Who Can Study?
Student Visas
There are three nonimmigrant visas available for foreign nationals to study in the United States: F-1 (Academic or Language Students), M-1 (Vocational or other Nonacademic Students), and J-1 (Exchange Visitors). The majority of 成人头条 international students who need a visa to study will do so in F-1 status. 成人头条 does not administer vocational programs and therefore does not have M-1 students.
F-1 students may be primarily financed by personal or family funds, and are required to obtain Form I-20 from OIP before applying for an F-1 visa or beginning classes.
J-1 students must be primarily financed directly or indirectly by the U.S. government, the government of their home country, or an international organization of which the United States is a member, and are required to obtain Form DS-2019 from OIP before applying for a J-1 visa or beginning classes.
Do I Need a Visa to Study?
- U.S. Permanent Residents (“green card” holders) may study at any U.S. school without a visa.
- Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients and other undocumented individuals in the U.S. are not eligible for a student visa, but may study at any U.S. school.
- These students should research which schools will accept undocumented students, and be aware that federal financial aid is generally not available to them.
- Many foreign nationals and their dependents who are in the U.S. in another status may attend any U.S. school, full-time or part-time, as long as it is incidental to their primary purpose for being in the U.S. Exceptions include:
- B-1/B-2 visitors and those on the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) may only engage in avocational or recreational classes, and are not permitted to enter the U.S. primarily to take classes. Degree-seeking students may not study on a visitor visa or the VWP.
- F-2 dependents may attend primary and secondary school full-time, but may only enroll in post-secondary studies part-time.
For a comprehensive chart of which nonimmigrants are eligible to study, visit .
Interacting with OIP
Students listed as non-U.S. citizens on their 成人头条 application will be contacted by our office shortly after accepting their admission offer and must fill out basic information to determine whether they will need to apply for an I-20/DS-2019. After completing this form, students who are maintaining another eligible status (and therefore do not need a student visa) will not require further contact with our office to enroll in classes.
Students with a non-student visa status may not extend their stay in the U.S. just to complete an academic program, but may contact our office to obtain F-1/J-1 status at any time during their program, if eligible.
Certificate Programs
Currently, DHS has only authorized 成人头条 to issue I-20s for the following certificate programs:
- Undergraduate Certificate in Intelligence and National Security Studies
- 成人头条 Certificate in Open Source Intelligence
- 成人头条 Certificate in Innovation and Entrepreneurship
- 成人头条 Certificate in Women's Studies
- 成人头条 Certificate in Cyber Security
- 成人头条 Certificate in Healthcare Leadership and Management
- 成人头条 Certificate in Public Health
- 成人头条 Certificate in Nursing Education
- 成人头条 Certificate in Biological Sciences
- 成人头条 Certificate in Bioinformatics
Students who wish to pursue a certificate that is not on the list above may do so outside the U.S. if the program can be completed online, or can complete the certificate concurrently while they are completing a degree-seeking program at 成人头条.
Online and Non-Degree Programs
OIP is not authorized to issue an I-20 to students admitted to an online or non-degree program. These students are permitted to enroll, but must either remain outside the U.S. or have another valid status that allows incidental study.
F-1 students completing programs at 成人头条 which offer or require a significant number of online classes are subject to all regulatory enrollment requirements. Generally, international students are required to enroll full-time (Undergraduates: 12 credits, 成人头条s: 9 credits) each Fall and Spring semester. Only 3 online credits per semester will count toward the minimum for full-time enrollment.