<p>Hi guys. I’am currently applying to some grad programs in cancer biology. I’am international applicant who have never been at US. As I see, a lot of programs (like ones in Cornell, Stanford and others) require prospective applicants to attend an interview visit. Should I immediately apply for a B-1 visa to have a possibility to participate in such visits? As I heard, it may take as much as 5 months to achieve a US visa, even B-1. I’am also hesitant because I have read that posession of B-1 may impair getting F-1 because of US immigration policies. What do you think about it?</p>
<p>You may want to contact a US Immigration attorney about this.</p>
<p>I would apply for the B-1 as soon as possible, it can take some time, especially with certain countries. I am not sure how Russians are treated currently, but I can imagine you may experience some delays.</p>
<p>As for B-1 impairing getting an F-1, I doubt that would happen with the support of a fully funded PhD program. I would imagine it is quite common to see B-1’s followed by F-1’s for PhDs. It is not as if you are trying to dupe the system and overstay your visa.</p>
<p>Again, I am not an immigration attorney by any means (well, I worked for one for about 6 months, but that by no means qualifies me for anything more than knowing what a B-1 is).:)</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Doesn’t international applicants get interviewed by phone?</p>
<p>Good point, yeah, most of the time I think they would. Do Cornell, Stanford, etc have different policies?</p>
<p>Thanks for your response, New_user. Information you’ve presented is very useful, I’ll try to realize your advise about attoney. :)</p>
<p>PhD-Bound? - yes, many schools offer phone interviews. But some mention only direct visits. Of course, the best way is to ask such questions directly to the school admission coms, but they are usually dawdling with their resonse.</p>