Applying for a US Visa
International students and scholars must have a valid
stamp in their passport to be eligible for entry or
re-entry to the United States. There are some
exceptions for travel to Canada, Mexico or an
adjacent island for less than 30 days. Visa stamps
are obtained at US
Consulates abroad. (Note that citizens of Canada
do not need a visa stamp in their passports in order
to enter the U.S.) See our OIP web page for general
travel information.
We would like to assist all international students
and scholars in meeting their educational goals and
we hope that all international students and scholars
are successful in their visa applications at the US
Consulates abroad. However, students and scholars
may encounter some difficulties which could cause
delays or denials of visa applications. These difficulties
may include:
Interviews Required
for Visa Applications
Recently, the regulations governing visa applications
have been revised to require that U.S. consulates
interview nearly all internationals applying for non-immigrant
visa stamps. There will be only rare situations in
which an applicant will be able to get a visa without
the interview. You can read the government
cable that applies to these exceptions. The requirement
for the interview will mean that you may experience
longer delays in getting an appointment at the U.S.
consulate than you have in the past. Please
take this into account when making travel plans!
SEVIS and the Consolidated
Consular Database (CCD)
If you are applying for a J, F or M visa stamp, you
must be entered in to the SEVIS database and have
a SEVIS generated I-20 or DS-2019 in order to apply
for and receive a visa stamp. We have entered all
of our students and scholars in to the SEVIS system,
so you should have either a SEVIS I-20 or DS-2019
form.
However, even though we have entered you, as evidenced
by the SEVIS I-20 or DS-2019, the consulates still
may not be able to see your record. This is because
the consulates actually look at your SEVIS record
through their own database, referred to as the Consolidated
Consular Database or the CCD. Records from SEVIS are
supposed to be exported and uploaded to the CCD every
24 hours. Unfortunately, the system is not working
perfectly, and the records of the CCD are not always
complete. If a consular officer informs you that your
records are not available in SEVIS, please
contact the OIP immediately. We will
then contact the National SEVIS helpdesk and attempt
to resolve the problem. Unfortunately, we are not
able to make any advance arrangements to ensure that
your record will be seen by the consulate.
Security Clearance
With the heightened security concerns around the world
and the resulting changes to U.S. immigration regulations,
the number of security checks done for U.S. visa applications
has increased. There is no way to know for certain
ahead of time whether you will be delayed by one of
these security checks. There are a few things we do
know. There is a technology
alert list of subject areas which are considered
to be of security concern to the U.S. federal government.
If a visa applicant's area of study is on that list,
the U.S. consulate may require a "security advisory
opinion" to be completed prior to granting the visa.
You can read through the technology alert list to
determine if your subject area or area of research
is on the list. If it is, you will likely be subject
to this longer security clearance.
Additionally, some male nationals of certain countries
who are between the ages of 16 and 45 are subject
to security checks. This list is not made public,
however, it seems from the experiences of visa applicants
that it includes the following countries:
Afghanistan, Algeria,
Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cuba, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea,
Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon,
Libya, Malaysia, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan,
Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia,
United Arab Emirates, Yemen, and the territories
of Gaza and West Bank. (This list is subject to
change)
This security clearance process
for both the technology alert list and by country
may delay your visa application by anywhere from one
to three months or even more in rare cases. If you
have applied for a visa and you have been waiting
for more than one month for the results of a security
advisory opinion, please contact the OIP to inform
us of the delay.
Non-immigrant Intent
All applicants for an F or J visa are required to
demonstrate their intent to return to their home country
following the completion of their academic programs.
There are several ways you can be prepared to support
your intent to return home in your visa interview.
- have a few sentences in mind that express how
you intend to use your degree or research at home
after your finish your program
- bring a deed to any property (land, house, apartment)
that you own in your home country
- bring bank statements of any accounts that you
maintain in your home country
- if you have an employer who intends to employ
you when you return home, bring a letter from that
employer
- bring something that shows that your family resides
in your home country (perhaps your parents have
deeds or bank accounts)
Be Prepared!
We are here to help you in whatever ways we are able.
If you do plan to travel out of the U.S. and are going
to need to apply for a visa, come in to the OIP before
you go to discuss the documents you need to have with
you:
- valid passport
- valid I-20, DS-2019, or other documents such
as H1B approval notice
- recent financial support documents
- evidence of enrollment if you are a student
- employment offer letter if you are an academic
staff member at UND
