U.S. Visa Information

Students participating in US-based IFF programs need to be certain to have met all U.S. entry requirements prior to the day of scheduled arrival. For those students who participate in short-term IFF programs coming from visa-waiver countries a visa is typically not required as long as all requirements of the U.S. Visa Waiver Program. For more information, please see our page on the U.S. Visa Waiver Program.

For students coming from other countries, a standard visitor visa (Class B-2) is typically all that is required for students on short-term programs. For more information, please see our page on U.S. Visitor Visas.

Students with questions about visa requirements may contact us or the sponsoring organization in their home country if applying through one of our overseas partners.

When required, students will receive a “Registration Letter” from IFF or our overseas partner with which they registered to facilitate their visa or travel authorization application. The Registration Letter confirms the student’s registration in our program and provides required details about the student’s planned stay and activities in the United States.

Students coming to the United States for longer-term exchange programs or courses of study (those lasting more than 90 days) for academic credit are generally required to obtain an Exchange Visitor Visa (Class J-1) regardless of whether or not they are coming from a visa-waiver country.

Official information about U.S. Visa and other travel requirements can be found on the U.S. Department of State’s Visa Information Site.