Effective
from 26th September 2012, US consulate have started
implementing a new F1 VISA processing throughout India for Indian
students wishing to study in USA. Hence, all the FALL 2013 applicants
will have to follow this new process to apply for VISA. This article
explains this new F1 VISA application process in India.
New
US F1 VISA process
Follow
these steps in order to successfully obtain a US student F1 VISA.
Step
1: Pay the F1 VISA application fee
Every
Indian student wishing to pursue higher education in US must pay the
non-immigrant VISA application fee(F1 VISA application fee) and the
SEVIS fee. Both these payments are mandatory for F1 VISA and your
VISA will not be approved unless you have made these payments. For
more information about the fees and modes of payment, read this
article: What is the US F1 VISA fee amount for Indian applicants and how to make VISA fee payment?
Step
2: Complete the DS-160 form
The
US non-immigrant VISA application form, commonly called as the DS-160
form, needs to be filled, reviewed and submitted. You do not need the
VISA application and SEVIS fee receipts while filling or submitting
this form. So, you can even complete this form before the payment of
fees. Read this article for the instructions for filling DS-160 form:
How to fill the DS-160 form for F1 VISA application for Indian applicants. You can also find a link to the sample DS-160 form as per
the new procedure in this article.
Step
3: Schedule 2 appointments
You
need to schedule 2 appointments instead of 1 according to the new
process adopted by the US consulate. You will require the following 3
details before you can schedule these two appointments:
a)
Passport number
b)
Date of application fee payment
c)
DS-160 form 10 digit barcode number
The
first appointment that you need to schedule is your normal VISA
interview appointment, This appointment is the actual VISA interview
appointment where you will have to take all your financial and
academic documents for the VISA stamping.
As
per the new procedure, you will also have to schedule a second
appointment called the Offsite Facilitation Center(OFC). You will
have to give your fingerprints and your photo will be taken at the
OFC. The OFC appointment must be at least 1 day before your VISA
interview appointment.
Step
4: Visit OFC (Offsite Facilitation Center) for fingerprints and photo
After
scheduling of the appointments, you will have to visit the OFC for
your fingerprints and photograph. For a list of OFC locations for F1
VISA and documents required, read this article: List of OFC locations and documents required for F1 VISA OFC appointment in India.
Step
5: Visit the US consulate for your VISA interview
After
successful photograph and fingerprint scanning at OFC, you will have
to visit the US consulate that you selected during scheduling of your
first appointment. Your documents verification and F1 VISA interview
will take place and your VISA accept or reject will be immediately
informed after your VISA interview. For a list of all documents
required for F1 VISA interview, read this article: List of all documents for F1 VISA interview in India
Proof of financial resources for F1 VISA interview
We have compiled a comprehensive article regarding proof of financial resources to help applicants prepare all the necessary documentation for F1 VISA interview. All your doubts regarding the financial documentation will be solved after reading this article. Here is the link for this article: Preparation of financial documents for F1 VISA applicants in India.
For more informative articles on F1 VISA process and commonly asked F1 VISA questions, visit this section of our website: US F1 VISA details
