Study in the USAStudent Visa Guidance from Jalandhar

Information on this page was checked against official US Government sources on 22 October 2026. Reviewed by Mandeep Sandhu, Sandhu Overseas, Jalandhar. Next scheduled review: January 2027. US student visa rules changed substantially during 2026 — the changes are set out below with their official sources. Always confirm on the linked page before you act.

Why students from Jalandhar look at the USA

The United States still has the deepest set of universities in the world and, for a graduate in engineering, computing or the sciences, the longest post-study work runway of any destination we handle: twelve months of practical training and a further twenty-four if the degree is in a designated STEM field. That is three years of work authorisation without an employer petition, which no other country on our list matches.

It is also the destination where the rules moved most in 2026, and where the gap between what circulates in Jalandhar and what the law now says is widest. Three things changed that affect every applicant from Punjab: the interview is now compulsory, your application must be made in India rather than wherever an appointment is quickest, and your social media must be visible. None of those were true two years ago.

What changed in 2026

Sources: Federal Register — fixed time period of admission final rule · Interview waiver update · Adjudicating applicants in their country of residence · Expanded screening and vetting.

A proposed change that would matter enormously

In October 2026 the Department of Homeland Security published a proposal to charge fees for Optional Practical Training: US$70,000 (approx. ₹65.59 lakh) for a student’s first OPT and US$30,000 (approx. ₹28.11 lakh) for any subsequent OPT, including a STEM extension. The fee would be paid by the SEVP-certified school, which may pass it on, and a Designated School Official would have to confirm payment before recommending OPT.

Official source: Federal Register — Optional Practical Training Fees (proposed rule).

What the US actually requires of an F-1 applicant

The Department of State’s own manual sets out five criteria. Failure on any one of them is a refusal under Section 214(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

• Acceptance at a school, evidenced by Form I-20
• Intent to enter the United States solely to pursue a full course of study at an approved institution
• Present intent to leave the United States after the approved activities
• Sufficient funds
• Preparation for the course of study

Note which of these is not on the list: a particular test score, a particular bank balance, or a particular academic percentage. Those are set by universities, not by the visa rules.

Official source: 9 FAM 402.5 — Foreign Affairs Manual, student visas.

Intent: the point everyone in Punjab gets wrong

Every F-1 applicant must overcome a statutory presumption that they intend to immigrate. The Department of State says plainly that strong ties to your home country are the key factor, and gives its own examples: a job, a home, and family and friend relationships.

What is less widely known, and it comes from the Department’s own manual, is the standard that is actually applied. A student applicant is judged on present intent, not on what they might do after several years abroad, and a later change in intent is not by itself a reason to refuse a visa. The applicant must have a residence abroad that they have no intention of abandoning.

Official sources: travel.state.gov — visa denials · 9 FAM 402.5-5(E). Our visa interview guide covers preparation.

Check the school is SEVP-certified

Only a school certified by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program can issue you a Form I-20, and without an I-20 there is no F-1 application. The Department of Homeland Security publishes a public school search where you can check any institution by name, location or level of study, and see whether it is certified for F-1, M-1 or both.

Do this yourself before you pay any application fee. It takes a minute, and it is the single cheapest piece of due diligence available to you.

Official source: DHS Study in the States — school search.

Form I-20 and the SEVIS record

Money: there is no fixed national figure

This is the question we are asked most often about the USA, and the honest answer is that the United States does not publish one. What it publishes is a standard. You must show enough readily available funds to meet all expenses for the first year of study, with later years covered by adequate funds from identified and reliable sources. The benchmark figure is the one printed on your own Form I-20, because the school is required to state its tuition and expenses there.

Acceptable evidence, as the Student and Exchange Visitor Program describes it, includes family bank statements, sponsor documentation, financial aid and scholarship letters, and an employer letter stating annual salary. Note also that your Designated School Official must be satisfied of your financial ability before issuing the I-20, and individual schools set their own rules about what they will accept — so the school’s requirement and the consulate’s are two separate hurdles.

Official sources: 9 FAM 402.5-5(G) · DHS — financial ability.

How the application works, step by step

Official sources: travel.state.gov — student visa · US Mission India — apply for a nonimmigrant visa. Visa and SEVIS fee amounts change and are published officially; we do not quote them here.

Working during and after your studies

On campus

Up to twenty hours a week while school is in session, counted across all on-campus jobs combined, and full-time when school is not in session. You must report the work to your Designated School Official.

Curricular Practical Training (CPT)

CPT is training that relates directly to your major and is an integral part of the school’s established curriculum. It must be authorised by your DSO in SEVIS for one specific employer and period, before the work begins. You generally need to have been enrolled full-time for at least one full academic year first, and students studying English as a second language are not eligible.

Optional Practical Training (OPT)

The STEM extension

A further 24 months is available on a bachelor’s degree or higher in a STEM field, where your major and its CIP code appear on the DHS-designated eligible list, and you apply during an existing period of post-completion OPT. It requires a Form I-983 training plan completed jointly with your employer before you file, in which an official with signatory authority attests that you will not replace a US worker, and that your pay is commensurate with a similarly situated US worker. You must work at least twenty hours a week, complete a self-evaluation within twelve months, and a final evaluation within ten days of the training ending.

Official sources: ICE — SEVIS employment · DHS — CPT · DHS — OPT · DHS — STEM OPT and Form I-983.

Bringing your spouse and children

Your spouse and children may hold F-2 status, which is derivative — it lasts only while you maintain F-1 status. Each dependant needs their own Form I-20, issued once you tell the school they will accompany you, and dependants do not pay the SEVIS fee. Same-sex and opposite-sex spouses are adjudicated identically.

• F-2 dependants may not work, and are not eligible for a Social Security number
• An F-2 spouse may study only part-time at an SEVP-certified school; full-time study requires changing status to F-1 or M-1
• Dependants must show a copy of your F-1 visa and proof of the relationship

For a married applicant from Punjab this is usually the decisive comparison. In Canada, a spouse may qualify for an open work permit at certain study levels; in the United States the F-2 spouse cannot work at all. If both of you intend to earn, that difference should shape the destination, not be discovered afterwards. Our USA spouse visa and USA dependent visa pages cover the wider family routes.

Official source: DHS — bringing dependants to the United States.

If your visa is refused

Two refusal grounds account for almost everything you will hear about.

Section 214(b) means you did not establish eligibility for the category, or did not overcome the presumption that you intend to immigrate. The Department of State is explicit on two points: the refusal applies to that specific application, and there is no appeal process. To try again you complete a new form, pay the fee again and attend a new interview — and you should be able to show significant changes in your circumstances since the last attempt.

Section 221(g) means the officer did not have everything needed to decide. That covers both missing documents and administrative processing. Where documents are missing you have one year from the refusal to supply them; miss that and you must reapply and pay again.

Official source: travel.state.gov — visa denials.

Starting your US application from Jalandhar

The American file is less about volume of paperwork than about order and consistency. The school’s acceptance has to come before the I-20, the I-20 before the SEVIS fee, the SEVIS fee before the interview, and your answers at the interview have to match the funding story in your documents. Most of what goes wrong is a mismatch rather than a missing paper.

One more thing worth saying plainly. Jalandhar has a great many immigration offices and the quality varies. Whoever you work with, ask them to show you the travel.state.gov or DHS page behind any rule they quote. If they describe duration of status as though nothing changed in September 2026, you have your answer.

How Sandhu Overseas helps

We are an immigration and visa consultancy in Jalandhar. We are not part of the US Government, we do not represent the Department of State, and no consultancy can guarantee a visa. What we can do is make sure your file is complete, current and consistent, and that you understand each requirement before you spend money against it.

Other USA services from our Jalandhar office

This page covers the F-1 student visa. If your US plan takes a different route, these pages go into each one:

Frequently asked questions