Student Visas

You do not need a student (F-1) visa in order to study in the American Language Program. However, if you want to obtain a student visa and study ESL full-time, you should make an appointment with Professor Gethin-Jones at (203) 251-8511. You should also make an appointment if:

• you have another type of visa and you want to change your status to F-1 
• you already have a student visa and wish to transfer to UConn from another university

*According to the regulations of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, when you have a student visa, you must be available to study full-time. This means that you must study for a minimum of 18 hours per week for a full semester. When you are on a student visa, you are not allowed to work.*  

If you are accepted to the American Language Program, we will issue a government form I-20 which is required in order to apply for a student visa.  When you receive the student visa, you must come to the American Language Program office with your papers and register for our placement test. All new students must take this test. We will recommend courses for you after you take the placement test. You should register for the placement test and for courses about 3 weeks before classes begin.