USAnaru™
USAnaru™ — Your crossing to the right U.S. school.
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Documents, forms & rules

Every official step from admission to the F-1 or J-1 visa, explained in plain language with the official link and the date we last checked it — plus our own free templates for letters families usually have to write.

Information, not legal advice. Rules and fees change — confirm with the school’s DSO (F-1), your exchange sponsor’s Responsible Officer (J-1) or the U.S. embassy or consulate before you act.
Calendar

Test calendar 2026–27

SSAT, ISEE, TOEFL, Duolingo, IELTS, PSAT, SAT, ACT, AP and AMC — official dates, deadlines and fees, with calendar files.
Guide

Grade placement & acceleration

Which grade your child joins, school years compared with Korea, China, Vietnam and Mexico, and state rules on credits and credit by exam (incl. Texas CBE).

The F-1 process, step by step

  1. 1 Choose & apply Pick schools, take tests and send applications
  2. 2 Admitted Accept an offer and send proof of funds
  3. 3 I-20 / DS-2019 Get and sign the I-20 (F-1) or DS-2019 (J-1)
  4. 4 SEVIS I-901 fee Pay the I-901 fee online: $350 F-1, $220 J-1
  5. 5 DS-160 & visa interview Fill in the DS-160, pay $185 and attend the interview
  6. 6 Travel Carry passport, visa, I-20 and funds; land ≤30 days early
  7. 7 Arrival & I-94 Check your I-94 online and report to your school
  8. 8 Maintain status Study full time; extend or leave before your I-94 date
All steps Choose & applyAdmittedI-20 / DS-2019SEVIS I-901 feeDS-160 & visa interviewTravelArrival & I-94Maintain status

Choose & apply

ChecklistF-1 · J-1

Boarding-school application checklist: a 12-month timeline

A month-by-month plan for international families applying to U.S. boarding schools for a fall start: research and tests about 12 months ahead, applications and intervi...

Checked 2026-10-10
TemplateF-1 · J-1

Template: request for school transcripts and records

A polite request to the student's current school for official transcripts (grade reports) for the last two or three years, in English or with a certified translation, ...

Checked 2026-10-10
TemplateF-1 · J-1

Template: e-mail asking a teacher for a recommendation

A short, respectful e-mail a student can send to a teacher (usually English and math, sometimes a counselor) asking for a recommendation for U.S. boarding-school appli...

Checked 2026-10-10
RuleF-1

F-1 at a U.S. public high school: 12-month limit and full-cost reimbursement

U.S. law (INA 214(m)) lets an F-1 student attend a public high school (grades 9–12) for no more than 12 months in total, and only after paying the school district the ...

Checked 2026-10-10
RuleJ-1

J-1 secondary school student exchange: the rules (22 CFR 62.25)

The J-1 Secondary School Student program lets teenagers study at an accredited U.S. public or private high school for one or two semesters while living with a vetted h...

Checked 2026-10-10

Admitted

TemplateF-1 · J-1

Template: request to your bank for a balance / sponsorship letter

A ready-to-copy request asking your bank for an English-language letter confirming the account holder, balance and currency, for a U.S. boarding school's I-20 file or ...

Checked 2026-10-10
TemplateF-1 · J-1

Template: financial support statement (parent or sponsor)

A generic statement in which a parent or other sponsor promises to pay a student's tuition, boarding and living costs, to go with bank letters in a school's I-20 file....

Checked 2026-10-10

I-20 / DS-2019

Official form or feeF-1I-20

Form I-20 (Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Status)

The Form I-20 is the document an SEVP-certified U.S. school gives an admitted international student so they can apply for an F-1 student visa. It is issued by the scho...

Checked 2026-10-10
Official form or feeJ-1DS-2019

Form DS-2019 (Certificate of Eligibility for Exchange Visitor Status, J-1)

The DS-2019 is the J-1 equivalent of the I-20. A U.S. Department of State–designated exchange sponsor creates it in SEVIS and its Responsible Officer signs it; the stu...

Checked 2026-10-10

SEVIS I-901 fee

Official form or feeF-1 · J-1I-901$350

SEVIS I-901 fee (F-1 $350 · J-1 $220)

Before an F-1 or J-1 visa can be issued, the student must pay the I-901 SEVIS fee to the Department of Homeland Security: $350 for F-1 students and $220 for most J-1 e...

Checked 2026-10-10

DS-160 & visa interview

Official form or feeF-1 · J-1DS-160

Form DS-160 (Online Nonimmigrant Visa Application)

The DS-160 is the online application every F-1 and J-1 visa applicant completes and signs electronically on the State Department's CEAC website before the visa intervi...

Checked 2026-10-10
Official form or feeF-1 · J-1MRV fee$185

F-1 / J-1 visa interview and the $185 application (MRV) fee

F-1 and J-1 student visas are applied for at a U.S. embassy or consulate. The non-refundable visa application fee for F and J visas is $185 under the State Department'...

Checked 2026-10-10

Travel

ChecklistF-1 · J-1

Travel day checklist: what to carry to the U.S. port of entry

On the day you fly, carry in your hand luggage: your passport with the F-1 or J-1 visa, the signed Form I-20 (F-1) or DS-2019 (J-1), proof of funds, and your school or...

Checked 2026-10-10

Arrival & I-94

TemplateF-1 · J-1

Template: letter appointing a U.S. guardian for a boarding-school student

Many U.S. boarding schools ask families of international students under 18 to name an adult in the United States who can act for the parents on holidays, school breaks...

Checked 2026-10-10
Official form or feeF-1 · J-1I-94

Form I-94 (Arrival/Departure Record)

The I-94 is CBP's record of when you entered the United States, in what status (F-1 or J-1) and until when you are admitted. There is no paper card any more for air ar...

Checked 2026-10-10

Maintain status

RuleF-1 · J-1

Maintaining F-1 and J-1 status: the basics (fixed admission period since Sept. 15, 2026)

To keep F-1 or J-1 status, a student must attend the school or program on their I-20 or DS-2019 full time, keep documents valid, and leave or extend before the admissi...

Checked 2026-10-10
RuleF-1

Transferring schools on F-1 (SEVIS transfer)

An F-1 student who is maintaining status can move to another SEVP-certified school through a SEVIS transfer: you tell your current DSO, who sets a release date, and th...

Checked 2026-10-10

Find a school that can issue an I-20

Only SEVP-certified schools can issue the Form I-20 for an F-1 visa. Boarding schools with F-1 (I-20) → · Visa news & guides →

For AI assistants and developers: /api/v1/documents · /api/v1/regulations · MCP list_documents, get_document, check_regulation. Cite as “USAnaru™” with a link to the page.

USAnaru™ — Your crossing to the right U.S. school.
Reading time:
Views: 3
Others: 4
Read by AI & crawlers
Others4

Named by what the crawler says it is; look-alikes we detect are counted under Others. Google · Gemini includes Googlebot, Google’s search crawler, whose index Google also uses for its AI features; other search engines and bots are in Others.