About the Form I-20 and the F-1 Visa
About
the Form I-20A-B.
The Form I-20 is a U.S. Immigration and Naturalization
Service (INS) form which is completed by educational
institutions approved by the INS to admit international
students for full-time, post-secondary studies. The
Form I-20 certifies that an international applicant
plans to pursue a full course of full-time study at
an INS-approved educational institution in the United
States and that they are both academically and financially
qualified to do so. This form is required by U.S.
embassies from international applicants who are applying
for a visa to enter the U.S. as full-time students.
The Form I-20 must also be presented to the INS officer
upon entry into the U.S.
PBU issues a Form I-20 to international
applicants who have been academically accepted and
have submitted all required admissions documents and
deposits. Please note that accepted applicants
are not allowed to enter the U.S. later than the reporting
date on Line 5 of the Form I-20.
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About the
F-1 Student Visa. An F-1 visa represents permission
granted by the U.S. State Department to enter the
U.S. to be a full-time student. Accepted international
applicants who have received a Form I-20 from PBU
may apply for an F-1 visa at the U.S. consulate or
embassy located in their home country. The Form I-20
is one of the documents which accepted applicants
should present to the U.S. consulate official when
applying for an F-1 visa. Other documents which should
be presented include the acceptance letter from PBU,
certification of financial support for the entire
length of proposed studies in the U.S., and proof
of plans to return home again (F-1 students are regarded
by the U.S. State Department and by the U.S. Immigration
and Naturalization Service as nonimmigrants who intend
to return home after the completion of their studies).
For more information regarding
U.S. Embassy policies, visit the U.S. State Department
web site at http://www.state.gov.
For more information on U.S. Immigration
and Naturalization Service (INS) policies, visit the
U.S. INS web site at http://uscis.gov.
Please note that citizens of
countries not required to have a U.S. visa in order
to enter the U.S. should be prepared to present the
U.S. Customs official at the port of entry with all
of the above items (except for the visa), an original
birth certificate or passport, and should make sure
to correctly complete a Form I-94. (Canadians
are not required to have an F-1 Student Visa in order
to enter the United States.)
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About U.
S. Nonimmigrant Visas and Statuses. The
United States government describes in its regulations
over fifty (50+) types of nonimmigrant classifications
or statuses for foreign nationals in the U. S. Each
status defines a specific activity which individuals
could conceivably perform while staying in the U.
S. Individuals who wish to come to the U. S. must
apply for the specific type of visa agreeing with
their proposed status or activity in the U. S. For
example, individuals wishing to study as full-time
students in the U. S. would need to apply for an F-1
student visa, because this visa reflects the intention
to be a full-time student in the U.S. In contrast,
individuals who wish only to visit the U. S. for tourism
and pleasure (and not for full-time studies) would
need to apply for a B-2 tourist visa. Important:
Federal Regulations explicitly state that B-1 and
B-2 statuses are not appropriate for individuals planning
to be full-time students in the U. S. According
to U. S. regulations, visa applicants who misrepresent
their proposed activities while in the U. S. are regarded
as committing visa fraud, which is punishable by U.S.
Federal Law. Applicants who enter the U.S. with a
B-1 (business) or B-2 (tourist) visa on or after April
12, 2002, are only allowed to enroll at PBU after
INS grants a change of status to F-1. All international
students, regardless of their status, are solely responsible
for obeying U.S. laws and maintaining their legal
status.
Due to these considerations, the
PBU International Office advises international applicants
not to enter the U.S. with a B-2 tourist visa or with
a B-1 visa in order to pursue full-time studies at
PBU. In addition, PBU also does not advise former
J students who are still subject to the two-year home
country residence requirement to enter the U.S. on
a 90-day visa waiver during this residency period
in order to pursue full-time studies at PBU. Individuals
who choose to do so are responsible for their own
infractions of U. S. Federal Law. Please note that
the PBU International Office will not process INS
change of status applications in cases where there
is evidence of visa fraud. International applicants
wishing to study at PBU who have further questions
regarding status and visa issues may wish to refer
to the INS and State Department web sites or to contact
the International Office.
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Entering the United States
The Form
I-94 and Entering the U.S. Shortly before entering
the United States, most international travelers must
fill out a card, called a Form I-94. This card is
an arrival / departure record. It is important for
international students to first write their last name
(surname) and then their first name on the card, as
required on the form. The spelling of both their first
and last names on the Form I-94—and on the Form
I-20—should agree with name order and spelling
appearing in their passport.
A number appears at the top of
the I-94 card. This number is the "Admission
Number" which is written in or typed in later
on the Form I-20. After arriving in the U.S. international
students are advised to keep the Form I-94 stapled
to the U.S. visa page in their passport. It is important
for students not to lose the Form I-94: it is proof
of their legal status in the U.S. F-1 students should
also always keep their Form I-20 in a safe place and
not lose it, because it is an important INS document.
INS Stamps
on Documents. When F-1 students enter the United
States with a Form I-20 for the first time, the INS
customs official normally stamps the upper right-hand
box on pages 1 and 3 of the form. Students authorized
to pursue full-time study normally have the stamp
indicating "Admitted: F-1, Until D/S." D/S
means "duration of status," that is the
period of time up until the Form I-20 expiration date
and/or date of completion of studies. This stamped
information also normally appears on the Form I-94.
The INS customs official removes and keeps page 1
from the Form I-20 and returns pages 3 and 4 to F-1
students. F-1 students whose Form I-20 page 1 is
not separated by the INS customs official or whose
INS stamp is something other than "Admitted:
F-1, Until D/S" should notify the PBU Foreign
Student Advisor when they arrive on campus.
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Maintaining F-1 Status While
at PBU
Your Basic F-1 Obligations.
After arriving at PBU F-1 students are responsible
for maintaining their own F-1 student status—
in other words, for obeying U.S. INS rules for F-1
students. Primary INS obligations of F-1 students
include registering for and satisfactorily completing
at least twelve (12) credits each academic semester
as a full-time students (except for the summer vacation),
and maintaining academically satisfactory progress
towards the completion of a specific course of study.
F-1 Students
and Employment. F-1 students are not allowed to
work off-campus without INS permission. Working on-campus,
their working hours may not exceed twenty (20) hours
per week during the Fall and Spring Semesters. However,
full-time working hours (that is, any work over twenty
(20+) hours per week) are allowed during school breaks
and the summer vacation.
Responsibility
for Maintaining F-1 Status. It is very important
for F-1 students to be aware that they are responsible
for following INS regulations and maintaining their
own F-1 student status while studying in the U.S.
The PBU Foreign Student Advisor is available at PBU
to advise international applicants and current students
who have questions regarding INS regulations and F-1
student status.
