Applying for Student Visa while in US

[roymichaelh 0]

I am a South African who is going so study in the US starting September 2012. I currently have a Visitors' Visa valid until 2012. I will be entering the US at the end of May to have some time to travel around before my studies commence. However, as my university decisions are due to be released in April, I do not know if that will leave me with enough time to apply for my Student Visa before I leave. If I don't have enough time, will I be able to complete my application (i.e. go for my visa interview) in the US?

[Boiler 46,107]

No

[jaycali 415]

No. You have to go home first, and you can't adjust status from tourist to student.

[ansze 0]

Don't know if you can do it now but back in 2003 I changed my status (it is not a visa stamped in your passport) from J1 to F1 and I have many friends who did it from visitor visa as well. The only problem was that it extended my legal status in US but didn't allow me to travel abroad. I would have to travel to my home country and go to consulate to get a student visa stamped in passport to be able to travel. Maybe something have changed since then, immigration laws change all the time. Good luck.

[99jjeerwerc 1]

First of all, you can change the category of your visa (change of status) while in the u.s as long as your non-immigrant status is valid(tourist,aupair,etc). It doesn't matter if you only have a few days left on your visa, you can send the paperwork before it expires and wait( or study) here until you get a written answer (no interview).

I guess that your only concern is the amount of time you have on your b2 but since your school is sending you the decision in April and you'll travel in May, then why don't you wait in your home country, apply for a student visa and then come back? You could save some money and time. The thing about changing of status from a visitors visa is that you won't be "visiting" and instead you'll be studying. Uscis tends to look closely to these type of cases and they'll question you a lot. You'll have to get a notation on your I-94 saying that you'll be visiting schools. It's up to you to do this but you can cut time by doing it at home.