Getting an F1 Visa Is a Dream-Come True for Students

Getting an "F1" visa has become a primary requirement for students who want to stay in the US for the purpose of their education.

The student can obtain a F1 visa after applying with the I-20 form received from the school into which his admission gets approved. The F1 visa also allows the students to leave the US, but they can return back if they have the valid I-20 form with them.

With a F1 visa, a student can only get into the US a month prior, to the beginning of his classes at the chosen university or college.

It's important that with a F1 visa, the students only stay in the US till the duration of their course also specified on their I-20 form. The students can extend their stay for not more than a period of 60 days from the time at which their course ends. However, they can extend their stay if they have been approved for an optional practical training (OPT) in the US.

The benefit of doing a 1 year OPT is allowed to all those students, who have devoted at least 9 months towards their degrees. They can opt for this training either after completing their degree or during pursuing it only.

During the pursuance of their course, the students can also do the OPT, which will make them eligible to get a sponsorship visa (H-1B visa) from any good company in the US after completing their graduation.

However, there is another privilege for students who hail from the engineering, science, mechanical and technical educational backgrounds which is that they can opt for 3 years of optional practical training.

The students also get the liberty for doing OPT during the pursuance of their degree. When they are pursuing graduation, they can get the freedom to work for 40 hours during college breaks but lesser than that during classes.

Pre-completion OPT is defined as the working condition under which a student can work during the time of his classes. Since they are already pursuing a degree, they need permissions to carry on with that kind of OPT. During the classes, they can work part time but during vacations, they can work for a full-time shift.

Another condition is post-completion OPT, under which a student can work for more than 20 hours in a week because this kind of OPT is allowed after the completion of the degree. All the months devoted by a student to a post-completion OPT are calculated, after deducting those devoted to a pre-completion OPT.

So, students who are opting for a student visa to the USA have nothing to lose. They can use their OPT experience to get good jobs in America and convert their F1 visa into an H-1B visa.

Nancy Damon is a freelance visa consultant. Currently she handles all kinds of cases in immigration, work and study visas to Europe, Asia, Australia and USA. You can get more information about study abroad from her. Contact her at http://www.visahouse.in