My son got his I20 from UIUC and got his F1 visa for 5 years in June. Now he has received his admit from HKUST. He wants to opt for HKUST. I have been advised by his education counsellor to just inform the university and the university shall inform the U.S. Consulate. Can someone confirm this.
Also, I hope this does not impact his chances of getting the F1 visa when he applies for his MS after 4 years as that is his current plan.
Also, can he apply for a tourist visa in December as we are planning a holiday?
That is correct. Regardless of the sticker in someone’s passport, the validity of a student visa is tied to the student’s SEVIS record. It often happens, for example, that the visa sticker expires while a student is still studying in the US, and they continue to remain in valid F-1 status as long as their SEVIS record is active and in good standing.
Conversely, when a SEVIS record is closed, the associated student visa becomes invalid.
It is the responsibility of the university to maintain each student’s SEVIS record. They have to update it at least once per semester, to confirm that the student has physically arrived on campus and is registered for a full-time course load. They also have to keep up-to-date the student’s physical address and degree program (major, etc).
After you notify the university that your son will not attend, they will close his SEVIS record and that’s the end of the visa story.
Yes, he can.
That part is more complicated. In order to qualify for any non-immigrant visa to the US, the visa applicant has to convince their interviewer that they do not intend to immigrate to the US. Visa policy says that immigration intent is to be assumed until proven otherwise. About 1/3 of all US visa applications are denied for suspected immigration intent.
This means that your son may need a convincing story for why he’s so set on studying in the US - at the graduate level if not as an undergraduate - that does not involve wanting to live or work in the US after grad school.
The undergraduate offer of admission / visa application might even work to his advantage. “I had the opportunity to attend a good American university, and I chose to study at an excellent university in Hong Kong instead. This demonstrates that the quality of my education is more important to me than the location of that education.”
Point is, everything known to the US consulate will affect your chances for a future visa, but an un-utilized US visa should not be a big red flag.
Thanks a ton for the detailed response b@r!um. So just to validate my understanding, when he applies for F1 in future, he will have to again undergo the interview with visa office, as expected. You are suggesting that the F1 that he has presently, the one on which he is not travelling, will have no negative impact on that application. It may even have a positive impact as it implies he is not interested in immigration. Is that correct?
Regarding his intent to study in US, as he is studying engineering, maximum innovation is happening in US and that is the reason for applying there now and in the future.
Thanks a ton for the detailed response @b@r!um. So just to validate my understanding, when he applies for F1 in future, he will have to again undergo the interview with visa office, as expected. You are suggesting that the F1 that he has presently, the one on which he is not travelling, will have no negative impact on that application. It may even have a positive impact as it implies he is not interested in immigration. Is that correct?
Also regarding the rationale for applying to US schools, Regarding his intent to study in US, as he is studying engineering, maximum innovation is happening in US and that is the reason for applying there now and in the future. @b@r!um