In need of some advice about how to apply for your student visa? You’re in luck! Not only are there some great ones available on YouTube, but there’s one to match just about any mood.

There’s a video…

For when you need a bit of excitement in your life

For when you don’t

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You might remember we have previously shared advice from visa officers for getting your student visa.  They explained how to set yourself up for a successful visa interview by applying early, coming prepared with the correct paperwork properly filled out, and being able to show that you will return home after your studies.

In a new piece in the State Department’s DipNote blog, Consular Officer Monica Shie, who serves in New Delhi, India, adds her own perspective on what visa officers are looking for from you when you go in for an interview:

Every day in New Delhi, eight or nine officers interview hundreds of people seeking visas to the United States. Because we try to serve as many applicants as we can, the interviews are quite short — only two to three minutes. A lot of the information that we need is already there in your application, but we like to hear from you, personally, about your travel plans. Sometimes, visa applicants bring stacks of documents, and they seem disappointed when we do not look at all that paperwork. But the idea of a personal interview is to speak with you face-to-face — not to examine documents.

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The State Department has announced that, as of April 13, it is raising the visa processing fee for student visas. The fee will now be $160, up from $140.

What other costs can you expect?

Students from some countries may pay a visa reciprocity fee.  Look up your country here: Reciprocity by Country

As a student, you will also need to pay a SEVIS fee of $200.

I was forwarded an email today from a 60-year-old man in China who said he dreamed of studying in the U.S. when he was young.  Now that he can afford it, he wrote, he is too old, but he still holds onto his dream.

It was such a sweet email, so I started looking through the State Department website to find out whether someone who doesn’t need a degree and isn’t really college age could still fulfill a dream of studying in the U.S.  And I found this:
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Question #2 in our weeklong online event comes from “nhung” who asked:

How can we get the visa F1 , I think I have enough condition to study in USA but US consulate refused to issue visa

Let’s start out with me reminding you that I’m not an immigration lawyer, nor am I a consular officer.  If you’re having trouble, seek out people who can help guide you, like your EducationUSA adviser or the international student adviser at the school you’ve been admitted to.

The general visa process is explained in this great (and adorable) video from EducationUSA:

For some advice on how to make the process go smoothly, check out this previous post: “Visa Tips From Visa Officers.”

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This video from the U.S. Embassy in London lays out the procedures most students will follow to get their student visa – in the form of a blockbuster spy movie!

Sure we know it’s not really that exciting to register for SEVIS, but maybe pretending to be James Bond will help. Just make sure you’ve dropped the spy act by the time you go for your interview – international super spies definitely don’t get visas.

As part of VOA’s What’s Your 9/11? project, Sam from Iran shared this story about how the September 11th attacks influenced his plans to study in the U.S. It’s just one of many stories from young people and students around the world about the news events that have shaped a generation. Add yours and join our growing community at http://whatsyour911.com.

I had just came back home after taking a TOEFL test that I heard the news. I had planned for months to study in an American university. After learning about the news I told to myself they – US embassy – is not going to give me a visa even though i was sure none of those terrorists were Iranians. Yes it had a big negative impact on my education.

In Tehran people held candlelight vigil in the memory of the US victims and signed a book in the Swiss embassy. We were angry at those who carried out that attack. President Khatami, a reformist denounced the attack on the US. We were angry that some arab and perhaps pakistani nationals were celebrating this yet it was Iran who was labeled the axis of evil. This is a general sense of iranians at that time, not just my personal opinion.

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Azadeh has been in the U.S. for 3 years as a PhD student at the University of Maryland, during which time she hasn’t been able to see her family back in Iran.

Up until recently, Iranian students could only receive a single-entry visa, which meant their visa would allow them to enter the country one time only. If they left, they would have to reapply for a new visa.

“It’s been very tough for me,” she says. Throughout most of our previous conversation about applying to the U.S. and getting her visa she has been giggly and upbeat, but when we turn to this topic, it’s clear it hits home for her.

I know some people that changed their mind about coming to the U.S. just because of the visa issue. They never could imagine that they couldn’t come back even if something happened.

Azadeh tells me her parents have thought about coming to visit her in the U.S., but the family member she’s closest with is her sister, and it’s likely her sister would be refused the travel visa to come over.

If I cannot see her it doesn’t work for me.  And she cannot come with my parents.  There is a very high risk to all of them be refused, rejected getting a visa because of my younger sister that wants to come with them.

I give her a confused look, and Azadeh explains it’s because the visa officer might assume the family is trying to immigrate.

Making the change

The State Department announced in May that Iranian students would now be able to receive multiple-entry visas to study in the U.S. The EducationUSA Iran advisor, who joined Azadeh and I in our discussion about visas, says that after the announcement, EducationUSA received hundreds of emails from grateful Iranians.

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As Iranian student Azadeh tells me about the rumors that circulated among her friends about how to get a student visa to the U.S., she sounds like the foreign students I’ve encountered on so many internet forums.

“People say that if she takes the, for example, the yellow page it means she’s going to issue the visa for you, if she takes the blue one it means she’s gonna reject you.”

The US embassy in Ankara, Turkey has a special section for Iranian visa applicants

But there’s one rumor Azadeh tells me that’s unlikely to go around in other countries:

“Everybody says, ‘Oh don’t go to Dubai,’” Azadeh says of her friends back in Iran. “‘They don’t give you a visa.  Everybody that went to Cyprus they got it, but in Dubai it’s so much harder.’”

Where to go to get a visa is just one hurdle students applying to the U.S. from Iran encounter that most other international students never have to consider.  There’s no U.S. embassy or consulate in Iran, so students have to travel to one of a select number of neighboring countries where the embassy will accept Iranian applicants.

Azadeh is a 3rd year PhD student in mechanical engineering at the University of Maryland. We meet to talk about what it’s like to apply from Iran to study in the U.S., and are joined by the EducationUSA Iran advisor (who asked to remain anonymous).

A common ambition

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The J-1 visa is a temporary exchange visa (more information on the State Department’s J-1 website), and it’s very commonly used for students to come to the U.S. in the summer to work and travel. The Irish Voice put together a list of tips for Irish students taking advantage of these exchanges….but the advice is relevant to anyone coming to the U.S. on a J-1 visa (or any student visa).

The two that stood out to me:

1) Beware of Internet scams

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you’ll know that I’m thrilled that their advice for avoiding scams is to…do your research! Be wary of anyone who asks you to pay money online for accommodations, or anything else, and do some simple looking around to make sure they’re legit.

2) Reach out to your contacts

Reach out to every person you know already living in your destination. It could be family, friends or a long lost cousin, it doesn’t matter who. Just send them an email or drop them a phone call them and let them know you are looking for a job and accommodation.

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We’ve mentioned Happy Schools Blog here before – they collect and publish stories from real F-1 visa interviews. The author says he (or she) has received over 100 stories, and has noticed 10 traits that are common among students who were denied their visa:

1. Below Average to Poor English Language Skills
2. Low GRE Scores
3. Low TOEFL Scores
4. Low academic percentage
5. Failed Courses in Semester (backlogs)
6. High TOEFL Scores with low GRE Scores (maybe fake score)
7. Unable to follow instructions
8. Fake documents (financial, bank statements, score reports, transcripts,..) to varying degree
9. Lack of self-confidence
10. Not enough practice and mock interviews

Do you know anyone who’s been denied a visa for one of these reasons (or for another reason)?

[For tips on what you SHOULD do in your interview, check out our previous story "Visa Tips from Visa Officers"]

In a recent interview for the Saudi Gazette, officials at the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh talked about some of the biggest mistakes students make when applying for their F-1 student visas, and gave advice for getting through the process successfully.

It was the second time this month we heard visa tips from real visa officials – last week David Donahue, the U.S. deputy assistant secretary for visa services, gave three tips to students applying for visas to study in America:

1) Apply early
2) Be informed
3) Be prepared

Watch Mr. Donahue give this advice in a video from the State Department

According to Robin A. Busse, Non-Immigrant Visa Chief and David B. Rochford, Vice Consul at the American Embassy in Riyadh, one of the biggest mistakes students make is not following Donahue’s first tip – applying too late for their visa.

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The State Department today launched a new website dedicated to providing information on J-1 visas.  J-1 visas apply to exchange programs and must be sponsored through an established exchange visitor program.  They’re used in many different scenarios, but one common one is for summer work travel programs in the U.S.

If you’re confused about all the types of visas, take a look at this previous post, which explained a bit about the difference between F-1, M-1 and J-1 visas.

You may remember that the J-1 visa program gave us one entry in our unfortunately long list of cautionary tales, so if you’re planning to come to the U.S. on a J-1, make sure you do your research.  This new website, and the State Department’s pre-existing site, travel.state.gov, are good places to start.

Are you in the U.S. this summer on a J-1 visa? Tell us how it’s been so far in the comments or by emailing jstahl@voanews.com

EducationUSA Iran has transcribed and translated a number of interviews with Iranian students about their experiences applying to U.S. colleges.  They’re worth reading, and also available in audio format for Persian speakers.

Take a look in particular at the series in which a student named Arash talks about the process of getting a visa.  There is no U.S. embassy in Iran, so Iranian students face particular challenges in getting their paperwork together and going for their interview.

Part 1: Setting up an interview with the embassy in Ankara

Part 2: The visa interview

Part 3: Advice for other Iranian students

I have to tell you that my experience with regards to the application for continuing my education abroad shows that this process is a complicated and long one, which requires much time and energy. The students must prepare a great deal of information from valid sources if possible. In particular because we need to deal with a number of organizations and institutes from various places, different countries, and that each one has its own specific manner of proceeding with which we need to get familiarized.