- 1). Apply to and be accepted by a DHS-approved school or exchange visitors program. The DHS website maintains a list of approved schools located throughout the United States. A school that accepts you for enrollment will give you a competed Form I-20. An exchange visitors program that accepts you will give you a completed DS-2019 form.
- 2). Take the Form I-20 or DS-2019 issued to you and use the information from the form to complete Form I-901 and pay the SEVIS I-901 fee. This form and payment can be completed online at the DHS website page maintained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). There are alternate instructions for downloading the form and mailing it and the fee to ICE.
- 3). Complete and submit Form I-539 to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in order to apply for a change in visa status and receive either a student visa (either an "F visa" or "M visa," depending on the type of school that accepted you) or exchange visitor visa (called a "J visa").