Things needed b4 getting an appointment for F1 at a consulate

[v_wind]

Hi all,

I'm asking a basic question. What are the things needed to get an appointment
for an F1 visa at a consulate (not for the interview itself)? Specifically, can one
get an appointment for F1 before any college/univ in US has apporved the
candidate's admission application? Or does one need to get an admission before
applying for F1 appointment? Pl. help. In othe words, the appointment website
for Chennai consulate asks the College/Univ where the candidate is going, its addr and such info. Can this be a tentitive college/Univ, or does it have to be
the one for which F1 visa is being sought?

Thanks

 

[Studious]

Hi all,

I'm asking a basic question. What are the things needed to get an appointment
for an F1 visa at a consulate (not for the interview itself)?

(1) Passport
(2) SEVIS I-20 (Admission document that a university gives to the F1 student)
(3) TOEFL score report
(4) GRE (for graduate Engineering or Science programs) or GMAT (for graduate Management, Accounting or Business programs) score reports.

Usually, good universities do not issue I-20 without TOEFL and GRE or GMAT scores. As far as I remember, these documents should be enough to get an appointment.

Specifically, can one
get an appointment for F1 before any college/univ in US has apporved the
candidate's admission application? Or does one need to get an admission before
applying for F1 appointment? Pl. help. In othe words, the appointment website
for Chennai consulate asks the College/Univ where the candidate is going, its addr and such info. Can this be a tentitive college/Univ, or does it have to be
the one for which F1 visa is being sought?

When I have applied for F1 visa, applicants were required to mention the name and other details of the university they intend to attend because applicants may have multiple I-20s from two or more universities.


Thanks

 

[v_wind]

Thanks!
I'm not sure about the I-20 and TOEFL scores. I tried getting a fake appointment using the website. It asked for passport details, and the
Univ/College details. But nothing abt I-20 or TOEFL or GRE ro GMAT.
That still leaves one possibility: Let's say you, have decided on the college/Univ
(just a gamble to speed up things), and you go ahead and make an appointmet
b4 you get an admission (which itself takes min 4-6 weeks). But you make sure
you' ve the I-20, TOEFL , etc ready when you to the interview! Does this
sound workable??

Thanks

 

[Studious]

Thanks!
I'm not sure about the I-20 and TOEFL scores. I tried getting a fake appointment using the website. It asked for passport details, and the
Univ/College details. But nothing abt I-20 or TOEFL or GRE ro GMAT.

The university details such as name, address etc. are available on SEVIS I-20, which won't be issued by the university until you submit your TOEFL, GRE or GMAT score report. Also, the score reports that you submit to the school must satisfy the minumum score set by the university for admission.

That still leaves one possibility: Let's say you, have decided on the college/Univ
(just a gamble to speed up things), and you go ahead and make an appointmet
b4 you get an admission (which itself takes min 4-6 weeks). But you make sure
you' ve the I-20, TOEFL , etc ready when you to the interview! Does this
sound workable??

Actually, I and all of my friends who then got visas took appointment for interview only after we had all the above documents in hand and we had to book the interview date 4 or 5 weeks in advance. Don't know if you could do that. I'd rather keep quiet if I don't know.

But one suggestion - Students who apply for visas stand in very big queue on the street just outside U.S. embassy in Chennai. May be you can call someone in Chennai and ask them to obtain information from the students or from the embassy staff whether you can give the details of any university for the purpose of appointment date.

Thanks