• If You Want to Study in the United States: Ungraduate Study
• If You Want to Study in the United States: Graduate Study
• If You Want to Study in the United States: Scholars and Professionals
• If You Want to Study in the United States: Technical and Vocational Studies
• 10 Points to Remember When Applying for a Nonimmigrant Visa
• Students studying in the U.S.
• Applying for short-term employment in the U.S.
• How to write a letter of recommendation
• Planning for departure
• Monthly Maintenance Rates
• F-1 Visa Information
• Student Visas – What Counsuls Look For
• Selecting a Health Insurance Company in the United States
• U.S. Visa Symbols
• F-1 vs. J-1 Visa Information
• Department of State Launches Visa Education Campaign
• How to Record Departure from the United States, After the Fact
• The Student Visa

PLANNING FOR DEPARTURE

If you have been accepted by an American university and plan to begin your study this autumn, we recommend that you read the green handbook, Predeparture Orientation, which is located in the Advising Center.

We also have the following advice:

1. The most important matters to settle before your departure are your visa, airline tickets, and pocket money for the first month in the United States. If you do not have enough time to make these arrangements and to arrive to the university before the academic semester begins, you should consider starting your study in January. To do this, you should immediately meeting the academic department or admissions office to request to "defer your admissions" until January. Most universities allow students to defer admissions up to one full year.

2. Travel from New York or Washington to the university is your responsibility. A flight from New York to Chicago, for example, will cost $300-$500. If you are not able to pay this amount, you should request the university to make an advance on your stipend to pay for the airline ticket. From the former USSR, contact the academic department or foreign student advisor at the university to find out if this is an option for you. If the university agrees to pay for your internal ticket in advance, a reservation can be made and put into the computer until your arrival.

YMCA INTERNATIONAL STUDENT SERVICE is an organization that serves foreign students coming to the U.S. to study. This organization offers to meet you at various airports and to help you get to your final destination. To request their assistance, you may contact them at this address: 356 34th Street, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10001; phone: (212) 563-0966; telex: ISS 620675.

3. Expense money will also be necessary for the first month of your stay in America. Normally, stipends are not given immediately upon arrival which means that you will need some money for food, books, housing, and other things. Again, you should contact the university and explain that you will need an advance on your stipend in order to survive the first month at the university. The academic department or office of foreign students are the appropriate places to seek help.

You should plan to arrive to the university no earlier than two weeks before study begins. If you arrive earlier, you will find it very difficult to support yourself financially.

4. A visa from the U.S. Embassy may be obtained only after you have received an I-20 or IAP-66 form directly from the university. The forms must indicate that the university is providing full funding for your study. If you are accepted to a university without financial aid, you must prove that you have another sponsor before the university will send you an I-20 form.

You may apply for a U.S. visa by registering through your academic institute/place of work or as an individual by standing in line at the U.S. Embassy. You will need the following items:
 

passport	two photographs
2 visa applications	I-20 or IAP-66 (original from university)

A visa usually takes about three weeks to process.