|
I have a Japanese friend who is going to be doing some traveling in the US and Canada starting next month. She's visiting Canada first, but her flight to Canada has a layover in Dallas. So she needs to apply for an ESTA so that she can do that layover, but then she also plans to get an F-1 student visa so that she can attend a language school in California from late December to March. Will her having a current ESTA while she's going through the F-1 student visa process cause any problems for her? To clarify, she has no intention of trying to convert from an ESTA to an F-1. She's not even going to be in the US during the F-1 process. I hope I have explained this well enough. Let me know if there's a different forum or thread I should be putting this in.
|
#
?
Oct 23, 2014 12:17
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 19, 2024 16:55 |
|
|
ErIog posted:I have a Japanese friend who is going to be doing some traveling in the US and Canada starting next month. She's visiting Canada first, but her flight to Canada has a layover in Dallas. So she needs to apply for an ESTA so that she can do that layover, but then she also plans to get an F-1 student visa so that she can attend a language school in California from late December to March. No, and the ESTA is valid for two years anyway. It's also technically not really a "visa", even though in practice it's indistinguishable from a two-year tourist visa.
|
|
#
?
Oct 23, 2014 12:46
|
|
|
Yeah, I think we got it figured out. Thanks for your reply. The reason we were confused about the ESTA thing is because a lot of people online are asking about converting an ESTA to an F-1 while they're in the US already. The answer to that is a definite, "hell no," and we thought the problem was the existence of an ESTA. Turns out, like you said, the ESTA doesn't matter. The real problem those people are running into is that you can't apply for the F-1 student visa while already in the US. She's gonna be in Canada while applying for her F-1, and we confirmed with the consulate there that she would be able to apply from outside her home country as long as she's not applying from the US. So everything looks like its sorted. I'll leave this thread open in case anyone else has more information. ErIog fucked around with this message at 14:30 on Oct 23, 2014 |
|
#
?
Oct 23, 2014 14:28
|
|
|
ESTA is in essence a pre-registration for Visa Waiver Program. VWP is for citizens of developed countries, and Japanese citizens are eligible. People inside the US on VWP are generally not permitted to change immigration status, including a change to F-1 status. Acquiring F-1 status from outside the US is permitted though. On the other hand, people who enter the US on a valid visa may generally change to other nonimmigrant status (F-1 is nonimmigrant, although it's somewhat more complicated changing to F-1 from other visas in the US), so long as they have not demonstrated immigrant intent. B-1/B-2 is the most common nonimmigrant visa. Citizens of VWP countries may apply for a B-class visa by applying the US State Department abroad. A B visa permits far more options inside the US than a VWP entry does. Important thing to remember for any nonimmigrant visa is that applications will be denied, and visas cancelled, if the alien demonstrates any intent to immigrate to the US. Applying for a B visa while having a significant other, or large family already inside the US will make the consular interviewer suspicious, and often lead to denial. [I am an immigration lawyer, but this is not legal advice.]
|
|
#
?
Oct 31, 2014 09:42
|
|