10 Points to Remember When applying for a Non-immigrant Visa

Two types of student visas

A student, who is not a U.S. citizen or permanent resident (resident alien), will need a student visa in order to attend the University of Hawaii at Manoa. There are two types of student visas available for academic study at a U.S. university:

1. F-1 student visa ? This student visa is the more commonly used student visa and is used by students whose academic expenses, in general, will be privately funded by either personal or family funds.

2. J-1 exchange visitor student visa ? This student visa is used by students who have been awarded a scholarship or grant and are funded by their home country government or a special U.S. government agency (or in some cases a provincial or other local government agency or a formal university partnership). The J-1 Exchange Visitor Program is administered by the U.S. Department of State. J-1 exchange visitor students are expected to contribute to the scholarly exchange of information between the U.S. and their home country and in many cases required to return to the home country for a period of at least two years following study.

Procedures to request visa document from UH Manoa

1. F-1 visa document ? Those students, who will be privately funded and therefore seeking the F-1 student visa, should submit financial documentation to the appropriate admission office (Admission and Records Office for undergraduate student admission and Graduate Admissions Office for graduate student admissions), which is responsible for certifying availability of funds for an admitted student’s course of study. With this evidence on file, the admitting school will be able to process the I-20 form.

2. J-1 visa document ? Those students, who will be government-funded (either by their home government or the U.S. government) and therefore seeking the J-1 exchange visitor student visa, should submit financial documentation to the Graduate Admissions Office, which will forward to the ISS for review and issuance of the DS-2019.

Using the visa document to request a student visa at U.S. Embassy

The Admission and Records Office or the Graduate Admissions Office will forward the visa document (I-20 form for students seeking the F-1 student visa or DS-2019 form for students seeking the J-1 student visa) to the student, who has already been academically admitted. The student will take the I-20 form/DS-2019 form, along with financial documents and admission documents from UH Manoa, to the U.S. Embassy to apply for the F-1 or J-1 student visa.

In general, the ISS does not issue the first I-20 form for a student (the appropriate admissions office will do that). Students who have questions about their I-20 form should check with the appropriate admission office. The ISS does issue the DS-2019 for J-1 exchange visitor students and handles all visa documentation for non-degree students, who are enrolled in a foreign university and will be studying at UH Manoa for one year or less as “visiting students.”

Students currently in U.S. on a non-student visa: Students who are already in the U.S. and will not be departing the U.S. prior to beginning study at UH Manoa should seek advisement from an ISS adviser to obtain information on changing to student status or eligibility to attend UH Manoa while on a non-student visa.