If you want to study in the US, you will need to obtain a student visa. There are visas for academic, non-academic and exchange programs. Applying for a student visa can be a long process, so make sure you start applying well in advance of your course start date.
International students who are accepted to a full-time academic program or an English Language Program at a US college or university can be granted an F visa.
Before applying for a student visa, you need a letter of acceptance from a school approved by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP). Once accepted you will have to go through these steps in order to obtain a visa:
The M visa is for recognised non-academic or vocational studies such as cooking classes, flight school or technical courses.
As with the F visa, you will first have to be accepted by the SEVP institution. After you are accepted, you will be registered at the SEVIS. You will receive a form I-20, Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant student status after an interview.
Category J visas are also known as working holiday visas. This type of visa allows you to come to the US as part of a sponsorship program to study or work. You can come to the US with a J visa if you plan to fulfill roles such as being a:
It’s absolutely necessary to find a sponsor before applying for a J visa and many organizations which require this kind of work will support your application. After filing the DS-160 form online, the application follows the same procedure as the M and F visas.
More information about the different types of visas can be found on the US Department of State website. When applying for a visa, make sure you are doing so through an official government website, as there are many websites that scam you into paying for a visa without ever receiving one.