Alright, you all know that I came to NYC with a student visa, went to college, got an internship, grew my career, bla bla bla. But one thing you keep asking is: what are the steps to take if you want to start college in the US? So, as I always do what you ask, I decided to write this blog with all the steps I took to get my student visa and start college in NYC.
This is a delicate subject since the US laws and requirements change from country to country. So, to keep it simple, I will share with you my experience of entering the US with a student visa.
Now, there are a lot of steps you have to take to get a visa and be able to legally study or work here. It is also expensive and you need some support in the beginning, but it is not impossible.
I want to explain each step I took to enter the US with my F-1 (aka student visa), but I want you all to keep in mind that I am talking about myself. Me, Barbara, the person who came to the US from Brazil.
1. Deciding what you want to do in the US
If you have read my previous blogs about myself you would know that I graduated from a fashion school in Brazil and after three months of partying and doing nothing, my family decided to export me to NYC. After all, this is the best place to be if you want to pursue a fashion career, right?! Well, yes! But let’s face it, nothing about moving to the US and pursuing a career is easy when you have to go through immigration steps and make sure you are not doing anything illegally.
So, when I found out that I was moving to NYC I had to decide what I wanted to do here. Coming to the US with a tourist visa does not allow you to do much. You literally come here to do touristy stuff, there is no way you can try to get a job or a social security number with that visa and you cannot stay in the country for longer than six months (back in 2016 it was six months, now I honestly don’t even know anymore). I could not come here with an artist visa because I did not have a portfolio big enough for that. To get a work visa you have to be employed by a big company, they have to prove why they need you instead of hiring an American, and, let’s face it, I had zero network and contacts that could possibly insert me into the market. Back in those days, I didn’t even know how to look for a job, imagine being hired by a big brand here…
The only option I had left was the student visa. So I spoke to my parents and they agreed that I should come to NYC to study English for six months and get to know this city.
2. Getting into school
Before getting the actual visa, you have to find a school and apply for that school. The application process is quite simple, you just have to contact them and fill out some forms that they will send to you, BUT along with these forms, to be accepted by the school, you need to prove that you can come here and support yourself without working.
So the school will require that you prove a certain amount of income to cover your expenses throughout the time you will be here. In case you cannot prove the income yourself, you can use sponsors. Just keep in mind that we are not talking about a piece of paper with how much money you or your sponsor make. We are talking about a letter from the bank proving that you or your sponsor currently have a certain amount of money that can cover your expenses, proof of the last two tax returns (from you and your sponsor) along with a recommendation letter from the bank saying that you and your sponsor have a good credit score. Side note, all these have to be written in English (so you will need an official translator) and the amount of money you need to prove has to be in American dollars (same on the tax return).
The school will let you know the amount of money you need to prove (it always depends on the time you will be studying with them), and once you are approved they will issue you a document called I-94.
3. Getting the visa
Ok, once you have your I-94 in your hands you can schedule your visit to the closest American consulate.
When going to the consulate you will need to bring all school documents along with the I-94 (which is the most important document). But when I say all the documents, I mean ALL the documents you have sent to school, along with your birth certificate (also translated to English), plus the information about where you will be living once you get here, how much will your rent cost, extra tax returns and bank statements that prove that you can not only afford school but also rent and living expenses in the US.
4. School is your home
When I say school is going to be your home and your best friend, I am not joking!
When you come to the US on a student visa you have to be a full-time student, which means you have to take 12 credits, you are not allowed to fail any classes, otherwise, your visa will be canceled, and you are only allowed to skip a certain amount of classes, which is fewer classes than a normal American student.
So a school might kick your ass, but it will open a lot of doors and opportunities for you. After six months have passed, I decided to stay in NYC and build my life here. That was when I decided to start college.
Starting college here was one of the best decisions I could ever make for myself, but it took me a lot of effort and even more steps to take to stay in New York legally. When I was done with English school it was August 2016, so I applied to college. But here is a thing, you apply to college here a semester before school starts, because you have to be approved for college. Which means I applied in August 2016, to be accepted in October 2016, and start school in January 2017, BUT what could I do between August and January while I was waiting for college to start?
When on a student visa, you are not allowed to be in the US if you are not studying. You have to be currently registered in a school and be attending that school to be able to stay in the country. So, in the meantime, while I was waiting for college to start, I enrolled in a new English school, so I could stay in New York for another six months waiting for college to start. And yes, I had to go through the entire admission process all over again.
5. Starting to work
Once you are in college you will, eventually, start an internship class. Once you are at that stage you can apply for a social security number, which is the document that allows you to legally work in the US. But just a note, you have to be enrolled in the internship class.
We all know that the life of an immigrant in the US is never that easy, so, obviously, to be able to get your social security number and be able to work, you have to go through an approval process and file a bunch of paperwork as well.
Remember when I mentioned that school is going to be your home? Well, school is the only way to get your work authorization and social security number. The international office of your school is the place where you will find assistance with all the paperwork, the exact forms you have to fill out, and where to send it all.
6. Internship Program
When applying for work authorization during college, you are not applying for regular work authorization. In the US they have something that they call OPT (Optional Practical Training). What is this? Remember when I mentioned signing up for an internship class? This is exactly what this is!
The OPT is nothing more than the government authorizing you to start your internship in the US. It is not a normal job, it is an internship.
You can choose between applying for an OPT before finishing school (what they call pre-OPT) or after. In my case, since I wanted to start working and focus on my career before even finishing school plus I already signed up for my internship class, I did the pre-OPT. Once you are done with school, you have to apply for your new OPT, so you can stay in the country after finishing college and work legally for one year.
When you are on an OPT after finishing school, yes, you are allowed to change your status from an intern to a full-time employee, BUT you are only allowed to work in the US for the certain amount of time specified on your work permit, so you have to be careful.
This is a very lengthy blog. I know! But since you all keep asking me about how I first came to the US and which steps I took to legally start my career in the US, I decided to open up and share all the details. I hope this blog is helpful to all my immigrants out there thinking about moving to the big apple. I am not going to lie, it is a lot of steps and challenges we go through. Sometimes, it doesn't even seem fair why we (and only we, immigrants) have to go through a certain process, but let me tell you, if it wasn’t like this, then what would be the point of pursuing a career and a life in a better country? The hustle is rewarding when you stay focused.
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