Nonimmigrant Visa Unit
Frequently Asked Questions Concerning the F and M Visas
When should I apply for my F-1 or M-1 visa?
Students may apply for their visa as soon as they are prepared to do so. However, we encourage students to apply for their visa early to provide ample time for visa processing.
Students should note we are able to issue your F-1 or M-1 visa no more than 120 days before the registration date for the course of study. Students should also note that all new students enter the United States no more than 30 days before the start date of the course of study shown on the Form I-20. Please consider this date carefully when making your travel plans.
I changed my visa status and subsequently departed the United States. How can I re-enter the United States?
If someone changed status to F or M status in the United States, he or she does not need an F or M visa to maintain legal status while in the United States. However, a visa is required if the beneficiary subsequently leaves the United States and wishes to re-enter as an F or M nonimmigrant. The applicant must apply for a visa at the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá. The Form I-797 (Notice of Action), which informed the applicant that the change of status to F or M status was approved, is not a travel document and cannot take the place of a visa.
I am in the United States in F-1 or M-1 status, and I want to change schools. What should do?
If a person is in F-1 or M-1 status and decides to change schools, he/she does not have to obtain another student visa. However, the student must inform the current university and the new university. In addition, the student must file a Form I-539 (Application to Extend or Change Status) with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services of the Department of Homeland Security.
Note that students may change academic programs within the same school (for example, going from studying English as a second language to studying anthropology) without filing a Form I-539.
I am going to the United States for a short course of study, and I will travel on an F-1 visa. Will I be allowed to seek employment during that short time that I am in the United States?
The primary purpose of travel for the bearer of an F-1 visa must be to study. The bearer of an F-1 visa is allowed to work no more than 20 hours per week in an on-campus position only. This means your work must either be performed on the school’s premises (including on-location commercial firms which provide services for students on campus, such as the school bookstore or cafeteria), or at an off-campus location which is educationally affiliated with the school. In order to work before or after the course of study, or to work in an off-campus position not affiliated with the school during your course of study, you must apply for a work visa (see our Visa Classification Chart to determine what visa classification would apply to your planned employment).
What are SEVP and SEVIS?
The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) is designed to help the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State better monitor school and exchange programs and F, M and J category visitors. Exchange visitor and student information is maintained in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). SEVIS is an Internet-based system that maintains accurate and current information on nonimmigrant students (F and M visa), exchange visitors (J visa), and their dependents (F-2, M-2, and J-2). SEVIS enables schools and program sponsors to transmit mandatory information and event notifications via the Internet to the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State throughout a student or exchange visitor's stay in the United States.
What is an I-20? Why do I need one?
A Form I-20 is a SEVIS-generated document issued by a Department of Homeland Security educational institution. Applicants submit Form I-20 when they are applying for a student visa. The consular officer will verify your Form I-20 record electronically through the SEVIS system in order to process your student visa application.
Do I need to pay the SEVIS fee?
Unless otherwise exempt, students whose Form I-20 was issued on or after September 1, 2004 must pay a SEVIS fee to Immigration and Customs Enforcement of the Department of Homeland Security. In general, new F-1 and M-1 students must pay the SEVIS fee. Continuing F-1 and M-1 students and all F-2 and M-2 students do not. See Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s SEVIS Frequently Asked Questions for more information.
How much is the SEVIS fee?
The SEVIS fee for F-1 and M-1 students is US$200. F-2 and M-2 visa applicants are not required to pay the SEVIS fee.
How do I pay the SEVIS fee?
You may pay the SEVIS fee online, via Western Union, or by mail.
My student/exchange visitor visa application was denied. If I choose to reapply, do I have to pay the SEVIS fee again?
If less than a year has passed between your new visa application and the refusal, you do not need to pay the SEVIS fee again. Otherwise, you must pay again.
Can I use an F-1 visa to study in a public school?
There are certain legal restrictions on attending a public school in the United States on an F-1 visa. The restrictions apply only to students in F-1 status. They do not apply to students attending public school on derivative visas, such as F-2, J-2 or H-4 visas.
The restrictions are:
Students who attend public high schools (defined as 9th grade through 12th grade) in the United States are limited to twelve months of study. Public school attendance in the United States prior to November 30, 1996 does not count toward this limit.
Before an F-1 visa for a public high school can be issued, the prospective student must show that the public school in the United States has been reimbursed for the full, unsubsidized per capita cost of the education as calculated by the school. Reimbursement may be indicated on the I-20. Consular officers may request copies of canceled checks and/or receipts confirming the payment as needed.
F-1 visas cannot be issued for the purpose attending public elementary or middle schools (defined as kindergarten through 8th grade) or publicly-funded adult education programs, even if the prospective student is willing and able to reimburse the school for the full, unsubsidized per capita cost of the education.
Can my spouse or child travel with me?
Spouses and/or children under the age of 21 can receive a derivative F-2 or M-2 visa to accompany or follow-to-join the principal visa holder in the United States. The application procedure is the same. Derivatives are generally subject to the same visa validity, period of admission, and limitation of stay as the principal applicant. The spouse and any child age 14 years of age and older must be present at the interview. Note that U.S. law does not recognize Colombian common-law marriages (unión libre), and such spouses therefore do not qualify for derivative visas.
How can I apply for a derivative F-2 or M-2 visa?
Derivatives must apply for a visa, following the same instructions as the principal applicant. When a derivative applies for an F-2 or M-2 visa to follow-to-join a principal F or M nonimmigrant already in the United States, the consular officer also must be satisfied that the principal applicant is maintaining F or M status before issuing the visa. Therefore, in addition to the normal F or M documents, such applicants must present:
- The principal applicant’s original Form I-797 (Notice of Action).
- A photocopy of the principal applicant’s issued F or M visa and U.S. entry stamp or, if the applicant changed status to F or M status, the original Form I-797 (Notice of Action) approving the change of status.
- Certified copies of the birth/marriage certificates showing the relationship between the principal alien and the derivative applicant.
- F-2 and M-2 applicants do not need to pay the SEVIS fee. The spouse and any child age 14 years of age and older must be present at the interview.
Can my stepchild apply for a derivative F-2 or M-2 visa?
If the marriage creating the stepchild relationship occurred before the child’s eighteenth birthday, the child may apply for a derivative F-2 or M-2 visa. Your child’s application materials must include a copy of your marriage certificate establishing the stepchild relationship.
Can I study in the United States on an F-2 or M-2 visa?
There is no requirement that the children of an F-1 or M-1 visa holder apply for a student (F-1) visa if they wish to study in the United States. They may study on their F-2 or M-2 visas. However, the spouse of an F-1 or M-1 visa holder who does not have his/her own F-1 visa can only study in the United States if such studies are incidental to their primary purpose of travel (i.e., to accompany the F-1 husband/wife). So, the spouse could study part-time, because that would be incidental to the primary purpose of accompanying the spouse, but he or she may not enroll in a full time course of study without applying for and receiving his/her own F-1 visa or changing status from F-2 or M-2 to F-1 in the United States.
Can I work in the United States on a derivative F-2 or M-2 visa?
No. Individuals in F-2 or M-2 status cannot work while in the United States.
How can I find more information about studying in the United States?
For general information about studying in the United States, please visit Education USA or contact the Colombian-American Cultural Center nearest your home: