I-20 Student Visa English schools California
| A F International
Your English School in California |
As an international student you will need to know what
a Form I-20 is, what the criteria are to receive one, and how to maintain
one once you are at a school.
A Form I-20 is the form that we issue to a student so that
they may apply for an F-1 Visa to come to the United States to study. A
school (such as A F International) authorized to issue an initial I-20 must
make sure that the student has met certain financial and academic requirements.
Without receiving an I-20 from a school, you will not be able to get the
F-1 Visa.
| What are the requirements to
get an I-20? |
up |
To get an I-20, you must submit a completed application
and pay the required Enrollment Fee of $50. You must also submit a LETTER OF CERTIFICATION from a bank
stating that you have sufficient funds to study while at the institution
you are interested in, as well as a CERTIFICATE
OF GUARANTOR. Once the application is complete and the Enrollment
Fee is received by A F International,we can process your I-20 in 3-4 working
days. All I-20 students must enroll at A F International School of Languages
for a minimum of 8 weeks and have at least $1,905 per month available to
cover school and living expenses.
| What does a Financial Certification
consist of? |
up |
Basically, the Financial Certification of sufficient funds
is to guarantee that you will be able to pay your tuition and living expenses
while studying at A F International or another institution you are interested
in. This certification may be in the form of a:
1.Current bank statement or letter from a bank indicating
that you have at least -amount vary by tuition- in your bank account(s).
Or you can provide us with:
2.A letter of support from your parent(s) or guardian, along with their
bank statement showing that they have at least -amount vary by tuition-
in their account(s).
You will need to present this proof of financial support
to the American Embassy or Consulate in your own country as well when you
apply for the F-1 Visa. Some American Consulates may want to see that you
can prove you have more funds before you enter the United States, so we
strongly recommend that you be able to show the Consulate that you have
at least $10,000 in your account(s).
| What are the requirements to
transfer to a different school? |
up |
To transfer to a different school, you must be "in
status" with your previous school. In other words, you must meet their
requirements of F-1 students before they will consider you eligible to transfer.
You must also make sure you notify them in advance of your intent to transfer
while you are still registered as a student in their program.
| What does "out of status"
mean? |
up |
"Out of status" refers to a student who has not
met the requirements of the school that issued the student their I-20; such
a requirement would be maintaining a certain attendance rate, for example.
If a student is considered "out of status" upon attempting to
transfer to another school, they would have to apply for reinstatement in
order to attend the new school. To do this, they would need to get a Form
I-20 from the new school and apply to regain or have their student status
"reinstated". In this case, the student will have to reapply directly
with the INS; there is a filing fee charge for this process.
There are many kinds of visas available. The most common
one students apply for is the F-1 visa. Aside from the F-1, there is the
M-1, which is for students coming to study at vocational school.
An F-1 Visa is a student visa. Anyone traveling to the
United States to pursue academic study or English language instruction must
obtain a student visa. You must apply for an F-1 Visa at the American Consulate
in your native country. In order to apply for the F-1 Visa, you will need
to have an I-20 from a school that has accepted you for study.
| How long does it take to get
an F-1 Visa? |
up |
Some American Consulates approve visas in 2-3 days, two
weeks, one month, some even take up to six weeks. It really depends on the
city, country, and Visa restrictions of each American Consulate abroad.
Again, you should plan to apply for your student F-1 Visa several weeks
(4-6) before you come to study at the school you are interested in.
| What's the best way to apply
for a student visa? |
up |
Most Consulates or Embassies allow you to mail in your
application, have it brought by an agent, such as a travel agent, or let
you apply in person. While there are no statistics on the rejection rate
of the three methods (it depends on the country as well), the best way to
apply, for obvious reasons, is in person. If a consular officer has doubts
about your intentions or financial ability to study in the United States,
they may be more receptive to you if you can explain to them in person the
reasons you want to come and study in the United States.
| What happens if my visa application
is rejected? |
up |
You can always reapply. Sometimes it is a matter of providing
more information to the Consulate, or reassuring the Consulate that you
will be returning to your country after you complete your studies. It always
best to apply for your F-1 Visa in person.
| What's the difference between
an F-1 and F-2 Visa? |
up |
The F-1 Visa is for the student who is coming to the United
States to study. The F-2 Visa is for the spouse or dependent children of
an F-1 student.
| What is the difference between
an "F-1" visa and an "M" visa? |
up |
An "M" visa is what you would need to obtain
if you are coming to the United States to study at a trade or vocational
school. An example of a trade school would be cooking school, or flight
school. To come study English at A F International, you would need to obtain
an F-1 visa.
| How many classes do I need to
take as an F-1 student? |
up |
The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service
requires all F-1 students to take 18 hours of classes per week to maintain
F-1 status.
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P.O.Box 6223
Westlake Village, California
91362, USA
tel.: 011 805 496 6694
fax: 011 805 496 9622
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2002-2004 A F International School of Languages Inc.