What is the change for obtaining student visas for USA post-9/11?
Earlier a student could go to USA on a visitor’s visa, take admission in a US university, and change his status from a visitor’s visa to F1 visa — which is meant for students. This is no longer possible. You have to get back to your country and apply for a fresh student visa, unless you have declared at the port of entry in USA that you have come for university shopping. If you get admission to a university, you can stay in the country on a student visa. If this happens, the immigration officer will put a stamp on your passport to say ‘prospective student’. And then one can change the status. But student has to reach the American university in 30 days and register himself/herself from the time of his/her entry in USA. Failure to do so will go for an FBI check. At present all these records are vociferously followed. I think there are 73,000 new employees recruited by the INS to do such jobs. They have increased their budget three times from some $2 million to $6.8 million in just surve
