When is it 'too late' for US F1-Visa interview?

[mr_anxious]

I have been waiting to obtain funding for my PhD program (at X university). I20 needed for the visa interview can be issued only after funding has been obtained. Meanwhile, I have received I20 from another university (Y) but the offer is not great and I prefer the PhD offer with funding. 

 

The fix is that if I wait too long for the PhD funding and the subsequent I20, I may be too late to qualify for visa application for Y too. I would like to know how late can one apply for a F-1 visa. Is there any deadline beyond which visa rejections increase for the sole reason of being 'too late'?

 

X has start date in mid-August and Y has start date in mid-September. 

 

Thanks.

[fuzzylogician]

I've never heard of such a thing as "not qualifying" for a visa interview. The most that might happen is you might not be able to get the visa issued on time because all the interview dates are taken, so you might have to start your program a bit late. However, given that it's not even June now I don't think we're anywhere near that being a problem. I can imagine some suspicions if you try to apply for a visa for a program long after it starts, but not if you are getting the earliest possible date from when you got notification of funding. You can easily explain that at the interview if anyone asks.

[java0008]

The recommended time for visa application is to allow for any administrative processing to take place before the classes begin. Depending upon the country of application and your interview, you may be able to get the passport back in less than a week. Check the "wait time for visa appointment: and "visa processing time" at your embassy and it should give you an idea. 

[GeoMex]

I have been waiting to obtain funding for my PhD program (at X university). I20 needed for the visa interview can be issued only after funding has been obtained. Meanwhile, I have received I20 from another university (Y) but the offer is not great and I prefer the PhD offer with funding. 

 

The fix is that if I wait too long for the PhD funding and the subsequent I20, I may be too late to qualify for visa application for Y too. I would like to know how late can one apply for a F-1 visa. Is there any deadline beyond which visa rejections increase for the sole reason of being 'too late'?

 

X has start date in mid-August and Y has start date in mid-September. 

 

Thanks.

 

My visa was ready the same day, but since I had to go back to work I couldn't wait the ~6 hours it would have taken. So they mailed it and it takes about a week or two depending on the place.

So I think you could even have it issued early august and it wouldn't matter.

[Crafter]

I am in the same boat as you. I had to provide a bank statement with a certain amount for my husband so the school can process my DS-2019 (same as I20). It was just this week I was able to get the loan and send the statement, but the person working on my file at the school is out of office until next week..... I will end up buying last minute tickets.

 

Go to your country's US embassy website and check (should be somewhere there, or just google "visa appointment time" or something like that, and select your home country. You should get an estimate on wait time for your visa.

 

In my home country it is 2-3 calendar days to get the interview and about 1 day for processing. Tourist visas, for instance take 25 calendar days to schedule appointment and about a week for processing, because are on more demand. 

[mr_anxious]

I've never heard of such a thing as "not qualifying" for a visa interview. The most that might happen is you might not be able to get the visa issued on time because all the interview dates are taken, so you might have to start your program a bit late. However, given that it's not even June now I don't think we're anywhere near that being a problem. I can imagine some suspicions if you try to apply for a visa for a program long after it starts, but not if you are getting the earliest possible date from when you got notification of funding. You can easily explain that at the interview if anyone asks.

Okay so there is no 'last date' beyond which visa rejection rates start to rise. That is good news for me. Thanks!

 

Also, from other 3 replies, the common theme is to watch out for appointment wait times and leave room for processing time. I think I have until the end of June easily.

 

Thanks all. I can stop freaking out a bit for few more days 

[ChoSundari]

Okay so there is no 'last date' beyond which visa rejection rates start to rise. That is good news for me. Thanks!

 

Also, from other 3 replies, the common theme is to watch out for appointment wait times and leave room for processing time. I think I have until the end of June easily.

 

Thanks all. I can stop freaking out a bit for few more days 

 

Did you receive word on funding? I'm still waiting and getting super anxious about it as my visa process is being held up (as are all other moving/travel arrangements)...

 

I posted this in forum - any advice?

 

Hannah

[mr_anxious]

Did you receive word on funding? I'm still waiting and getting super anxious about it as my visa process is being held up (as are all other moving/travel arrangements)...

 

I posted this in forum - any advice?

 

Hannah

 

Unfortunately, nothing yet. I am in the same soup - everything right from visa to travel/housing is held up.

As others have said here, main thing to margin for is the appointment wait time. Another one is the processing time. The latter is generally quite small but sometimes if 221g is invoked, it can take quite some time for visa approval. Read up on that here. If you think you are very unlikely to have 221g invoked upon, just margin for appointment wait time at the local consulate and you should be fine. Since Fall semester generally starts in Aug/Sept, there is still quite some time including margin.

In the meantime, I would suggest that you start looking for an apartment to rent which can get tougher to find as time goes. Travel is again dependent on visa approval but you can possibly book flight to the US and cancel it later if things don't work out. I had done this once for an internship that I didn't end up going to and the round-trip cancellation cost me just $100. I would prefer that over booking a more expensive flight later on.

I hope your funding works out. All the best!