F-1 student visa
Degree and academic programme students
Requires an I-20 from an SEVP-certified school, the SEVIS I-901 fee, a DS-160 and an in-person interview for most first-time applicants.
All destinations United States —
New Delhi · Mumbai · Chennai · Hyderabad · Kolkata
United States —
The document is not the constraint. The calendar is.
For almost every American cohort we handle, the file is ready long before an appointment is. The work that matters is slot strategy: which post, which category, which week, and what the fallback is when the window you planned for does not open.
The shape of the year
The United States runs the deepest interview requirement of our three destinations and the least predictable appointment supply. It also has the widest set of legitimate accelerants — interview waiver eligibility, student priority windows, multi-post filing — and using them well is most of the value we add.
Categories we file
What we file for USA.
Category selection is the first decision and the one most often got wrong. We fix it at strategy stage, before a single form is opened.
B-1 / B-2 business & visitor
Meetings, conferences, training, site visits
The workhorse corporate category. Renewals often qualify for interview waiver, which changes the timeline completely.
J-1 exchange visitor
Sponsored exchange, research and training programmes
Runs on a DS-2019 from a designated sponsor. Watch for the two-year home residency condition where it applies.
M-1 vocational
Vocational and non-academic training students
Narrower than F-1 and with tighter work restrictions. Category selection here is worth getting right at the start.
The document set
What every applicant needs.
Indicative and confirmed per file. We build this once and clone it per applicant, with an owner and a deadline against each line.
- I-20 or DS-2019, signed by the applicant and the institution
- SEVIS I-901 fee receipt
- DS-160 confirmation page with the correct post selected
- MRV fee receipt and interview appointment confirmation
- Passport valid at least six months beyond intended stay
- Financial evidence — sponsor letters, bank records, loan sanction
- Academic records, test scores and admission correspondence
- Employment or business evidence for B-1 applicants
Working backwards from the date
The USA timeline.
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Category & post strategy
20+ weeks outWhich consulate, which category, and who in the group is waiver-eligible. This single decision moves timelines more than anything else.
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SEVIS, DS-160, fee payments
14–18 weeks outFiled as a batch with a single reconciliation sheet so nothing is paid twice or attributed wrongly.
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Slot capture
OngoingActive monitoring across posts. Applicants are pre-cleared to travel to any post at short notice.
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Mock interviews
2–3 weeks before each slotProfile-specific, scheduled against the actual appointment date, with a second sitting for borderline profiles.
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Interview & issuance
Per applicantPassport return typically runs about a week after approval, varying by post and season.
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Ticketing & departure
Final 3–4 weeksNames released against the block in waves as approvals land.
Where files fail
Four ways a USA cohort loses a season.
Every one of these has cost someone a semester. They are cheap to avoid and expensive to fix.
The DS-160 post cannot be casually changed
Selecting the wrong consulate on the form is one of the most common and most expensive errors in a cohort. We lock the post at strategy stage, before a single form is opened.
Waiver eligibility is worth auditing across the whole group
In corporate contingents it is normal to find a third of travellers eligible for interview waiver. Separating them from the interview queue is often what makes a tight date achievable.
Student appointment windows open and close fast
Priority availability for students is real but time-boxed. Missing the opening week usually means a semester deferral, not a later flight.
Funding evidence must tell one story
Loan sanction, sponsor affidavit and bank records have to reconcile with the I-20 figure. Inconsistency across the three is the single most common refusal reason we see.
Getting there
Air routes we hold contracts on.
Routes
Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad to Newark, New York, Chicago, Washington, San Francisco and Dallas.
Carriers
Direct services on Air India and United, plus one-stop options via European and Gulf hubs for cost-sensitive student blocks.
Planning note
Student blocks are built around baggage, not just fare. We negotiate the extra piece before we compare prices.
Primary pairings
- DEL → EWR
- DEL → ORD
- BOM → JFK
- BLR → SFO
Also on the desk
Start a file
Planning a USA cohort?
Send the group size, the intake or meeting date and the profile mix. You will have a written USA feasibility note — filing window, slot risk and an indicative fare — within one working day.