An individual who seeks to enter or study in the USA must obtain a visa that is placed in their passport, and the traveller’s country of citizenship issues it. The US visa type that you need to travel to is defined by the US immigration law and relates to the purpose of your travel. The two main categories of US visas are – Non-immigrant visas (for travelling on a temporary basis) and Immigrant visas (for travelling to live permanently in the country).
Non-immigrant visas are used by people travelling for business purposes, tourists, and students who wish to study in the US for a temporary period to accomplish specific goals. They need to come back to their respective countries once the purpose is achieved. In this article, we will talk about the non-immigrant US visa types for students, professionals and their dependents. We will also capture the current scenario, which might have some impact on interested academic aspirants.
| US Visa Types | Purpose |
| F-1 | Academic students (University or college, high school, seminary, conservatory, elementary school or other academic institution or language training program |
| F-2 | Dependents of F-1 visa holders |
| H-1B | This US visa is for Physicians and highly specialised occupations in fields requiring specific industry expertise |
| H-3 | Trainee or Special Education Exchange Visitor |
| H-1C | The nurse working in areas with a shortage of health professionals |
| J | This US visa is reserved for exchange visitors |
| J-1 | Professors, scholars, teachers, interns, summer work travel, trainee as exchange visitors |
| J-2 | Spouses and dependents (unmarried children under the age of 21) of J-1 exchange visitors |
| M-1 | Vocational students |
| M-2 | Dependent of M-1 holder |
| L-1A, L-1B | Temporary intracompany transferees who work in managerial positions or have specialised knowledge |
Above are some of the major US non-immigrant visa types for your quick reference and knowledge. Now let us come to the current situation of the US visa that might impact you as a student.
A lot of students from India go to the US to pursue their higher education every year. So, if you are planning to apply for a US visa, you will be amazed to know that the US government has waived off in-person interviews for F, M, H-1, H-2, H-3 visa holders. This move will bring some relief to international students, professors, researchers, workers etc.
This means you don’t have to attend a US visa interview if you are planning to study in the US if you fulfil the basic criteria. You can avail this waiver if you have previously obtained any type of US visa and have never been refused a visa. Isn’t that amazing? Now you have one more reason to study in one of the most popular study abroad destinations. If you intend to avail this waiver, you need to be a resident of your home country.
We hope this article helps you clear some of your doubts and ambiguous thoughts. If this encourages you to embark on study abroad journey, remember we at Avanse Financial Services will be glad to partner with you. We, at Avanse Financial Services, offer education loans that cover the holistic cost of education, including tuition fees, accommodation cost, airfare, study material cost, living expenses and other education-related costs. So, please feel free to reach out to us for any query regarding our study abroad loan. All the best!
