The most common type of visa for students is the nonimmigrant student visa, or more commonly known as an F-visa. With this visa, you can come to America for either academic purposes (to attend school here) or vocational training (to obtain employment here).
Under our current immigration laws, every country in the world is categorized into one of six major visa categories. Nonimmigrants are those individuals who do not have immigrant visas — these include people like yourself who want to visit the United States on a tourist visa or business trip!
Nonimmigrant tourists typically stay for a short period of time, so they are limited to what we refer to as “B2” visas. A B2 visa does not require registration with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), nor do they need to prove job availability upon return home.
Business travelers, on the other hand, must register their business with INS and be sure there will be work when they return, but that’s only if they decide to remain in the U.S. longer than two years.
Students fall under the highest category of visa, referred to as an R-1 visa. This applies to both undergraduate and graduate studies. If your university offers international education programs, then they may automatically apply for you.
Keep reading to learn more about how to verify student visa eligibility and requirements.
An individual may be able to come to America with your help by acting as their dependent. This includes living in the same house, sharing a bedroom with the person you are dependant on, and being financially supported while they are here.
If this sounds like you, then you can apply for an F2 Dependent visa. You will need to prove that you live together as a couple and show evidence of health insurance or proof of income.
You must also make sure that you know who will take care of you if something happens whilst you are in the country. For example, if someone becomes seriously ill, there should be a doctor available at the hospital that can certify them fit for work.
There is no time limit on how long you can use this status, so long as it is for the right amount of time.
The second most popular nonimmigrant status is the R-1 visa, also known as an employment-based immigrant visa. This visa allows you to live and work in Canada as a representative of your employer, or what’s called a “tiene de empleo.”
You must be hired directly by your employer and cannot represent yourself as their employee. You can apply for this visa when you have a job offer in hand and there’s a process already in place for your employer to do business here.
This way, you don’t need to worry about proving that you’re qualified to work in Canada or that your employers will pay taxes here!
Not only that, but because your employer hires you, they can give you more time than usual to look for work after you settle into life here.
There is one small condition attached to the R-1 visa though — you must maintain close contact with home while living and working in Canada. This means no long vacations without reentry.
What happens if you run out of money or health insurance? That would not be good. Luckily, help comes in the form of the PR card many immigrants receive. It gives you access to basic healthcare services at cost.
General rules
If you want to stay in Canada longer than six months, you should know how immigration works.
An individual can apply for this nonimmigrant status to enter into, or perform work in, an employment contract in the United States if they are already working here.
If you’re living abroad as of October 16th, there is no deadline to file your application! You have one year from that day to submit it though. So make sure to start preparing soon!
You will need to prove that you satisfy the basic residency requirements as well as the job offer requirement. More information about these can be found below.
Having insufficient documentation to prove your identity is one of the most common things that cause issues for employers when they want to give you a visa in Canada.
If you don’t have proof of who you say you are, then it can be difficult proving that you belong here!
It isn’t easy to run background checks online, so many employers ask for documents that only someone with access to your records could verify. This includes passports, driver’s licenses, health cards, and other forms of ID.
Some countries issue “proof of residency” documents which aren’t true IDs but instead show that you live there. These usually look like business receipts or statements showing where you reside.
This article will talk more about what kind of documents qualify as legal identification and how to get those if you need them. But first, let us discuss why having all the right documents is important.
An R-1 visa allows qualified individuals to live and work in Canada as non-permanent residents for up to one year at a time. This includes both employment-based visas and personal visitations.
The person applying for this visa must be able to show that they will make adequate arrangements after their departure from Canada, such as housing or family members here. They also have to prove that there’s no plan B if they are not allowed to stay in Canada.
If you’re thinking about becoming an R-1 visa holder, remember that your application can’t be made public information so don’t advertise your plans! Only apply when you're sure you meet all of the eligibility requirements.
As discussed, being able to prove you’ve lived in Canada as a resident for at least one year is an important part of your application.
If this is your first time applying for a non-immigrant visa, it can be confusing which documents qualify you as having lived here for that length of time.
It's helpful to know some basic rules about what documents count as proof of residency. The Canadian Government publishes these guidelines online so you are not needed to go visit a consulate to find out!
Here are our top tips if you're reading this article because you are already preparing to apply or have recently applied for a R-1 visa.
An employment to come into Canada as an international student is referred to as an F2 Student Work Permit or more commonly known as a Schengen Visa. This permit allows you to live, work, and study in Canada for a limited amount of time.
An R-1 visa is issued to non-Canadians who will be working under your supervisor’s direction. The employer must have authorization from the Canadian Department of Immigration and Quota (CDIQ) to hire this person.
The duration of stay can range up to 9 months, but it is best to determine at the beginning of the internship if longer stays are expected. You should also check with CDIQ to see if there are any limitations to how long you may remain in Canada while on vacation.
There is no limit to the number of times you can apply for an R-1 visa, however each application requires you to provide proof of sufficient funds to support yourself during your stay in Canada.
An employment visa for non-immigrant workers, also known as an OVIP (Offshore Visitor Program) visa or B2/B3 visa depending on which country you are in, is the R-1 visa.
This article will go into more detail about what kind of employers can use this visa to hire employees. It will also discuss some things that may seem vague about how to fit the requirements into your situation.
We will talk about whether or not your job qualifies as “incidental to” your principal objective of visiting America. There is no official definition of what constitutes incidental to your visit, so it is up to each case individually.
If you would like to work while you are in the United States, you must be able to prove that you have adequate means to support yourself and your family back home. This includes having enough money to live on for both short term and long term.
