Hey everybody. Most people think that the F1 is the only student visa available for
foreign students. But there's another visa that's available for students that not necessarily
want to go to full-time courses or academic studies. So watch this video, and we'll discuss
the alternative visa to F1. Hey everybody. Before we dive into this video, I wanted to
thank you for watching, subscribing, and following us on all platforms. It means the world to
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like I love YouTube and I want to see you there too. So, let's talk about student visas.
We've done so many videos about F visas, but there's another visa called M1 that's available
for vocational studies. So, imagine you want to come to the United States to study mechanical
work or cooking, or one of the most common one that we see is flight school. The United
States is a very popular country for flight studies. And here in San Diego where I'm recording
this video, we have so many flight schools, so many students that come from Saudi Arabia,
from Europe, from all over the world to study flight because it's cheaper, it's more focused
and you can do it faster. So, M1 is a perfect visa for flight instruction and also for any
vocational studies. So, how is it different than the F1. It’s different than the F1.
F1 requires you to go full time and in an academic institute, you have to do either
an associate degree or bachelor degree. In M1, you can do vocational studies which will
give you a certificate for whatever you study. Now the caveat is that unlike in F1 where
you can study for years and years depending on the course, M1 is given for one year, and
you can renew it up to three years only. It's quite strict in terms of reporting because
you really have to be in school all the time on an M1 visa. The only exception is if you
have a medical reason, if you're ill, you have a valid doctor's certificate, you can
reduce all your courses and aggregate of up to six months, but it's really strict. If
the schools report the students that don't go, don't attend regularly and then ICE can
come and take the student or terminate their status. Again, M1 is a great visa if you want
to come for a short duration for vocational study. The way it works is you can apply for
school while you're overseas. And then you apply for what is called an I-20, just like
a student visa, like an F1, there's an I-20 for an M visa. You still have to document
that you have enough funds to go study here, enough funds to be able to live here. And
also you're going to prove to the US Embassy when you apply for the visa that you have
a reason to go back home after your vocational course. Now, remember, unlike a bachelor’s
degree where you come up, you have a degree, and then you can easily explain that you will
go back home and get a job over there or maybe get a job in the US to further your experience.
With M visa, we have to be clearly specific as to why you need this vocational course
and what you're going to be doing with their course when you're going to be back to your
home country. So, it's very important to show financial stability, have a clear reason and
a need for that course. And of course, make sure that you're going to be back in your
home country and have sufficient proof that you will do that. But all in all, M1 is a
really good visa for short duration vocational studies. It helps a lot of people to get skills
and particular education that they cannot get in any other place in the world. And let
us say, one example is flight training. What I like most about M1 visa is that people that
come in an M1 visa and go back to their home countries, they find it much easier to get
other visas. For example, either upgrade it to an F visa or eventually come back on a
work visa because you've already established a pattern that you got some education in the
US, you return to your home country and then you apply for another visa, you will definitely
increase your chances to get other visas. So, M1 visa, vocational studies, one year,
three years extension, up to three years, you get an I-20, you have to show financial
stability and intent to return, and you're good to go. It's an amazing visa for vocational
studies. Highly recommended. And if you need help, you know where to find me. I'm always
here for you. Thanks for watching our videos, and we'll see you in our next video.