How Do I start the process of applying for F-1 visa status?

The F-1 process starts with a school rather than with the government. Nothing can be filed until an institution has accepted you and issued the document that makes a visa application possible. The steps below are in the order they have to happen, and each one depends on the one before it.

1. Apply to an SEVP-certified school

Only schools certified by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program may enroll F-1 students, and certification is not the same thing as accreditation. Ask before you apply, because an offer from a school that is not certified cannot lead to F-1 status. You will also need to satisfy the school, and later the government, that you meet the basic conditions of the category: enrollment as a full-time student in a program leading to a degree, diploma or certificate; sufficient funds to cover your studies and living costs for the course of study; and either proficiency in English or enrollment in courses leading to it.

2. Receive your Form I-20

Once you are admitted and the school is satisfied about your finances, it creates your record in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System and issues you a Form I-20, Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Status. Older guidance refers to a Form I-20 A-B/ID; that version no longer exists, and the current form is a single document generated from SEVIS. Check it as soon as you receive it. Your name should match your passport exactly, and the program start and end dates, degree level and funding figures should all be right, because these details drive everything that follows.

3. Pay the I-901 SEVIS fee

This fee is separate from any visa fee and from anything the school charges. It is currently $350 for F-1 applicants and is paid online using the SEVIS identification number printed on your I-20. Pay it before your visa interview and keep the printed confirmation, which has replaced the mailed receipt. Do not leave this step until the last moment, as payment can take time to appear in the system.

4. Apply for the visa

The visa application itself is made to a U.S. embassy or consulate, normally in your home country. You complete the online nonimmigrant visa application, pay the visa application fee, and schedule an interview. Since 2025 most applicants also pay a separate statutory visa integrity fee. Fee amounts and appointment procedures change, and screening and vetting requirements for student applicants have been tightened more than once in recent years, so check the current instructions on the website of the post where you will apply rather than relying on what a friend did last year.

At the interview you will need your passport, your I-20, your SEVIS fee confirmation, evidence of the funds available to you, and evidence of your academic preparation. Two themes run through the questions. The consular officer wants to be satisfied that you are a genuine student who will pursue the program described on the I-20, and that you have a residence abroad you do not intend to abandon. F-1 does not permit dual intent, so answers that suggest you plan to remain permanently create real difficulty.

You may generally apply well in advance of your program start date, and doing so is sensible because administrative processing can add weeks and cannot be hurried. Citizens of Canada do not need an F-1 visa but still need the I-20 and the SEVIS fee payment.

5. Enter the United States

A visa allows you to travel to a port of entry; it does not by itself admit you. You may not enter more than thirty days before the program start date shown on your I-20, and a border officer makes the admission decision when you arrive.

Check your electronic Form I-94 record shortly after you arrive. Since September 15, 2026, F-1 students are admitted until a specific date rather than for duration of status, and the date is calculated from the program end date on your I-20, capped at four years, plus thirty days to wrap up and depart. That date, not the expiration date printed in your passport, governs how long you may stay.

If you are already in the United States

Someone already here in another nonimmigrant category may be able to change to F-1 without leaving, by filing Form I-539 with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services after obtaining an I-20 and paying the SEVIS fee. Two cautions apply. Departing while the application is pending is treated as abandoning it. And a change of status does not give you a visa, so the first time you travel abroad afterwards you will need to apply for one at a consulate before you can return.

Choose carefully at the outset

The 2026 rule that replaced duration of status also restricted how freely students may move once they have started. Below the graduate level, a student generally may not transfer to another school or change major or degree level during the first academic year. At the graduate level, changes of educational objective are not permitted and a transfer requires an exception. Completing a program also bars a further period of F-1 status at the same or a lower academic level. The Department of Homeland Security has reserved the ability to delay these provisions, so their timing should be checked, but the practical message is that the school, program and level you name at the beginning matter more than they used to.

A note on timing

Work backwards from your program start date. Admission decisions, I-20 issuance, interview availability and administrative processing each take time, and none of them is within your control. Students who begin the sequence late are the ones who end up deferring a term.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Fees, forms, consular procedures and vetting requirements change frequently, and the framework for student admission changed substantially in 2026, so confirm the current position against government sources and discuss your own circumstances with an attorney.

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