Posted on September 28 2015
An F-1 visa is issued to international students who wish to pursue academic studies or English language training programs at an accredited U.S. college or university. It is intended for non-immigrants who are only eligible to remain in the United States up to 60 days past the culmination of their academic programs, less they have applied and been approved to stay and work for a period of time under the OPT Program (Optional Practical Training Program), according to the eponymously named International Student, a website designed to serve as a resource for international students around the globe.
You may enter in the F-1 or M-1 visa category provided you meet the following criteria, per the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ guidelines:
The process for applying for an F-1 visa involves several steps, the first of which is to apply and get admitted into a SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System ) certified school. Once admitted, the school becomes the sponsoring institution for a student visa and enters the foreign student’s information into the SEVIS database, generating a paper I-20 form to include in the student’s admissions packet.
Once the prospective student receives I-20 form, they apply for a foreign student visa through the U.S. Embassy or consulate in their home country. During this step of the process, the applicant is screened for security risks terrorist, health, or criminal.
Once foreign student is granted a visa and arrives in the United States, immigration inspectors confirm their SEVIS record and enter her arrival information into the SEVIS database. The sponsoring school is then responsible for confirming that the foreign student is attending classes and must update SEVIS for any changes in their enrollment status, major, or any disciplinary actions.
As with other foreign student visas, there is no limit on the number of F-1 visas that can be issued annually. However, national security policies that affect immigrant admissions to the United States cause fluctuations in the use of F-1 visas, according to the Brookings Institute, which organized a significant amount of data regarding F-1 visas in August of 2014.
Some of the report’s key findings included:
According to Brookings, “These findings suggest that foreign students can provide important economic benefits to their U.S. metropolitan destinations—serving as bridges back to their growing home cities and offering valuable skills to local employers. More metropolitan leaders should emulate leading practices that capitalize on the knowledge and relationships of foreign students to strengthen local economies while also maximizing students’ educational and professional experiences in the United States.”
The most recent data available from the U.S. Department of State denotes that 595,569 F-1 visas were issued in 2014, while 173,062 of those were refused.
The State Department also disclosed that the largest portion of overall visa issuances went to foreign nationals of Asian origins, followed closely by North America with the second largest demographic, followed by Africa, Europe, south America, and Oceania in last.
As already proposed by Congress, the Brookings report found that the federal government should make changes in the F-1 visa program to allow foreign students from high-quality schools to apply directly for permanent residency if an employer is hiring them. State and metropolitan leaders should start dialogues with local higher educational institutions in order to further utilize foreign students’ knowledge and connections with markets abroad to benefit local businesses; these reforms could help U.S. metropolitan economies grow in more productive, inclusive and sustainable ways.
Currently, Homeland Security has been given a Feb. 12, 2016 deadline for their efforts to terminate a visa extension that allows F-1 graduates to work in the U.S. for an additional six years after graduating.
“I’m tense now, I don’t know what to do,” said Venu during an interview with U.S. News. He earned a master’s degree from San Diego State University in 2014 and works as a software developer in Virginia. (He asked to use only his first name to avoid affecting his employment.) “Knowing I might need to leave the U.S. and go back to India all the sudden, it’s difficult for me.”
STEM executives say the extension is little short of a godsend, enabling them to find, train and retain high-end specialized talent they say is in intensely short supply.
“We are starving for workers,” stated Luis von Ahn, CEO of the language-learning app Duolingo and a professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University. “There’s high unemployment, but there’s just not many people with advanced degrees in STEM,” he told U.S. News.
Immigration advocates, meanwhile, contend the extension has provided a much-needed bridge to obtaining a longer-lasting H-1B work permit, which only a third of the roughly 240,000 applicants received in the last fiscal year.
“The goal is to bridge the gap and keep these American-educated kids here rather than sending them out of the country to compete against us,” said Emily Lopez Neumann, an attorney at the Texas-based immigration firm Reddy & Neumann.
Attorneys say they expect Homeland Security to issue a rule by late October.
“We just want to have a normal life. We want to do more and contribute,” said Rahul Shambhuni, of India, who earned a master’s degree from Old Dominion University and now works for a telecommunications company in Los Angeles. “We have a chance to do that here, not really back in the home country. That’s good for us, and good for the U.S., too.”
For more news and updates, assistance with your visa needs or for a Free Assessment of your profile for Immigration or Work Visa’s just visit www.y-axis.com
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