Most of you have received admits from the universities and are now in the crucial phase of visa application. Here is a quick look at the visa process, chronologically.
filling the DS-160 form
paying the visa fees
scheduling appointments for: a) submitting biometric data and documents at the Offsite Facilitation Centre and b) the Visa Interview
At the moment, many students are not able to get visa appointments and are confused as to how to proceed further. According to the recent update, the US Consulate has declared that students who have been previously issued any kind of US visa (B1/B2/L1/L2/H1-B/H4) can avail of the dropbox facility to expedite the process. The student has to login into his/her account on www.ustraveldocs.com, and answer a few questions to be eligible to avail of the dropbox facility. Following this, the student can directly book the OFC appointment. If the appointment goes well, the student will be directly issued the F1 visa within a week.
You can also contact us at the academy for any visa-related guidance and attend our LIVE visa workshop (webinar) by Mr.Dilip Oak on 17th April, 9 am to get in-depth assistance on the visa process. Register here: https://rzp.io/l/YoS0BjR3
Most of you have received admits from the universities and are now in the crucial phase of visa application. Here is a quick look at the visa process, chronologically.
filling the DS-160 form
paying the visa fees
scheduling appointments for: a) submitting biometric data and documents at the Offsite Facilitation Centre and b) the Visa Interview
At the moment, many students are not able to get visa appointments and are confused as to how to proceed further. According to the recent update, the US Consulate has declared that students who have been previously issued any kind of US visa (B1/B2/L1/L2/H1-B/H4) can avail of the dropbox facility to expedite the process. The student has to login into his/her account on www.ustraveldocs.com, and answer a few questions to be eligible to avail of the dropbox facility. Following this, the student can directly book the OFC appointment. If the appointment goes well, the student will be directly issued the F1 visa within a week.
You can also contact us at the academy for any visa-related guidance and attend our LIVE visa workshop (webinar) by Mr.Dilip Oak on 17th April, 9 am to get in-depth assistance on the visa process. Register here: https://rzp.io/l/YoS0BjR3
The Form I-20 is an official US Government form, issued by a certified school, which a prospective non-immigrant student must have in order to get an F-1 or M-1 visa. Form I-20 acts as proof-of-acceptance and contains the information necessary to pay the SEVIS I-901 fee, apply for a visa, or change visa status, and be admitted into the United States. The Form I-20 has the student’s SEVIS identification number, which starts with the letter N followed by 10 digits, on the top left-hand side.
Q.2 How early should I apply for my student (F1) visa?
You are encouraged to apply for your nonimmigrant student visa as soon as you have your I-20. To ensure you get an early and timely date you may apply at anytime. However, a student visa may be issued no more than 120 days prior to the start date mentioned on your I-20.
Q.3 I received my visa, when should I travel?
You may only enter the United States within 30 days of the beginning of the course of study stated on your I-20 form, regardless of when your visa was issued.
Q.4 What if I receive the I-20 form to a different school?
If you receive an I-20 form after scheduling your appointment, then you can inform the US consular officer of the new I-20 form at the time of the interview.
Q.5 I was working on an H-1B visa and have now been admitted to a university as an F-1. Do I need to return to my country to apply for a student visa?
No. Once you are in the United States, you do not need to apply for a new visa because the visa is only for entry into the United States. Check with USCIS to determine if you need to adjust the status of your existing visa. If you leave the country, however, you’ll need to apply for the student visa in order to re-enter the United States.
Q.6 What is the SEVIS system and how does it affect me?
The Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) program requires schools and exchange programs to verify the enrolment status of all new and continuing foreign students and exchange visitors. Student visa applicants are required to pay a SEVIS fee before a visa can be issued. Applicants are then required to provide the SEVIS I-901 fee receipt as proof of payment. The SEVIS website has more details on this.
Q.7Can an F-1 student work in the United States?
Full-time students on F visas may seek on-campus employment not to exceed 20 hours per week. After the first year in student status, an applicant may apply for employment off campus with authorization from USCIS.
Q.8 Can my dependents apply for a tourist visa instead of dependent visa if they only want to visit me and stay in U.S. for a short period of time?
Yes, they can apply for a Tourist visa.
Q.9 How do I read and understand my visa?
As soon as you receive your visa, check to make sure all your personal information printed on the visa is correct. If any of the information on your visa does not match the information in your passport, or is otherwise incorrect, please contact the issuing authority (i.e. the US Embassy) immediately.
The expiry date of your visa is the last day you may use the visa to enter the United States. It does not indicate how long you may stay in the United States. Your stay is determined by the Department of Homeland Security at your port of entry. As long as you comply with the Department of Homeland Security decision on the conditions of your stay, you should have no problem. Further information about interpreting your visa can be found at the Department of State’s Consular Affairs website.
Q.10 My visa will expire while I am in the United States. Is there a problem with that?
No. You may stay in the US for the period of time and conditions authorised by the Department of Homeland Security officer when you arrived in the US, which will be noted on the I-94, even if your visa expires during your stay.
Q.11 What address should I mention on Form DS-160, if my current home address and my address on the passport is not the same?
You must mention your current home address in India and not the address printed on your passport.
Q.12 What if I receive an I-20 from a better university after getting the F1 visa?
If you have obtained your visa and need to change the name of the university on your visa, you have to go through the complete process once again by scheduling a new appointment after paying the application fee and service charges.
Q.13 Is there a quota for the number of student visas issued each year?
No. All qualified students receive visas.
For detailed guidance, avail of our visa counselling services by attending our Visa workshop webinar on 27th February at 9:00 am.
If you are not already an Admission Counselling student at the academy, register for the webinar here: https://rzp.io/l/YoS0BjR3
Once you pay and enroll, you will receive the zoom registration link shortly.
Following the US presidential elections, a major turnaround of events has taken place in favor of Indian students and immigrants with the new bill passed by the US Senate last Wednesday, December 2, 2020. The bill eliminates the 7% per country cap on the employment-based immigrant visa (EB-2 and EB -3 categories) green cards. The bill has proved to be a huge relief for Indian immigrants stuck in the green card backlog for years.
Every year, the US grants more than a million green cards for the following types:
Family-sponsored Green cards: This type of Green Card is given only to immediate family, such as spouses, children, siblings, or parents of a US citizen or a US permanent resident.
Employment sponsored Green cards: This Green Card is given to you if you have found a job in the US and your employer is going to pay for the forms and application procedure and sponsor your stay in the US.
Returning resident Green Card: This Green Card is for those who previously had a Green Card but travelled outside of the US and did not come back for more than one year for unavoidable reasons.
Diversity Visa Green Card: Every year the US holds a visa lottery for citizens of countries with low immigration rates to the US.
The employment sponsored green cards are further categorized into the following types:
EB-1: Employment-based first preference, priority workers with a 40,040-annual cap.
EB-2: Employment-based second preference, professionals with 40,040 workers with offers of employment in jobs requiring an advanced degree or higher.
EB-3: Employment-based third preference, skilled workers: 40,040 workers with offers of employment in jobs requiring a bachelor’s degree and skilled workers with at least two years of experience.
EB-4: Employment-based fourth preference, special immigrants: 9,940 religious’ workers, broadcasters, US government and military employees, and abandoned juveniles.
EB-5: Employment-based fifth preference, investors: 9,940 foreign investors who made investments in a new commercial enterprise in the United States.
Out of these, the EB-2 and EB-3 visas apply to students pursuing masters and bachelor’s degrees in the US. Every year, as the number of applicants for green cards kept increasing, the backlogs also kept accumulating due to the 7% country cap.
As of November 2019, the backlog for EB-2 and EB-3 green card applications for India is a whopping 706,097 and only around 8000 green cards are being cleared annually because of the 7% country cap. Considering these figures, it might take 89 years to clear this backlog. As of December 2020, EB-2 applications up to 15th May 2011 and EB-3, applications up to 1st January 2014 have been cleared.
But there are chances that the clearance process for these backlogs will now accelerate if the 7% country cap is removed, and the number of green cards cleared annually will increase from only 8000 to 1,40,000, thereby benefiting H1-B visa holders and aspiring students.
However, even if the Senate has passed the bill, the chambers must reconcile their differences before the bill goes to the president. It is not yet clear whether President Trump would sign the bill into law, as the White House has previously expressed opposition to the concept of removing per-country caps and anti-immigration groups are publicly opposing the bill.
This blog is regarding the recent announcement by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) about the continuation of F1 visas for students studying in the US and taking fully online classes for the fall 2020 semester due to the pandemic.
As per the regulation, students are not allowed to take fully online courses in the fall semester while in the US and they have to return to their home country before the semester begins. After returning, they can continue to pursue their semester online from their home country but they cannot return to the US until the university resumes in-person instruction. This does not mean that their F1 visa has been cancelled. It means that the embassy will not renew the F1 visa until the university resumes in-person instruction.
Students will not lose any credits earned in the fall 2019 and spring 2020 semesters. They will be required to take a break for only one semester, and again resume their studies in spring 2021. Also, this will not affect CPT or OPT in any manner.
The regulation also states that as an alternative, the student can either transfer to another school with in-person instruction or adopt a hybrid model with a maximum of one class or three credit hours online. This decision will not hamper the current visa process for students aspiring to join next year or those who have deferred their fall 2020 admissions to spring 2021.
New students, who have deferred their admission to spring 2021, can continue with their visa process since it is likely that in-person instruction will resume by January 2021. However, if the spring semester is also changed to online instruction, you will not be able to go to the US. In that case, you will have to defer your admission to fall 2021 and accordingly get your visas reissued for fall 2021.
President Donald Trump, on Monday, June 22, issued an executive order temporarily suspending stamping for new H-1B and few other work visas till December 31, 2020.
While the news may come as a setback for IT professionals aspiring to go to the US this year, students completing graduation in the USA, need not panic.
Who will be affected by this executive order?
IT companies
This move will affect the IT companies in India that work for US clients and send their employees on H1B visas or L Visas to work at client sites. The suspension will prohibit the entry of IT professionals in the USA on work-related projects till December 2020. The freeze will apply to the following visas:
H1-B Visas: Used by Tech workers
H4 Visa: Dependents of H1B visa holders
L visas – Transfer within the same company
J Visa – Exchange Visitor (J) non-immigrant visa
H2-B – Visas for low-skill jobs
H1B aspirants of 2020-21 fiscal
The H1B lottery process for 2020-21 fiscal has completed. The sponsoring companies of those picked in the lottery had hoped to complete the application process by June end and have the employees onboard this year itself. However, with the new ban, the employees will not be able to join this October and will have to wait till December.
No effect on F1 visa and OPT
Students pursuing their education in the US are on an F1 student visa. You can still find an internship or co-op on CPT while studying. Also, on completion of your graduation, you can start working in the US on OPT. Students who are already on OPT and whose H1B visas have been picked in the lottery, will not be affected by the order. However, it is highly recommended that they do not travel outside the US under these circumstances.
Better chance for employment to students with strong academics and US degrees
Following this order, Trump has also directed his administration to reform the H-1B visa system and move in the direction of merit-based immigration. Additionally, the lottery system which picks up applications randomly will now be replaced by a merit-based system that will prioritize the highest salaries to “get the best and the brightest”.
Therefore, students who have demonstrated excellent academics and have advanced degrees in the US universities will increase their chances of securing a high paying job and benefit them greatly.
The recent news about the proposed cancellation of H1B and OPT visas in various national newspapers has sent a wave of panic among Indian students and working professionals. With considerable experience in these matters, we present to you a clarification of these news items to ease your doubts and future plans of studying in the US.
On 8th May, five US senators and one congressman wrote a letter to President Donald Trump requesting him to suspend H1B and OPT visas for one year in view of the soaring unemployment in the United States due to the coronavirus pandemic.
To begin with, we want to clarify that it is not a petition but only a letter presenting an opinion/suggestion. Such letters can be written by anyone to the President. It does not mean that the President will immediately pass an executive order on the basis of this letter.
Further, acting on the letter is not an easy task. Firstly, only 5 Republican senators out of a 100, and one congressman out of 435, is a very small number to make an impact or drive a decision. Secondly, in the United States, these decisions will impact the two powerful lobbies that hold a lion’s share in their economy: The universities and IT companies. The economy of universities largely depends upon tuition fees from international students and this proposal will directly affect their student intake. Similarly, the majority of IT companies depend heavily on Indian and Chinese professionals who hold Masters degrees from American universities. Thus, the President is unlikely to make such a drastic decision which will have a boomerang effect on their economy.
What we must also not forget is that the letter could very well be a political gimmick, considering the November 2020 presidential elections. Against that backdrop, it is only advisable not to give importance to such letters and news items in the newspapers and go ahead with your study plans since universities and companies will continue to look to India for skilled engineers and tech professionals.
For years, Indian students have been flocking to universities in the United States of America to pursue higher education – mainly MS degrees. However, due to uncertainties in the recent immigration policies, there is some reservation in the minds of MS candidates about whether the USA is still the best option. In this post, we are covering a few points about why 2019 is actually an opportune time to apply to American universities.
1] Trump’s New H1B Policy
The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require technical expertise. In late January, US president Donald Trump announced changes in the H1B visa lottery system, which will favour students with advanced degrees in STEM fields from US universities. The new approach may result in an increase of up to 16% H-1B beneficiaries with a master’s degree or higher from a U.S. university.
Statistical Advantage of the New Lottery System
2] Beyond H1B – A Path to Citizenship
In January itself, Trump expressed his views on merit-based immigration in a tweet. He indicated that reforms would be introduced to ensure ‘simplicity and certainty’ to the stay of H1B-holders in the USA and also incorporate a path to citizenship. Realizing the need for legal immigration of skilled workers, he has said “we want to encourage talented and highly skilled people to pursue career options in the U.S.“
Further, a new law has been proposed in the US Congress to abolish country-wise quota for Green Cards. If passed, it could benefit thousands of Indian professionals waiting for a long time to secure Green Card. The proposal has been co-sponsored by 13 Senators and received great support.
To conclude, our advice to students is that do not give up on your dream of pursuing an MS in the US because of unverified rumors. The quality of education provided in American universities, the research facilities and the internships and work experience you will be able to secure are unparalleled. Seize the opportunity and make the most of it!
In 2015, when some Indian students were offered a shortcut route to a Master’s degree from the US, it seemed too good to be true! University of Farmington, Michigan was allowing them a CPT (student work-permit) right from Day 1. The students could start working immediately and would not have to attend classes, earn credits or make any academic efforts towards their degree. All that was required was a one-time payment to 8 Indian ‘recruiters’, based in Detroit, Florida, and Virginia, who were recruiting students to this university. These agents themselves were in touch with the university authorities to facilitate the admissions.
“If you take shortcuts, you get cut short.” Gary Busey
Little did they know that behind the façade of a fancy admissions website, a Facebook page with an events-calendar and the claim of being accredited was a trap set up by the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) arm of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE). Even the authorities that the Indian ‘recruiters’ had coordinated with were actually undercover HSI agents. Last week, based on the claim that the students were voluntarily part of this “pay to stay” scheme, 129 Indian students from India were arrested and charged with civil immigration charges. If convicted, the students may face possible deportation.
In the past few years, US immigration authorities have been taking tough measures to deter fraudulent universities that enroll students only so that they can stay in the US till they get an H1B visa. Admissions are usually run by ‘recruiters’ who charge high commissions and guarantee a fake degree, without any consideration for the legality of the process or safety of students. Similar sting operations had been conducted at Tri-Valley University (2011) and Northern New Jersey University (2016) to weed out student-visa frauds – both cases saw a number of Indian students being arrested.
In light of this, aspirants to the US must keep in mind that ‘not being aware of the correct processes’ will not hold up as a justified excuse. When selecting universities, you must do a thorough background check and evaluation of the universities you are planning to apply to.
Talk to any seniors of yours who may be studying there.
A quick search about the faculty teaching your course is a good idea.
Some other essential checks include accreditation, testimonials and QS Rankings.
Even better would be to take help from a reputed professional with years of credibility.
Remember, one can never be too safe when thinking about the future.
It has become very common for phony counselors and ‘admissions agents’ to take high commissions from questionable universities in exchange for sending unsuspecting students there. It is only once the fees have been paid and the students start classes, that they realize they have been shortchanged. At this point, any further action requires more fees to be paid and a lengthy transfer process.
However, if you are a student applying through the appropriate channels and to genuine universities, do not let such incident scare you away from pursuing an MS in the US. To safeguard your dreams, it is advisable to take counseling from a reputed source. Get all your doubts regarding which university to apply to, what the visa process includes and how to orient yourself to a new country cleared at once.
Dilip Oak’s Academy has a proven reputation of sending students only to accredited and genuine universities. We take great pride in the fact that over the last 23 years, not even one of the 28,000 students we have sent to the US has ever faced such issues. Safety of our students’ future is our primary concern and that is something that should never be compromised on. We sincerely urge you all to be precautious about this aspect as well.
On 2nd August, President Trump announced that he is backing a new legislation for an immigration reform (Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy Act, or the RAISE Act) for foreign individuals who apply for legal permanent status, or green cards, through their employer.
This is going to be immensely beneficial for Indian students in America in the long term. The legislation backs a merit based system which gives preferences to highly skilled individuals for immigration. The application process will favor applicants who can speak English, financially support themselves and their families, and demonstrate skills that will contribute to the U.S economy.
Remember that this is still a legislation and not a law, however given that the president himself backs this legislation and Republicans control both senate and house – this is likely to be great news all around.
Following are the key highlights and how this might help highly educated Indian students who currently are / will be employed in the USA.
Today green cards are awarded essentially by queue, and a candidate with higher education degrees, skills and a well-paying job is treated the same way as a candidate with low skills. To make matters worse green cards are awarded by limited country based quotas, putting Indian candidates at a disadvantage due to the large number of applicants. Merit based system will end this.
The change is meant to make the application process fairer and allow applicants to know what their chances are of being approved before applying. Candidates would be able go online, answer questions about their education and employment experience, and learn if their background would help fill a workplace shortage in the United States. Applicants would also receive a score to give them a concrete idea of their chances of obtaining a visa.
Although this proposal will go through many changes and debates – this is a step in the right direction. Indian students who are employed in the US after they complete their education are highly skilled individuals who possess advanced degrees with impressive research & academic backgrounds, so they should be able to clear bar for the merit based systems based on their qualifications and work experience without difficulty. This system is similar to the current immigration systems adopted in Canada and Australia – which have proven to be far better in terms of making immigration fair and efficient.
Several news articles have been published since 3rd April 2017 discussing the new rule affecting H1B visas.
Here are 3 things Indian students aspiring to study in the US should know.
1. More Visas for Students: This rule primarily affects India’s IT outsourcing industry which is the biggest user of H-1B visas. Of the top 10 companies sponsoring H1B visas, 89% visa applications are from outsourcing IT companies. This causes an acute shortage for H1B visas on a whole, reducing chances for Indian students who are directly employed by US companies , filing for H1B. With stricter regulations in place for Indian IT companies, more opportunities will open for students with advanced degrees. In other words, more visas will be available for students
2. More Jobs for Students: As this rule affects lot of outsourcing employers – these jobs need to be filled in US itself. Due to the lack of high skilled professionals with advanced degrees in US especially in the STEM areas, these jobs will open for students. As Indian students do have F1 visa with OPT – shortage of workers due to visa rules will help Indian students looking for jobs.
3. US Economy is booming and needs skilled knowledge workforce: Today US unemployment rate stands at just 4.7% lowest in 15 years. Stock market is up 15% since November 2016 – More and more investment is being made in businesses – all this means much more demand for skilled knowledge employees – all of which are in short supply today. Students should take advantage of this situation.
So Indian students doing MS in US are in reality, probably going to benefit from rules.
