Physics GRE Discussion Forums

International guys, how long does F1 Visa clearance usually take in your local US embassy?

After the interview u can collect the visa same day evening or get it posted to you in 2~3 days.

EDIT: I mean in India it is so..

Same thing in Argentina, it was sent to me the day after the interview.

same here in Turkey

On my I20, it's stated that I'll be fully supported by a grad assistantship for the first 12 months. Is that all the financial evidence you guys needed to support your applications or did you have to get your bank statements out as well to show that you had some spare cash handy?

kz205 wrote:On my I20, it's stated that I'll be fully supported by a grad assistantship for the first 12 months. Is that all the financial evidence you guys needed to support your applications or did you have to get your bank statements out as well to show that you had some spare cash handy?

I also only got awarded assistantship for the first 9 -not even 12- months. However, I did not need to further show any kind of bank statements during my F-1 visa interview. The counselor even congratulated me for the financial assistance (assistantship) I got!

BTW, I needed to return to the Embassy a week after the interview to retrieve my passport and F-1 visa.

Germany... or at least frankfurt seems different. They wanted to keep it for a couple days for processing and said they would mail it to me.... I spent three hours in the consulate for 10 minutes of talking to clerks

Turned out that my visa interview was a trivial affair. But strangely, my visa only got approved for 5 years even though my I20 stated that the course would last 72 months. How many years did the rest of you guys get?

kz205 wrote:my visa only got approved for 5 years even though my I20 stated that the course would last 72 months. How many years did the rest of you guys get?

No problem. the international student adviser in your university can help you if it took longer.

kz205 wrote:Turned out that my visa interview was a trivial affair. But strangely, my visa only got approved for 5 years even though my I20 stated that the course would last 72 months. How many years did the rest of you guys get?

The US has stopped giving out visas for longer than 5 years, regardless of the duration of your program. It use to be a default of 10 in the past, but well ...

Please remember that while you do need a visa to get into the US, you needen't have one to stay in: you only need a valid I-20 for that. In fact, after 4.5 years you can go home for a few weeks, get your visa renewed (likely they will give you another 5 years even if you have only 2 years left)and come back. This is zero risk: even if you don't get a visa, you can still come back.

Finally: for those who would be in the rare but unfortunate position of not getting a visa even ~15 days before you are ready to fly, call the US consulate's /embassy's information line and explain that you need your visa NOW. You'll be surprised how flexible they can be. The contact number is usually difficult to find though: it will be buried somewhere on that consulate's website.

i got for 4 years and i had stated course duration of 7 years..