<p>Hello,</p>
<p>I'm not sure yet that I'm going to an American school. What is the deadline for applying for a visa?</p>
<p>Apply as soon as you receive the I-20 form from your school, even if you are not sure if you really want to attend.
There is no deadline, but the last time I applied for a visa I had to wait 1 month for the next available interview appointment and then it took another 3 weeks after the interview until I got my passport back in the mail.</p>
<p><barium> But don't they usually send you the I-20 form only after you have made a commitment to attend (say by sending a deposit)? So you would at least have to decide which of the American colleges you prefer before you can begin your visa application.</barium></p>
<p>Deposit? Deposit for what? They usually send you the I-20 after you have been accepted. This may be different from school to school though.</p>
<p>Getting my visa took about 7 days. I had to wait 4 days for an appointment and 3 days after the interview I got my passport. Knowing that you're from Germany I can't believe that it really took 3 weeks for you to get the passport back, barium. There must have been some complications. All people I know had their passport back within a few days.</p>
<p>If it is an emergency you can usually take home your passport the same day (appointment in the morning, go back back and pick up your passport in the afternoon). Most embassies also allow for emergency appointments, you can get an appointment the same/next day if you pay an extra fee.</p>
<p>This may be completely different for your country though.</p>