How to find friends when you study abroad

One of the biggest challenges for foreign students is often a strong feeling of loneliness, or hardships in finding local friends. This is unfortunate, because for many of us, one of the main reasons to study abroad is to expand the network of friends and connections internationally. The fact that when you get to school, you find yourself glued to international students from your own country is understandable, but kind of defies the purpose.

At GradTrain, we hear these concerns often. Students come to the United States with the expectation to meet more people and expand their cultural and social circles beyond what they know from home. But it is not always as easy as expected. Here are some common feelings of international students:

• “Americans ask ‘how are you?’ and ‘how was your weekend?’ but they are not really looking for an answer. It’s just another way of saying hello. I learned quite fast not to be offended by it, but I still don’t understand when it’s “right” to engage in a conversation.”
• “No one understands my sense of humor.”
• “People have stigmas about people from my country, and I feel like I live under a mission to refute them. It is very tiring.”
• “When I am in my home country I am just me. But here, I feel I’m first of all ‘that girl from the Middle East.’ I am expected to know and to be able to explain – and sometimes to criticize - everything my head of state decides. It is quite frustrating – and people often do not understand my point of view.”
• “Americans speak very fast. I am used to being the smart guy in the group – kind of a leader. The one that everybody listens to when he speaks. But I am not that guy here. I am even afraid that I lost my “touch” and will not get it back even when I get home."
• “There is very little to talk about. We often do not share the same value system, we don’t watch the same TV programs, we do not have the same interpretation to historical events and we have different cultural sensitivities.”

So how do you make yourself approachable to American classmates?

Our first and most important tip is to treat yourself to at least one coaching session with a GradTrain coach from your own country who has gone through this process. Our coaches offer the best help you can get – to overcome some of the hurdles they faced when they were in your shoes. All of our coaches offer help in getting adjusted to school abroad. This is just what you need.

Let us also give you some helpful tips from the general experience of former international students. Before you start, allow us to tell you that Americans would often also love to have you as a friend. But they too don’t know exactly how to start, and they too are afraid to look like they are patronizing you, or to make cultural mistakes, or to be rejected. So they stick with what and who they know. Our tips are meant to help you make it easier for them too.

1. LANGUAGE. Learn American English before you go. We are not talking about reading and writing. We are talking about speaking. If you can find an American in your neighborhood back home, it’s a good time to befriend him. Otherwise – go on GradTrain or elsewhere online – and have a video session in English. Watch movies. Practice your spoken language including slang. Oh – and body language. Definitely get some idea of how American body language is different from the one you know from back home. 
2. SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT. Try to create common experiences to talk about, because you grew up in different places and these things may not come naturally. A good way to start is to use your studies as a common ground and experience. Talk about your classes, your labs. Weather is also a common, safe resort. Sports is also a good ice-breaker. Americans are into sports. A lot of their slang and even business language is from baseball. American Football is very popular, so you can learn about it and start from there. (And don’t preach to them that it’s not real football, eh!). And learn the art of small talk. Americans are experts in small talk. You will need to be able to speak about the weather for more than one minute. Compare it to last winter, compare it to another city in America – find a way to make a conversation.
3. JUDGMENT ASIDE. As foreigners, you naturally compare what you see in America to what you know from home. The food doesn’t taste the same, American parties are not the dancing parties you may know from home (as someone once defined it – an American party is people standing in a well lit room, talking and drinking), and the fashion is different. But people feel when they are judged – and it doesn’t make you seem nicer. Besides, it’s not necessarily “less good”. It’s just different. So avoid judging, if you can.
4. AWKWARDNESS. This is something about Americans that is very very hard to understand as a foreigner. Americans hate feeling awkward. They avoid it at any cost. “Awkward” is when you are in a situation where you do not know what to say, are unfamiliar with the situation or otherwise feel inappropriate. When you as a foreigner approach an American, you trigger the awkwardness radar. They start thinking they may not understand your accent, you might say something weird, they might look stupid. If you wear a traditional garb – they would not know if they are supposed to say something to you or not – and it may make them feel awkward. Understand it and see the next tip for dealing with that.
5. DRESS. Of course, nobody should be judged by their looks. Well – the world isn’t fair. If you dress more like everybody else, you will look more like one of them, and it would be easier for Americans to start a conversation with you. While we are at it, note: regardless of where in the world you are from, Americans probably have more clothes than you do. They also have more shoes. They simply do. You won’t see your classmates wearing the same shirt to school as they did yesterday – or the day before (yes, even if it’s still perfectly clean). Oh and “dress codes” are meant to be followed. It’s beyond recommendation.  
6. BE AWARE OF CULTURAL DIFFERENCES. If you are from Africa or the Middle East, it is customary to ask – “how are you and how is your family?” when you meet a friend. America is more individualistic and people may not actually know how their families are doing. They would also not understand why you care and may view it as an intimate question. You will make them feel awkward (a big no-no). If you are European, socialism in America is not exactly something to aspire to.  And anyway, political discussions are usually also saved for a later stage in the acquaintance. As well as any criticism. Learn how Americans view history. For example, if you are from Vietnam, you call the 1957-75 War “The American War”. Well, Americans call it “the Vietnam War”. Just so you know.
7. BE COMFORTABLE. Maintain a comfortable corner – where you also have friends from your home country – and other international friends. Some people recommend you shun away from having friends from your home country – in order to force you to socialize with Americans. We disagree. You need to have one corner of your social life that is not a struggle.

We hope this helps. However, many things can be individual from country to country and from person to person. We strongly recommend that you get intouch with a GradTrain coach from your country who can guide you on this matter! before you depart to your studies – or when you start facing some issues.

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How to: Find and choose the right study abroad program

You know you want to study abroad. But WHERE should you apply?

Some of your friends may be applying to Harvard, Stanford or Columbia. Others - to the University of Florida in Miami. Others are applying to MIT or Georgia Tech. Where should YOU apply? How do you even start approaching this question? Here are three steps that will help you narrow your search, take the right factors into consideration, make sure you are making the best choice, and even save some money in the process! The first two steps provide you with some guiding questions to consider, and the third provides a formula that will help you prioritize your application portfolio.

FIRST STEP: DETERMINE YOUR FIELD OF STUDY

The first step to narrow your search is to decide what field you want to study. Most of the time, that’s the easy part: if you know you want to be a lawyer, you know you want to go to law school. And if you want to be a literature scholar, you probably don’t need a PhD in Linear Algebra.

Sometimes, though, the question of what to study can be less straightforward. This usually happens when your field of interest is interdisciplinary or borderline - thus falls into more than one field of study or is defined differently in different schools (for example – Music Therapy could be in the Music Department or in the Psychology department or in both, or in some cases will not even be a full degree program).

Our best advice for you for this stage is to consult with people who studied or are currently studying the field you are considering - to help you choose. Consulting with people who are a few years down the road, or learning about their career paths from credible sources (such as in the GradTrain community), can give you a lot of valuable information.

Make sure you take a broad view of the matter, and try to choose between your options based on short and long-term factors, such as - what are your chances of acceptance to each degree? What is the probability to get scholarships in each of them? Is there a difference in salaries when you enter the job market depending on the degree you pursued? What career paths do these degrees lead to in your home country or in the country where  you plan to study? What doors do these degrees open, and what doors do they close?

Again, the best way to answer these questions is to consult with people who have gone through this process and can guide you.

SECOND STEP:  DETERMMINE THE GEOGRAPHICAL AREA

The second step is to know WHERE you would like to study. This is where you begin to grasp how big the world is, if you haven’t already. You can, for example, study in the US or in Canada; in the UK or in France; in China or in Israel and in many other countries.

If you don’t have a specific inclination, then there are many considerations here. What languages do you know? How do you feel about snow? And hot weather? Do you need an Indian / Chinese / Jewish / Muslim / LGBT community around you? A specific church? Direct flights home? A cheaper place to live? Affordable tuition? Do you plan to test the option of immigrating to the country where you will study? Need a place that can allow you to convert a student visa into immigration status? Do you have family members who will come with you? Are you limited geographically because of your spouse’s professional plans?

Answering these questions will help you narrow your options according to geographical considerations and will make the list of universities that are actually relevant to you all the more manageable.

THIRD STEP: BUILD A PORTFOILIO OF PROGRAMS / UNIVERSITIES

After choosing an area on the globe, you need to compose a list of universities to apply to. This point is highly important. A recommended approach is to view your application like an investment portfolio. This will help you spread the risks in your portfolio and will help you leverage offers from lower priority schools when you apply to your top choice schools. Compose a list of schools from three categories:

1.     Reach schools. Schools where you have lower chances of getting accepted to, but you will be much happier if you do get in.

2.     Match schools - where you have a reasonable chance of acceptance and would be happy if you got in.

3.     Safety schools - where you have a very high chance of getting in, but a lower desire to study there.

How do you build such a portfolio?

1 - First, check out the ranking of the schools. Generally speaking, the higher the ranking is – the less likely you are to get accepted.

2 - Check out schools’ requirements. Determine what GPA (average score) you need to get in and what exams you need in order to qualify (GMAT, GRE. TOEFL, LSAT etc.). Then choose schools where you are slightly below their acceptance threshold requirement as REACH schools, schools where you meet their criteria as MATCH schools, and schools where you are above their criteria as SAFETY schools. And hey! No self-deceit here. Be honest with yourself about your chances and don’t over-estimate your chances. What feeds your ego can kill your application!

To make your life easier – use an acceptance predictor. At GradTrain, we created a predictor that will tell you what your chances of acceptance are for all Engineering and Business schools in the United States. This is a useful tool to help you narrow down your portfolio of schools and not waste time and money on schools that are way out of your range. We will add additional fields of study into the predictor over time.

Following these three steps – choosing the field of study, the geography and creating a program portfolio, will help you focus your efforts (and your spending – remember – each application costs money!) in the process of applying to graduate school abroad. You are taking a brave and big step by choosing to study abroad – this is your chance to do it right and make the most of this experience.

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University rankings – should I care?

This post will help you understand a bit more about university rankings and how to use them to inform your decisions on graduate school abroad.

In the United States, ranking, and particularly university ranking is practically a national sport. But how important are these rankings? Should I care about them when I apply to graduate school abroad? And if so – which ranking is the right one to look at?

Universities are ranked by different bodies, such as – newspapers, news websites, academic oversight bodies, student recruitment agencies and more. Each use different criteria to determine the rank, and, not surprisingly, each one comes out with a slightly different ranking. If the answers are indeed different, does it really matter then?

The short answer is – yes. The more accurate answer is – it depends on who you are, what career you want to pursue, where in the world, and how high you are aiming. Studying abroad opens doors. Great schools open more doors.

Especially in the US, the ranking of the school you went to could haunt you for the rest of your life (or make your life much easier). In some cases, especially in the extremes of the school rankings charts, it will indeed have a very strong impact. Being an Ivy League (Harvard / Yale / Columbia / Penn etc.) graduate allows many advantages and career opportunities and provides a network of peers who will be able to help you with business and personal development later on in your career. A good university serves as a proxy that you are a good job / academia candidate and will open many doors for you. There is also probably a strong correlation between a school being ranked as a top university and the actual quality of that school.

A low ranked university will make it much harder for you to get accepted to further academic degrees and find a good job in the U.S. (this is unfortunate, but in the US it is quite true). In the second tier  universities (the mid-range of the rankings scale), rankings get a bit trickier, and the ranking becomes all the more important, since there is a large variety and range of quality of schools, so you need to better understand the rankings of these schools. Some schools may be number one in one field, but not so good in another. Don’t be fooled by the schools’ PR. They will always try to present themselves as ranked highly on some sort of ranking. For instance, a school may write on their website – we are the no. 1 ranked school in the State, when there are actually no schools in that State that are ranked highly on any national or international rankings. So the statement is true, but will not help you meet your goals.

So – how do I navigate this ranking maze?

Some things never really change. The top 10-20 universities in the US have been so for hundreds of years! Most chances are they will remain in that range for years to come.

Try to anchor your understanding in data. Look at things that will matter to you. What percentage of grads finds jobs in business, how many in academia? Are any of the professors at that school ranked highly? You will need to be in a class led by a specific professor for your field of interest – you may want to assure that they will be good teachers, mentors and recommenders in the future.

Have a strategy when you approach your application and look at the rankings. What does your profile look like? How are your scores as they compare to last year’s cutoff for the schools of your choice (the GPA and GMAT / TOEFL/ GRE cutoffs will be shown in many of the rankings)? You can deduce some clear actions from what you see. If your GMAT / GRE scores are too low – redo them. If your TOEFL is too low – redo it. Or decide that you are willing to go to a lower ranked school – but remember the potential consequences.

In general - don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Just like in investments in stocks – you need to diversify your application strategy – you can do this with the help of the rankings:

1. Check out your profile as it compares to the various rankings (look for the cutoff scores and compare them to yours).
2. From the ranking lists, choose 5-10 schools / programs you are interested in.
3. Rank the schools you are interested in compared to your chances of acceptance.
4. Filter down the list until you have 2-3 “safety schools” that you feel like to you have a 80-100% chance of getting accepted to and will be happy if you get in to.
5. Choose 2-3 schools that are below your profile but you could still live with if you ended up going to them.
6. Choose 2-3 schools that are your “dream schools” but you have a lower chance of getting in to (10-20% chance).
7. Now you have a list of 6-9 schools to apply to. If you can and feel confident in your chances, try to apply to 5-6 programs and save some money (applications are not cheap…).

To make your life easier, below are some of the leading rankings in the world right now. It is best to compare your program across several rankings to determine its actual “value”. Another way to learn about your prospects is to look at GradTrain profiles of grads of the universities you are considering and see where they came from, what they achieved and if that is where you want to be in the future. You can of course connect with them and discuss your chances.

US News and World Report – probably the most popular ranking of US Schools ONLY:

http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools

Times Higher Education:

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2012-13/world-ranking

Ranking web of universities:

http://www.webometrics.info/

The Guardian rankings:

http://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/world-university-rankings

The Telegraph rankings:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/

World university rankings:

http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings

Still not sure how to understand the rankings and how they pertain to your profile? Post your scores on the GradTrain forums (you can do it anonymously) and one of our coaches will give you a rough assessment of your chances and what you need to improve. If you want a deeper look and detailed advice, search for a coach and connect for 1:1 consultations.

Remember – be realistic and diversify! You can make it happen.

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Managing “negative” information in your graduate school application

We all have them. Those unflattering points in our academic path, and subsequently – in our application package: grades (GPA) that aren’t as high as we wished; a reference letter that is not as shiny as expected; a suspension; or a story not coherent or focused enough. Recently, we received a question in our forum on how to present unflattering information in an application. We decided to elaborate on it here for the benefit of our community.

Here is GradTrain’s 3 stage process to address this issue:

First step:  If you determine that this information will be known to the committee through your transcripts, resume or any other application materials, then you have no choice but to discuss it. 
Otherwise, you need to identify whether this information is really important and negative, or if it is only important and negative in your own subjective eyes.

The test of whether it is important and negative, includes two components: first, will it seem negative to the admissions committee? We receive questions from great applicants who did not meet their personal expectations, and thus undervalue their achievements. Others are trying to demonstrate high standards by “complaining” about what is actually a great GPA. Not a good idea.

Second - is this information important? You really don’t need to explain dropping out of that extra-curricular activity in 7^th grade. One low grade from 5 years back would also not raise any eyebrow. Take into account that as an international student, the school you are applying to will not know all the nuances of your past experiences. Get out of your own skin and seriously think whether they will even interpret whatever this is as negative.

If this is not important and negative information in the eyes of the committee, just don’t say anything. Discussing it may portray you as someone negative, or someone who cannot tell what is important. Just move on!

Second step: You have concluded this is important and negative information. Well, you need to explain it then - but in a way that does not leave the committee with a negative impression of you.

First, ask yourself: Is there a possibility to represent this information in a good way? If so – try to do that. For example, if your experiment in the lab was based on false hypothesis and you have no publication to show for it, you can say that you found that the hypothesis was invalidated, and that this is going to serve as a basis for new research.

Third step: If you come to the conclusion that there is no good way to present this negative information, you need to do damage control. Here are some ideas on how to frame it in a way that will minimize the negative impact on your application package:

• Everything in the world can be explained using positive language or negative language. Choose the positive track. Avoid words that convey negativity, like: failure, shame, loser, blame, difficulty, fault. Instead, use: learning experience, challenge, responsibility, independence, lesson, improvement, growth. 
• Indicate positive change. Show that you understood the source of the problem, learned from it, implemented what you learned and used it to grow and improve. It can work to your advantage that you have improved. Use this experience as an honor, rather than a source of shame. It shows your self-awareness, diligence, and drive towards continuous improvement. For example, “My first year grades were a wake-up call for me. I decided to learn to prioritize my goals, and to focus on what was important for my future. This approach was reflected already in my second semester grades. This also taught me that improvement is always possible, a lesson I am implementing now as a TA. I believe my students now benefit from the learning experience I had.” 
• Don’t come across as insecure, judgmental, whiny, or disrespectful. People want positive people near them. Positive people also have bad experiences. But they view them positively. 
• Never say anything bad about anybody. Even if you are correct. Don’t criticize. Don’t make excuses. Don’t blame. Don’t bad-mouth anything or anyone else on your application. Ever.
• Show excellence and balance in other academic fronts to overcome any negative information.

Applying to graduate school abroad is a stressful process, and may cause us to act irrationally and exaggerate items in our past that may not actually seem so bad to others – and most importantly – not to the admissions committee. Follow the process described here to determine whether or not you should mention it, and if you do – how to frame it in a way that will best position you. Most importantly, understand what the committee is looking for – and focus the presentation of your profile to fit that framework.

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How to: student visas for the United States

F-1, J-1, OPT, SEVIS, D/S, FSO -- what is this alphabet soup?!?!!

This week we are happy to have a guest blog by Sharon J. Phillips, a New York City attorney specializing in immigration and nationality law. Beyond choosing the right program and getting in to graduate school abroad, immigration is perhaps the most complex part of preparing to study abroad. The following piece will help you navigate the domain of visas, immigration status and the related ability to work while and after you are studying abroad. Enjoy!

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Even if you are fluent in English, you may find that becoming a foreign student in the United States will require you to learn a new language. This FAQ (:-)) should give you a crash course in the jargon you need to know to navigate the immigration process.

What visas are available for foreign graduate students in the U.S.?

You may study in the U.S. on an F-1 Student visa or a J-1 Exchange Visitor visa. The choice between the two visa types will be made by your school, but some schools will take your preferences and individual circumstances into account, so it's useful to know the difference.

 The F-1 visa allows the student to enter the United States to undertake a full-time course of study at a college or university.  An F-1 visa holder maintains lawful status in the U.S. as long as he or she remains a full-time student. An F-1 student's spouse, and children under age 21, may join the student in the U.S. on F-2 visas, but are not allowed to work in the U.S.  The F-1 visa offers a grace period of 60 days after the conclusion of study (or any authorized period of post-completion Optional Practical Training (OPT), discussed below), before the student must leave the U.S.

You may be eligible for a J-1 visa if your academic program is financed by a source other than your personal or family funds, including, for example, the U.S. government or your home country government or certain international organizations (i.e., Fulbright scholarships). A J-1 student's spouse, and children under age 21, may join the student to the U.S. in J-2 status. J-1 students have a 30-day grace period after the conclusion of their J-1 programs before they must leave the U.S.

An attractive feature of the J visa category is that J-2 spouses may be allowed to work (they need to apply for employment authorization after they arrive in the U.S.). On the other hand, some J-1 programs require students to return to their home countries for two years at the conclusion of their studies, before they can apply for most other visa categories in the U.S.  The two-year home country residence requirement can be waived under certain circumstances, but waivers can be very difficult to obtain, particularly for U. S.-funded programs such as Fulbright.

What is the process for obtaining a student visa (F-1 or J-1)?

The first step is getting accepted to a college or university program. After you are accepted, your school's DSO (Designated School Officer – for F-1 programs) or RO (Responsible Officer – for J-1 programs) will issue you a document that you will use to apply for a visa at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate. If your school is offering F-1 sponsorship, your DSO will issue you an I-20 form. If your school is offering J-1 sponsorship, your RO will issue you a DS-2019 form.

Once you have received your form, you must pay an I-901 SEVIS enrollment fee of $180 (J-1) or $200 (F-1) (in most cases), a visa application fee of $160 (in all cases) and a visa issuance fee (in some cases). SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System) is a program run by ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement) to keep track of F-1 and J-1 students during the course of their stays in the U.S. The best way to enroll in SEVIS is to complete the I-901 and pay the SEVIS fee online at the SEVIS website, www.fmjfee.com. Some schools will coordinate your SEVIS enrollment and fee payment before issuing your I-20 or DS-2019. In this case, you can print your SEVIS I-901 fee confirmation from the SEVIS website.  

You also need to schedule an interview to process your visa application at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate serving the area where you live. Procedures for paying the visa application and visa issuance fees vary from country to country -- as do procedures for visa interview scheduling -- so please check the website of the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in your country.

Before you go to your visa interview, you must complete a DS-160, Online Nonimmigrant Visa Application. The DS-160 (which you may recognize if you have ever applied for a U.S. tourist visa) can be found at https://ceac.state.gov/genniv. Save a copy of the DS-160 application before you click the submit button, so you will have a record of the information you submitted. Print out the barcode that the system generates, as you will need to bring this to your visa appointment.

What are the main eligibility requirements for an F-1 or J-1, other than acceptance to a U.S. university?

The main eligibility requirements for both F-1 and J-1 students are (1) an appropriate background and/or qualifications for the academic program, as well as adequate English language skills; (2) possession of sufficient funds to cover the cost of study and living expenses, and (3) the intention to return to your home country at the conclusion of your studies. You will need to present financial documentation to show that you can afford to pay tuition and fees, and pay for your living expenses in the U.S. without working during your studies. While there are limited provisions that allow some foreign students in the U.S. to work during their studies -- to gain practical training and/or due to unanticipated financial hardship -- you cannot rely on these provisions when you apply for your visa.

Although the benefits to the U.S. of retaining the talents and skills of U.S.-educated foreign students through long-term post-graduation employment are widely understood, U.S. immigration law requires that foreign persons who wish to study in the U.S. not intend to remain in the U.S. as immigrants. Consular officers make judgments about prospective students' intentions based on a variety of factors, including the student's expressed intentions, the student's age and family situation, the student's ties to the home country, previous extended stays in the U.S., the existence of close relatives (especially fiancées or spouses) who are U.S. citizens, and the logic of the student's desire for a U.S. education based on the student's career plans in his/her home country.

When can I apply for my student visa, and when can I arrive in the U.S. using my student visa?

An F-1 visa can be issued up to 120 days in advance of the program start date. There is no restriction on how early a J-1 visa may be issued.  Both F-1s and J-1s may be admitted to the U.S. on the F-1 visa no more than 30 days before the program start date.

Can I enter the U.S. as a tourist, enroll in a graduate program, and then get a student visa without departing from the U.S.? Or must I go back to my country and apply for a student visa at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate? Can I apply for a student visa somewhere closer, like Canada or Mexico?

It is important to understand the difference between visa status and a visa. "Visa status" means the length of a person's stay and the nature of permitted activities during a single visit to the U.S. A person's "status" begins when the person is admitted to the U.S. by a CBP (Customs and Border Protection) inspector, and ends when he/she departs from the U.S. A "visa" is a document that is affixed to a passport by an Embassy or Consulate that authorizes the bearer to enter the U.S. in a specific visa status.

If you come from a country that participates in the visa waiver program, you may visit the U.S. as a tourist for up to 90 days without obtaining a tourist visa from an Embassy or Consulate. You may not work or study in the U.S. during the visit, and you may not apply for a change to a different visa status within the U.S. You must apply for a student visa at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate abroad.

If you enter the U.S. using a B-1/B-2 (visitor for business/tourist) visa, you may be granted visa status as a tourist for up to six months. You may not work or study in the U.S. during the visit. Under limited circumstances, a B-1/B-2 visitor who has not yet enrolled in classes may apply to U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) to change his or her visa status to F-1 or J-1 status without leaving the U.S., but this may not be the best approach.

An application to change status from B-1/B-2 to F-1 or J-1 can take several months for USCIS to process. USCIS is likely to deny the application to change status if the intention to apply to graduate programs was not disclosed to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate that granted the B-1/B-2 visa, and indicated on the visa. Even if USCIS grants the requested change of status, the effect of the change will end the first time the person departs from the U.S.

Thus, unless you plan to remain in the U.S. throughout your studies, without any trips abroad, a visit to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate to apply for an F-1 or J-1 visa will be necessary sooner or later. For this and other reasons, the best approach in most cases is to apply for an F-1 or J-1 visa at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate before you begin your studies.

In most cases you must apply for an F-1 or J-1 visa at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in your home country, and not elsewhere in the world. Consular officers in your home country are considered the best equipped to determine whether you meet the eligibility requirements (especially nonimmigrant intent). While a post in Canada or Mexico may agree to process an F-1 or J-1 visa renewal, in most cases these posts will not accept applications for initial F-1 or J-1 visas from non-Canadians/non-Mexicans.

Can I work while I am on a student visa, or after graduation?

During studies:  on-campus. With permission from their DSO or RO, F-1 and J-1 students may engage in on-campus student employment for up to 20 hours per week. J-1 students may also receive permission to engage in employment that is required by a scholarship, fellowship or assistantship.

During studies: off-campus. As discussed above, a central eligibility requirement for both F-1 and J-1 students is the ability to pay tuition, fees and living expenses for the student and any dependents without working in the U.S. However, if serious and unforeseen financial difficulties arise after a student arrives in the U.S., and if adequate on-campus employment cannot be found, the student (in either F-1 or J-1 status) may request authorization from the DSO or RO to engage in off-campus employment. This type of employment authorization is difficult to obtain, and should not be counted on.

After graduation. F-1 students may apply for Optional Practical Training (OPT) authorization, to engage in employment that is directly related to the field of study. OPT may be granted either pre-completion, for part-time employment during the academic year, or for full time employment after graduation. Most F-1 students are eligible for a total of 12 months of OPT for each completed degree level. Students who earn degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics may qualify for an additional STEM OPT Extension of 17 months. To qualify for OPT, a student must have been a full-time student in F-1 status at the academic institution for at least one academic year.

OPT is not available to J-1 students. However, with the permission of the student's RO and dean, a J-1 student may engage in paid or unpaid "academic training" either on or off campus. The training must be directly related to the major field of study, such as student teaching or clinical work. Academic training may take place during the student's studies, or must commence within 30 days of completion of study. Academic training is limited to 18 months (36 months for postdoctoral training).

I have more questions. Who can answer them? Do I need a lawyer?

Your main source of information about your student visa should be your DSO or RO. DSOs and ROs should be able to answer most questions that arise about the visa application process, the school's expectations, the SEVIS system and reporting requirements, and employment authorization.

You can also contact USCIS' customer service number (1-800-375-5283) - but be forewarned: the customer service agent you speak with will most likely be a contractor, not an immigration official, and will most likely answer your questions based upon a script, rather than based on a detailed understanding of immigration law and policy.

You may wish to speak with a lawyer who specializes in visa and immigration issues. The role of the immigration lawyer in student visa application is usually quite limited, since the process is administered by DSOs and ROs. You may want to seek legal advice if you have unusual circumstances that may interfere with your eligibility, or if you are considering working in the U.S. after graduation.

___

Sharon J. Phillips is a New York City attorney specializing in immigration and nationality law (see www.linkedin.com/in/sharonphillips/ or visit her website: www.sjplegal.com). 

Immigration policies and procedures change frequently. The information provided in this article is for general informational purposes only. It is not offered as, not intended as, and does not constitute legal advice. It does not create an attorney-client relationship, and it does not give rise to any duty of care or other legal obligation. 

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GradTrain indiegogo campaign update

A few weeks ago, we launched our crowdfunding campaign on indiegogo. The reactions have been outstanding and we have received close to 7,000 views of the campaign so far. We are making great strides to reaching and even exceeding the campaign goal - all thanks to your support!

We have gotten some outstanding media coverage. Check it out here:

Forbes, Black Tie Magazine, Your Mark on the World, The Jerusalem Post, Ma'amul, Zikney Zion.

Please continue to support and share our campaign link: http://igg.me/at/gradtrain

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The GradTrain team

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