United States
Study full time at a SEVP-approved school
The F-1 is for full-time academic study in the United States. Your school issues an I-20 first; then you pay the SEVIS fee, file the DS-160, pay the visa fee, and interview at the embassy. The consular officer is deciding two things: that you are a genuine student who can afford the program, and that you intend to return home after it ends.
Form to file
DS-160 (online)
One per applicant, including children.
Interview
Required for most applicants
Interview-waiver eligibility narrowed sharply in recent policy changes — assume you will interview.
Before you can book
I-20 + SEVIS fee receipt
You cannot complete the process without both.
Earliest entry to the U.S.
30 days before your I-20 start date
You may be refused entry if you arrive earlier.
Visa validity
Set by reciprocity, not by program length
Check the reciprocity table for your nationality.
Apply to SEVP-approved schools and accept an offer. The school's designated school official (DSO) issues Form I-20 after you show proof of funds. Check every field on the I-20 — your name must match your passport exactly, and the program dates and funding figures must be correct.
The SEVIS fee funds the student tracking system and is separate from the visa application fee. Pay it at fmjfee.com using the SEVIS ID and school code from your I-20, then print the receipt and bring it to the interview.
The DS-160 is the visa application itself. It asks for your travel plans, education, work history, family, previous travel, and social media handles from the last five years. The officer reads it before you speak, and inconsistencies between the form and your answers are a common reason interviews go badly.
Create a profile on the USTravelDocs site for Ethiopia, pay the nonimmigrant visa application fee (MRV), and book your interview slot once the payment posts. Student appointments are often prioritised in the months before the academic year, but slots still fill quickly.
The interview is short — often two to four minutes. You will not be able to explain everything, so your answers must be immediately clear. Officers are assessing your study plan, your funding, and your reasons for returning home. Practising out loud is the single highest-value preparation you can do.
Arrive early with your passport, DS-160 confirmation, appointment letter, and document folder. Electronics and large bags are usually not allowed inside and there may be no storage. You will queue, give fingerprints, then speak with a consular officer through a window.
If approved, the officer keeps your passport to print the visa and it is returned through the delivery option you selected. If you are given a 221(g) slip, your case needs more documents or administrative processing. If you are refused under 214(b), you were not able to show enough ties or a convincing study plan.
| # | Item | Amount | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SEVIS I-901 fee | USD 350 (indicative) | After you receive the I-20, before the interviewPaid at fmjfee.com. Confirm the current amount there. |
| 2 | Visa application fee (MRV) | USD 185 (indicative) | Before booking the interviewNon-refundable. Confirm the current amount on the official fee page. |
| 3 | Additional statutory fees | Varies | As instructed at paymentU.S. law has added new nonimmigrant visa surcharges in recent years. The official fee page is the only reliable source for what applies to you. |
| 4 | Photo, transport, documents | Small local costs | ThroughoutPhotos, printing, translations, and travel to Addis Ababa. |
Amounts are indicative and change. Confirm every fee on the official page before paying.
The officer approved your visa and kept your passport to print it. The status on CEAC moves to 'Issued' once printing is done.
What to do
The most common refusal. U.S. law presumes every nonimmigrant applicant intends to immigrate, and you did not overcome that presumption — the officer was not convinced of your purpose, your funding, or your reasons to return. It is not a permanent bar and there is no appeal.
What to do
A temporary refusal. Either the consulate needs more documents from you, or your case has gone into administrative processing for additional review. You usually receive a coloured slip explaining which.
What to do
Additional review after the interview. It can be a security or technology review, name-check clarification, or verification of documents. Most cases resolve within weeks, but some take considerably longer, and the consulate cannot usually give a date.
What to do
There is no waiting period — you can reapply as soon as you can pay the fee and get an appointment. But the officer sees your history, and an identical application usually gets an identical answer. Reapply when something material has changed: a new job, completed studies, a documented change in funding, a firmer and better-explained plan.
After a refusal
No. A 214(b) refusal is a decision about your circumstances on that day, not a permanent mark against you. Many people are approved after earlier refusals. What does cause lasting damage is misrepresentation — a false document or a false answer can create a permanent ineligibility.
After a refusal
No. Nobody outside the consulate can influence a decision, and anyone promising approval for a fee is either lying or planning to submit false documents in your name. You carry the consequences of anything filed under your name, including a permanent fraud finding. Legitimate help looks like coaching and document review, not guarantees.
Warnings
There is no magic number. What matters is that the amount covers your stated plan and that its history makes sense. A steady balance built over months is far stronger than a large deposit that appeared a week before the interview — the second pattern is well known to officers and actively hurts you.
Money
Yes, and it is common. Be ready to say who they are, what they do, what they earn, and why they are paying for you. A sponsor you cannot describe is worse than no sponsor. For students, the funding on the I-20 should match what your sponsor can actually demonstrate.
Money
Never. The DS-160 asks directly, the information is already in government systems, and concealing it turns a manageable question into a misrepresentation finding. Having relatives there is not disqualifying — plenty of people with family in the U.S. get visas. Declare it and be ready to explain your own reasons to return.
Family
Usually two to four minutes at the window, after a much longer wait in queues and biometrics. That short window is the entire decision, which is why your first two or three answers matter more than the documents in your folder.
Interview day
For most categories the interview is in English, and for student visas your English is part of what is being assessed. If you genuinely cannot follow a question, ask the officer to repeat it — that is normal and not held against you. Some posts can accommodate other languages for visitor applicants.
Interview day
Because your answers already told them what they needed. Officers ask for a document when something needs verifying. Bring your folder, organised, and offer a specific document only when it answers the question you were just asked.
Interview day
Clean, neat, and comfortable — business casual is a safe choice. Officers are not scoring your outfit, and an expensive suit does not help. Being visibly uncomfortable does not help either.
Interview day
No — these are two different things. Visa validity is the window in which you may travel to a U.S. port of entry and ask to be admitted. How long you may stay is decided by the CBP officer at the border and recorded on your I-94. Always check your I-94 after arrival.
After approval
No. A visa allows you to travel to the border and request admission. The officer there makes the final decision and can refuse entry. Carry your supporting documents — I-20, DS-2019, invitation, return ticket — in your hand luggage, not in a checked bag.
After approval
Minor errors can often be corrected verbally at the interview — bring the correct information and raise it. For a significant error, such as the wrong passport number or wrong visa class, complete a new DS-160 and bring the new confirmation page; you may need to update your appointment record with the new barcode number.
Forms
Sometimes. Students whose program start date is close, and applicants with genuine emergencies such as medical treatment or a death in the family, can request an expedited appointment with evidence. Book the regular slot first — an expedite request does not replace it, and you keep the later date if the request is declined.
Appointments
You can apply outside your country of residence, but it is generally harder. Posts prioritise their own residents, they know less about your local circumstances, and a refusal there still follows you. Applying at home is usually the stronger choice.
Appointments
No earlier than 30 days before the start date on your I-20 or DS-2019. Arriving earlier on a student visa can mean being refused entry. Plan flights around that 30-day window.
Students
Only within the rules: on-campus work with limits, and off-campus work only through authorised training such as CPT or OPT, arranged with your DSO. Unauthorised work ends your status. Do not present the visa as a way to earn money — that undermines the study purpose you are there to demonstrate.
Students
It is one of the most damaging things you can do. In the U.S., an overstay generally voids your visa automatically and, past certain thresholds, triggers multi-year bars on returning. In the Schengen Area it can produce an entry ban across all member states. Leave before the date on your I-94 or visa sticker.
Warnings
Content reviewed 2026-08
