A Student Must Prove an Intention to Leave
The student category is defined by two things that sit oddly together. The applicant must be a bona fide student qualified to pursue a full course of study at an approved institution - and must have a residence in a foreign country which they have no intention of abandoning. The second is a state of mind, and it is the applicant who must establish it. A student who is too convincing about wanting to stay is refused on the definition rather than on the course.
At a glance
- What the category requires beyond the course
- A foreign residence you do not intend to abandon
- Who must establish it
- The applicant
- What the institution must be
- Approved for the purpose after consultation with the Secretary of Education
- Language programmes
- Included, where accredited
Requirements
- A residence abroad which the applicant has no intention of abandoning
- Being a bona fide student qualified to pursue a full course of study
- An institution approved for the purpose
Exceptions by origin
No exceptions recorded
Nothing we have read treats any nationality differently for this topic. The rule above applies to everyone.
What the law says
«(F)(i) an alien having a residence in a foreign country which he has no intention of abandoning, who is a bona fide student qualified to pursue a full course of study and who seeks to enter the United States temporarily and solely for the purpose of pursuing such a course of study consistent with section 1184(l) 1 of this title at an established college, university, seminary, conservatory, academic high school, elementary school, or other academic institution or in an accredited language training program in the United States, particularly designated by him and approved by the Attorney General after consultation with the Secretary of Education»The definition. "Which he has no intention of abandoning" is the clause that decides most refusals, and it is in the definition rather than in any procedure.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Government Publishing Office's authenticated repository. The United States Code is published here edition by edition, one HTML file per section, at an address that names the edition year - and a link service resolves a title and section number to the current edition's file.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: An edition is a snapshot: the 2024 edition states the law as of a date in 2024 and says nothing about amendments made since. The Code is itself a compilation of acts, and for titles not enacted into positive law the Statutes at Large govern where the two differ. Nothing here carries the regulations, which are in the Code of Federal Regulations, or the annual notices that fill in the numbers these sections leave open.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
Practical notes
Nothing in the definition asks about money; the means test is in the procedure and in the institution's own certification, neither read here.
The intention requirement is why a student who later applies for permanent residence has to explain the change, and that question is outside this record.
- consolidates8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(F), students
GovInfo, U.S. Government Publishing Office · consolidated to 2024
About this source
The Government Publishing Office's authenticated repository. The United States Code is published here edition by edition, one HTML file per section, at an address that names the edition year - and a link service resolves a title and section number to the current edition's file.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: An edition is a snapshot: the 2024 edition states the law as of a date in 2024 and says nothing about amendments made since. The Code is itself a compilation of acts, and for titles not enacted into positive law the Statutes at Large govern where the two differ. Nothing here carries the regulations, which are in the Code of Federal Regulations, or the annual notices that fill in the numbers these sections leave open.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source