Steps to Apply for Your Student Visa

Travel Ban: 

December 2025,  Proclamation 10949 continues the suspension of entry for all nationals of the 12 countries established by Proclamation 10949 and adds seven additional countries. This includes students and scholars on F-1, J-1 and H-1B visas, along with any associated dependents, from these 19 countries:  

  • Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Burma, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen 

The proclamation also adds full restrictions and entry limitations for individuals holding travel documents issued by the Palestinian Authority.  Additionally, the proclamation continues or adds the suspension of entry for all nationals of the following countries as immigrants or as nonimmigrants on B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, J visas:  

  • Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burundi,  Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba Dominica, Gabon, Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Venezuela, Zambia, and Zimbabwe 

Visa Process Updates:  Recent U.S. visa process updates require nonimmigrant and immigrant visa applicants to interview in their country of nationality or residence, a change intended to make it more difficult to seek faster appointments abroad and potentially increasing waiting times. Nationals of countries where the U.S. government is not conducting routine nonimmigrant visa operations must apply at the designated embassy or consulate, unless their residence is elsewhere

You may view and print your document from the Request Center section of your ISSS Gateway Portal. 

I-20:
After printing your I-20 electronically in your student application portal, please print and sign in the Student Attestation section in blue ink.    

DS-2019:
After printing your DS-2019 electronically, please print and sign in the Attestation section in blue ink. Department of State regulations no longer prohibit the electronic mailing and signing of DS-2019s. 

Review the U.S. Department of State (DOS) website for visa application requirements for a F-1 visa OR a J-1 visa.   Be sure to check the average visa appointment and issuance wait times.

The I-901 SEVIS fee is paid to the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP).  Print the payment confirmation and keep it for your records.  The payment confirmation can be printed anytime at fmjfee.com by selecting the Check I-901 Status option.

Pay SEVIS fee

Print the confirmation page with a bar code.  You are required to bring this page with you to your visa appointment.

Complete DS-160

Once you have completed the DS-160, you must pay the visa application fee.   After completing the DS-160, you will be provided instructions for payment of the visa fee.

Select a location from the list U.S. embassies and consulates.  Visit that embassy or consulate’s web page and follow instructions for scheduling your visa interview appointment.

  • I-20 or DS-2019 (See Step 1 above).
  • Passport (valid for at least six months past your entry date).
  • Your admission letter from Missouri S&T (download and print from your application portal).
  • 2 recent passport-sized photos.
  • Supporting documents showing evidence of strong ties to your home country.
  • Your receipt of payment for the SEVIS fee.
  • Financial documents to prove you have financial support while you are studying in the U.S.
  • Other documents required by your embassy or consulate. 

Below are links that will help you prepare for your visa appointment.

For information about what a visa interview is like, see this link on the Department of State website.

Once your visa is approved, follow the instructions for passport/visa pickup.  

Information about what to do if your visa is denied is available on Travel.State.Gov