Education in U.S.A 

U.S. Embassy - Riyadh Consular Section - Visa Advice for Students

Travelers Should Request Visa Appointments Now for Summer Visits to the U.S. (english) -- (arabic)  

Students should go to the appointment website located at  http://ksa.us-visaservices.com/.

Students should:

1) Purchase a pin,

2) Complete and print out the required forms, and

3) Select an appointment date.

Even if a student has not received an I-20 and has no SEVIS receipt, he/she should still initiate these appointment procedures.

On the interview date, the student must come to the U.S. Embassy-Riyadh between 8:00 and 10:00 AM with the required documentation that is clearly stated on the visa page of the U.S. Embassy website (http://riyadh.usembassy.gov/non-immigrant_visas.html). This documentation includes a pre-paid MRV application fee receipt that can be purchased from any Samba Bank for SR 498.00 (USD $131.00). Cash is not accepted for the application fee.

If a student comes to his/her appointment without the I-20 and SEVIS receipt, he/she will be given a yellow sheet of paper at the end of the interview, indicating the items that still need to be submitted. With the interview complete, any further checks or additional processing procedures can then be initiated by the Consular Section. Sometimes these procedures can take more than two months.

As the student leaves the interview and passes through the Consular Section waiting area, he/she will see a FedEx vendor. If the student does not wish to return to the U.S. Embassy-Riyadh in order to deliver items listed on the yellow sheet of paper, he/she has the option of purchasing two FedEx envelopes:  one that would be addressed to the Embassy and one that would be addressed to the student.

• Effective November 1, 2006, all applications for all types of visas must be completed online through http://evisaforms.state.gov/.
• Typed or handwritten applications will not be accepted after October 31, 2006. Please refer to the visa page of the U.S. Embassy website for specific details on required documentation.
• A visa cannot be issued more than 120 days before the start date listed on the I-20.
• When a student is cleared for the visa, it will not be placed in his/her passport until 120 days, or less, before the start date listed on the I-20.
• A student cannot enter the United States on a student visa more than 30 days before the start date listed on the I-20.

The Consular Section has a Kingdom-wide visa help desk in Jeddah and can be reached at the following telephone numbers:        

• 02-664-5105
• 02-664-7380
• 02-667-0080, Ext. 4600