First-time F-1 applicant guide

1. Timeline overview

Six milestones, in order. Each step gates the next.

1. 1

   Receive your I-20

   Issued by your university after admission and financial verification. Check every field (name spelling, SEVIS ID, program dates); errors here cause interview problems later.

2. 2

   Pay the SEVIS I-901 fee

   $350, paid at fmjfee.com against your SEVIS ID. Keep the receipt; you need it for the DS-160 and the interview. Pay at least three days before booking.

3. 3

   Complete the DS-160

   The online nonimmigrant visa application at ceac.state.gov. Answer consistently with your I-20 and documents; the confirmation barcode page is required at the interview.

4. 4

   Pay the MRV visa fee

   $185 machine-readable visa fee. The receipt activates scheduling. It stays valid for booking for one year (a 365-day window) from payment.

5. 5

   Schedule the interview

   On the official scheduling portal only, yourself. This site never books or automates anything; it only tells you when waits are short so you can act.

6. 6

   Attend the interview

   Carry the full document set. Most F-1 interviews are short; clarity on funding and post-study plans matters more than volume of paper.

2. Document checklist

Ticks persist in this browser only (nothing is uploaded or stored on a server).

3. Consulate comparison

Live official wait times. You may interview at any post in India regardless of your home city, so a farther consulate with a shorter wait can beat waiting locally.

Loading live wait times…

4. When to check for slots

Slot releases cluster; checking at the right time beats checking constantly. Set an alert instead of refreshing the portal.