t have a score card carry a print of your online scores.
Your sponsors (if
other than immediate family) will have to prepare an affidavit on Rs 100 stamp paper.
See the sample document ‘Financial Support Document - Sponsor letter to Visa
Officer’ below. You do not need an affidavit, if your parents/grandparents/brother/sister
are your only sponsors.
Scholarships/Assistantships
from the university
If the university has
awarded you a scholarship/assistantship and it is already mentioned on your I-20
then its fine. In the university made your funding decision after issuing an
I-20, and the funding from the university does not reflect on your I-20, then
you will have to carry the official letter from the university indicating their
decision. If the department has informed their decision over email please
request them to send you an official letter (by email).
IMP:
The amount of funds available to you for your education in the form of Loan,
Family support and Scholarships/Assistantships should be sufficient enough to
cover the tuition/fees plus living expense for the entire duration of your
education (not necessarily twice the I20 amount) .
That
is
Loan
+
Funds from University
+
Money in savings/current account of sponsor
+
FD's
+
Demat (shares) valuation
+
Any other financial investments (NSC/NSS, PF etc, except insurance)
Should
be more than the total estimated expenses for your education
IMPORTANT:
There are no standard guidelines on HOW MUCH funds you need to show for your
visa. Just because you can show funds, does not guarantee a visa. Similarly not
showing funds does mean that your visa would be denied. Visas are granted based
on the visa officer’s evaluation of the important factors:
· Your
preparedness and understanding of the course/program you are planning to Pursue.
· Your ability to
convince the visa officer that you can afford to pay for your education costs.
Please
see below for
· Financial
Support Document - Parent letter to Visa Officer
· Sample Financial
Statement
Below
is a format of an Affidavit of Support to be carried with you during your visa
interview.
Please
print this letter on a Rs 100 Stamp Paper. (If your parents/grandparents/brothers/sisters
are your only sponsors, then you do NOT need the affidavit on a stamp paper.
The below statement, printed on plain paper with your sponsors’ signature
should suffice)
Affidavit
of Support
Date
To,
Visa Officer,
US Consulate
Hyderabad.
I/We, XXXXX XXXXX
hereby certify that I/we shall provide all the necessary funding required to
support my son’s/daughter/brother/sister/nephew/niece’s
(XXXXX XXXXX) education at XXXXXX
University.
Please find attached
a statement giving the summary of the funds and assets available with
me/us. These funds
are available without any restrictions to cover all tuition and living expenses
of XXXXXX XXXXXX for
the entire duration of his/her education.
If you have any
questions regarding the same, please do not hesitate to contact me/us.
Yours Sincerely
XXXX XXXXX
Address
Phone
Email
FAQs about the
DS-160 form
Here are
guidelines to SOME (not all) of the questions asked in the DS-160
PERSONAL
INFORMATION SECTION
Personal 1
Surname &
Given Names:
Enter you Surname and Given Names as mentioned on your passport.
For eg: Surname on Passport:
Joshi and Given Name: Ajay Ramesh
Then in the DS160 form put
Surname as Joshi and Given Names as Ajay Ramesh
The name on the
DS-160 should match exactly as on your passport.
For those who do
not have a Surname on the passport: If the surname section on your passport is
blank, then enter whatever is mentioned in the ‘Given Names’ section of the
passport under your surname and put FNU in the Given Names section.
For eg: Surname on Passport is
blank and Given Name: Ajay Ramesh
Then in the DS160 form put
Surname as Ajay Ramesh and Given Name as FNU
Full Name in
Native Alphabet – Leave
it blank and check the does not apply/technology not available box
Have you ever
used other names (i.e., maiden, religious, professional, alias, etc.) – Say NO
Say Yes ONLY if you are a married
female applicant who had a passport with a maiden name and currently hold a
passport with a new name/surname OR If you ever had officially changed your name/surname
by publishing it in the gazette.
Do you have a
telecode that represents your name? – Say NO.
Personal 2
National
Identification Number – If you have your Aadhar UID number, mention it
else leave it blank and click Does Not Apply
ADDRESS AND
PHONE
Mention your current address
(where you currently reside) and NOT the address on your passport if it
different from your current address. Home Address and Mailing address can be
same. Your address on the passport is irrelevant information and need not match
your current address.
PASSPORT
Passport/Travel
Document Type: Select
Regular
Passport Book
Number:
Select Does Not Apply
TRAVEL
Purpose of Trip
to the US: ACADEMIC
OR LANGUAGE STUDENT (F)
Specify: F1
Have you made
specific travel plans ?: Select NO (even if you have booked your tickets).
Intended Date of
Arrival:
Put approximate date when your plan on leaving for the US
Intended Length
of Stay in the US:
Write 1 Year, if your masters program is a 1 year degree program. Write 2 years
if your program is a 16-24 months program. PhD students can put 5 years. (Irrespective
of what you put here your duration of the visa that gets stamped on the
passport does not change. Your I-20 may say 30 months or 36 months as the
normal duration of the course, but you need not put duration in the form)
Address Where
You Will Stay in the U.S.: Put the university address here as mentioned on your
I-20.
Person/Entity
paying for your trip: Give the name/details of your primary Sponsor here.
Even if you are paying through a bank loan, mention the name of your
parent/sponsor who would stand as a guarantor for you loan or whose funds you
plan to show partially. Mention SELF only if majority of the funds for your
education are going come from your own personal savings.
PS: Trip – does not mean just the
flight to the US. It means all expenses that you would incur during your stay
in the US (tuition + living etc)
TRAVEL COMPANIONS
Are there other
persons traveling with you? : Say NO even if some you have booked
tickets together as a group.
PREVIOUS US
TRAVEL INFORMATION
Mention whatever is true about
your past US Travel and Visas
Have you ever
been refused a U.S. Visa, or been refused admission to the United States, or withdrawn
your application for admission at the port of entry? - If your visa
was ever rejected then say ‘YES’. In the explanation just mention the
date on which the visa was rejected and the type of visa that was rejected
without giving an explanation on what you feel was the reason for the
rejection. For instance just write “Visitor B1/B2 visa rejected on ___(mention
date) ” or “F1 student visa rejected on ____”
Has anyone ever
filed an immigrant petition on your behalf with the United States Citizenship and
Immigration Services? – Say YES only if you had filed for a US Green Card
sometime in the past and explain who had filed a Green Card Application
for you and the status of the application.
U.S. CONTACT
Contact Person
or Organization in the United States: Mention the name of the Person who signed
the I-20 as your Contact Person. The organization name would be the University’s
Name,
Relationship to you would be ‘SCHOOL
OFFICIAL’, and address would be the University’s address from the I-20 or the
university’s website. You may mention the phone number from the I-20 or from
the university’s website. You may say ‘Does not apply’ for the email id.
FAMILY
Mention details about your
parents as asked. The names of your parents need not necessarily match exactly
on their passports. If your parents do not use surnames, then put their first
name as the Given Name and Last Name as the Surname.
Do you have any
immediate relatives, not including parents, in the United States?: Say YES if you
have a brother/sister in the US. If they are on a Visa the status would be
Non-Immigrant. If they hold a Green Card the status would be US Legal Permanent
Resident.
Do you have any
other relatives in the United States?: If you do have uncles/aunt/cousins in
the US say Yes.
PS: Saying ‘Yes’ does not affect
your visa chances.
WORK/EDUCATION/TRAINING
Present
Work/Education/Training Information
Primary
Occupation: If
you are currently in college (or just finished your final exams) you may select
STUDENT. If you are currently working select the occupation that you feel best
matches your job profile. If you graduated more than a semester earlier or were
working and currently resigned then select NOT EMPLOYED.
For Students/Presently Employed –
Mention your College/Company Name, Address. Phone Number etc.
Briefly describe your duties:
Mention in just one sentence what you do (do not paste your resume here or
write an essay). For instance IT professionals can just write – Software Developer.
A student can just write ‘Student of Bachelors of Engineering – Computer Engineering’
If you selected the ‘NOT EMPLOYED’
option, you will see a box asking you to Explain. There if you were a student
who graduated a semester/year ago mention: Graduated in (Month Year) and have
been working on my Master’s application. If you had a job and reassigned
mention: Worked with ___ (company name) till ____ (month year).
Previous
Work/Education/Training Information
Give details of all previous jobs
that you held after finishing college. You need not mention your Internships / projects
that you did during college.
Have you
attended any educational institutions at a secondary level or above?: In the Present Work/Education/Training
section if you indicated that you are a Student, and mentioned your current
college name there then list your previous college (jr college or diploma
college) in this section.
In the previous section if you
mentioned that you were either employed or unemployed mention all colleges that
you attended after 10th class (for instance your Jr. College or your
diploma college and your degree college details) here.