Visa Application Tips for Education Abroad Professionals Advising Program Participants

The Education Abroad Visas Subcommittee dealing with best practices in the faculty and student visa application process has set up Discussion Forum Topics to provide international education professionals with a new tool to meet the visa challenges of our students and faculty studying and teaching abroad. Subscribe to this network and join the Advising & Recruitment Q&A discussion forum to discuss visa practice procedures, ask questions, relay and discuss new information, share problems and solutions, offer ideas and suggestions, and to express the need for knowledge in specific areas, countries and regions.

Advising students who will be participating in study abroad opportunities outside the United States about foreign immigration rules, regulations, and, in particular, visa application procedures has become more complicated over the last several years as nations around the world implement new and evolving procedures both through their consulates in the United States and post arrival in country. All these changes have and will result in programs needing to consider greater lead times and better understanding of these changing visa and immigration rules.

Historically U.S. institutions and programs have continued to work one on one with the foreign consulates serving their regions coming to mutually acceptable working procedures. Some institutions work on group program procedures and others work with individual students to facilitate their visa application process experience as much as possible. As national immigration rules and regulations become more uniform there is the potential for more uniformity in process and protocol. However, as systems evolve there may be challenges inherent in such changes for programs and their participants.

The practice information provided in these pages are designed to minimize the impact of meeting the challenges of ever changing rules and specific needs of particular consulates. None of the practice information is "fixed" or "specific" and should be considered "living" as each country specific consulate's student application requirements and processing procedures change. As new information and changes occur, we will adapt these guidelines as quickly as possible. Nevertheless, the best practice is to confirm all visa processing information with the appropriate consulate.


Visa Application Tips: Rules of Thumb for Education Abroad Programs and Participants

Visa Application Tips for Advising Individual Education Abroad Student Applicants

Visa Application Tips for Education Abroad Advisers/Programs Preparing Student Applications