Visa | internationalservices.byu.edu

Your visa is placed in your passport at a U.S. Department of State Embassy or Consulate outside of the U.S. designating you as a student.
It is your permit allowing you to travel to a U.S. port of entry and to request entry in F-1 student status.
- You might think of your visa as an entry key to the door of the U.S.
- Once you have opened the door and entered, you do not need to worry about whether your visa is valid or expired unless you leave and plan to re-enter the U.S. In that case, you must have your key—a valid U.S. visa—to be able to reenter.
- Even though your visa allows you to travel to a U.S. port of entry, it is a Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Customs and Border Protection
  (CBP) immigration inspector who determines your admission into, length of stay and conditions of stay in, the U.S.
- Your visa is valid for a specified number of entries to the United States: one, two, or "multiple," i.e., any number, until the expiration date.
- If you are a Canadian citizen entering the U.S. from within the Western Hemisphere, you are not required to have a passport or visa, but you must show your Form I-20 and proof of Canadian citizenship. more
- If you renew your passport and still have a valid visa in your old one, you may continue to use the visa in your old passport to enter the U.S.
- If you change your status in the U.S. and then travel, you must have a visa corresponding to your new status when you re-enter the U.S.
- Questions and Answers
- Validity of your visa after a subsequent break in studies
Application information
- In order to obtain a new F-1 visa, you generally should apply at a U.S. embassy or consulate within your country of citizenship or nationality; it can not be renewed in the U.S.
- Contact the embassy or consulate where you plan to apply in advance to ask about the specific procedures and requirements at that location.
- It is possible to apply for a visa as a “third country national” in a country other than your home country, but you may experience problems not experienced in your home country.
- Visa Appointment Strategies