Student Visa

To apply for student visa a person needs to carry the following documents to the embassy :

An offer letter from a recognised University which has all the details regarding the course applied for, date of joining the course, the amount of fee to be paid, the duration of the course.

Fee Receipt. The process of payment of tuition fee as well as fee for the hostel may differ from University to University but usually a fee receipt confirming the payment of initial fee has to be carried with the offer letter.

Visa application form (Optional Form 156) duly filled in with one photograph to be pasted at the bottom right on the back of the application i.e. page 2 of the form.

A draft of Rs.1980/- (One Thousand Nine Hundred Eighty only) in favour of "American Embassy" payable at the city of application. This draft is application fee and needs to be attached to the visa application form (Optional Form 156) and is while handing over the application at the embassy. (This fee is non refundable and keeps changing with the changes in the exchange rate). In addition to the application fee, the visa fee, which is in accordance with the duration of the visa, is to be paid in cash/draft after the visa has been granted.

I - 20 form in duplicate received from the University on the official paper of the Immigration and Naturalisation Service Department in United States for the category under the Eligibility for Non-immigrant F-1 Student Status for overseas students.

All academic certificates i.e. Certificates, Transcripts and Marksheets in original of Senior Secondary, Higher Secondary, Graduation, Post Graduation, Certificates or Diplomas; and any other qualification that a student might be having. Besides academic certificates a student is also advised to carry two or three letter of recommendations and all certificates relating to extra curricular activities like sports, debates, music etc.

Additional results of examinations taken by the student depending on the course that the student has opted for may be required. These are TOEFL, GMAT, GRE or any other relevant exam that may be pertinent to the course opted for.

Financial Documents : The most important part of the documentation process is the financial documents. The concerned officer has to be convinced about the financial capability of the applicant and his sponsors as the education cost and cost of living expenses is very high as compared to India.
The financial documents include a C.A. (Chartered Accountant) Statement which would mention all the Immovable and Movable assets and the Annual Income of the sponsor and his family.

Immovable assets mean land, Building, Agricultural land, Commercial Property etc. Movable assets mean Bank Balances, Cash Balances, Bank Deposits, All types of Deposits, All types of Provident Funds (GPF, PPF etc.), Equity shares, Debentures, Bonds and all other types of Debt Instruments, Jewellery, Vehicles and Household Items. The last three items mentioned in the list of movable assets i.e. jewellery, vehicles and household items are only for reference as they do not form the part of funds which would be used to pay for the educational as well as other allied expenses. The most important part of the C.A. statement is the Annual Income of the sponsor and his family members. The annual income should be supported by the relevant documents such as :
Salaried Individuals : Salary Certificate and Income Tax return or Form 16
Self Employed : Professional - Income Tax Return

Business - Complete Balance Sheet with Profit & Loss statement and other relevant documents & Income Tax Return. If the company is Private Limited or Public Limited then one needs to attach a certified copy of Memorandum and Articles of Association of the company. Additional documents like Bank Statements, or Deposits etc. are always useful in determining the legal financial capability of the applicant.

(All financial documents should be carried to the embassy in Original and should be carried in proper files systematically arranged so that the visa officer can go through them and understand them easily).
Click here for the format of CA Statement

In all cases a person is required to carry cash for the visa fee which is payable once the visa is granted. The visa fee is different for different periods. The visa is usually granted for 1 year, 5 years or 10 years.