Student Visa Granted. How many "processing fees" are there?

Gator says on May 31, 2008, 07:19:

The visa application fee, US Embassy Bogotá, is $131 USD
Pay the SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System ) fee $100 USD
Personal Identification Number $16 USD

To whom is she paying thses fees?? If she has been granted, as you say, the F-1 Student Visa all fees are paid before the visa is issued.

Total visa fee should be $247.00 USD

"...to help speed up the process." What prcess, she has the visa?
Sounds like a scam.

"Credidi pretio parvo emere et magno vendere tibi in animo fuisse!" .

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BaaBaaBlackSheep says on May 31, 2008, 07:25:

News to me Mr. Gator. Thanks for the quick response. I'll talk to her and find out. This is knowledge is a huge help!

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rjstuff says on May 31, 2008, 10:31:

Yikes! My nephew just got his student visa - total paid $247 as Gator has described (I paid the SEVIS fee here in USA for him). Someone is taking her for a ride - as long as she can pay more - why nor ask for more?
The only thing she needs to pay next is for her airline tickets and then her tuition at the school. She needs to demand her $700 back.
Seems to me that she hasn't filed for her student visa and is going through a schmuck who is hustling her. Did she get her I20 already or not? Just file your own visa its very simple.

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rocinante says on Jun 1, 2008, 07:08:

I think she's taking the OP for a ride.

"World economic indicators point to a democrat winning 2008. It will surely be Obama. Peso 1400 by November" Feb 5, 2008

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Gator says on Jun 1, 2008, 08:28:

BaBa said, "A long time friend of mine has been granted her Student Visa to Study in Florida. She has a scholarship from the school as well as several family ties to prove that she will most definitely be back at the end of her stay."

If that's so what's the problem? Or did she fall for one of those "I'll get your visa with no problems"scams run by some of those ratas.

"Credidi pretio parvo emere et magno vendere tibi in animo fuisse!" .

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sanandressi says on Jun 1, 2008, 13:19:

So your friend ".got a scholarship from the school as well..." NICE! How many American students going to the same school were denied a scholarship? I and maybe just me, is sick and tired of foreign students being doled out money (STATE DEPARTMENT ie) while our OWN students are denied!

Nothing against your friend per se but how do we know she will overstay a visa or get married to stay in the USA?

10,000 scholarships given to Arab students from just Jordan alone through 1995. That is right! Your tax dollars going to foreignors to study here in the US of A. How much does Colombia's government GIVE to AMERICAN students to study in Colombia?

Yeah sour grapes and whose grapes?

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Gator says on Jun 1, 2008, 13:25:

In general, there are very limited scholarships available to F-1 students unless they come from in country that offers them financial aid. They can, however, work, generally, in on-campus jobs..

"Credidi pretio parvo emere et magno vendere tibi in animo fuisse!" .

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sanandressi says on Jun 2, 2008, 06:18:

Gator....article at Yahoo right now says that 7,000 foreign students come to the US every year at American taxpayer expense. So they will "like the United States when they go back home..." If they go home.

If they want to come here fine! Let them pay their on way! All of it!
Again, what are these other countries doing for OUR American students? Again, so many in this forum looking for work in places like Colombia and what is there other than teaching English? The immigrants come to America and the red carpet is rolled out. health care, education etc jobs (They use their minority status for handouts!) and our politicicans tell us how great free trade with Colombia will be? For whom? So Wal-mart can give us more cheap flowers destroyinng California's rose industry. How many scholarships is Uribe offering to Americans?

Who gets these scolarships? The poor from the slums of Bogota? NO! The student types from Colegio Nueva Granada who are rich from the beginning. The sons and daughters of the people whom our State Departmennt officials rub elbos with!

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Gator says on Jun 2, 2008, 07:51:

We had to provide the University of Florida with: a. Proof of health insurance, b, documentation we had sufficient funds to pay all expenses, c. Repatriation policy to return Simon to Colombia if he was, God forbid, killed or to ill to continue with school d. even with a 3.5 GPS in computer engineering NO state federal funding was available. All information had to be reconfirmed yearly.


As much as it seems to bother you Simon got nothing from the US or State of Florida. Except an offer of a ten-hour on campus student job in his field that paid, best I can remember, $7.35 and hour and he DID pay income and social security taxes. The job was not available until be was in his third year. He is the son of a friend who was the foreman of my finca. We felt it was our way of helping someone and if you do not like it that is just too Goddamned bad.


From the U of F International web site:

The federal government does not have any specific programs for international students.
For F-1 applicants, you should submit these documents to ISC: I-20 Request Form, copy of your passport (including the picture page, number page, and issue and expiration date pages), Certification of Finances ,and financial support documents (bank letter, bank statement, notarized affidavit of support, scholarship letter). Before registering for classes make sure you have health insurance. You have a few options when when purchasing health insurance.

All types of scholarships and financial aid for international students are highly competitive and require excellent academic records. You will often find the terms "scholarships" and "financial aid" used interchangeably, but technically speaking, a scholarship is a financial award based on merit, including outstanding academic performance, special talent in sports or performing arts, or perhaps community service or leadership. Financial aid is a "need-based" grant based on the student's financial need, as documented by family income, assets, and other factors.

International students often ask advisers about full scholarships, which cover all the costs of education except for airfare. The total number of full scholarships available each year to incoming international students in the United States is about 1,000, offered by only about 100 colleges. To get a full scholarship, you must be one of the top students in your country, usually with "A"s (excellent) in almost every subject, high SAT and TOEFL scores, and distinguished performance in other areas such as leadership and community service. There are 20 top students from all over the world competing for each scholarship, so you must distinguish yourself among a pool of outstanding students.

Only a handful of wealthy colleges in the United States are able to meet the financial need of all the students they admit. (Please note that admission to these schools is usually very competitive.) Financial need is the difference between what you and your family can afford to contribute and the estimated cost of attending the college. The former is calculated on the basis of detailed information about your parents' financial circumstances, including supporting evidence such as bank statements, employers' letters, and other official documents and statements. Other universities, which make more limited awards on the basis of your financial need, will also ask to see such evidence.

"Credidi pretio parvo emere et magno vendere tibi in animo fuisse!" .

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