How long the process can take to renew F1 visa in December?.

USA Study in USA
1

Hi,

I have been in US for a couple of years on F1 visa which expires in August this year. However I am currently enrolled in a PhD program and I need to renew it. I cannot go to India in summer and I plan on renewing it in December by visiting India in middle of December. My question is, how long will it take to get the visa renewed? The problem is, I am on a scholarship that requires me to be attend school in third week of January and as a result it will not be possible to return in time if the process takes long. Can someone please help?

                    -Dhanush
2

Unless you need to travel outside the US, you don’t have to renew the visa. The visa is only required to enter the US.

Check your I-94 - it should say D/S for “duration of status”. That means you are legal to stay in the US as long as you are in F1 status, i.e. as long as your I-20 doesn’t expire and you are studying.

There are no guarantees with visas. It should take a few weeks at most but if they decide to do a security check it could be longer.