Hold F1 VISA - got new I-20 ( same university ) New Visa again ?

Hello there , I havetried a couple of times regarding this but I did not get a final solution . So here we go again .



 



1.      I have applied for [b]Spring 2012 admission[/b] for the XXX university SF in California and got my VISA issued on November 2011 in [b]Hyderabad Consulate[/b].



2.      Due to Family concerns , I was unable to go for the [b]Spring 2012 semester[/b] , so I asked my university to defer the application to this [b]Fall 2012[/b]



[b]3.      [/b]They have [b]not[/b] defrred my admission but they sent me a [b]new I-20[/b] which has start date mentioned as [b]September 6th 2012 - ( this means the old I-20 was cancelled and i got a new SEVIS number on the new I-20 ) [/b]



4.      Because it is the [b]same university[/b] I am going to – do  I need to attend the [b]VISA interview again[/b] ? or [b]is it enough[/b] if I just get [b]the new I-20[/b] from the university ?



5.      I have heard about the [b]5 month rule[/b] in VISA validity – but in the VFS website it is mentioned that the 5 month rule only holds for [b]student residing in the USA[/b] and [b]for students revisiting the USA after 5 months[/b] , not for students like me who [b]are first time visitors[/b]



 



 



There are [b]2[/b] more questions :



1.      Should the [b]SEVIS number[/b] in my new I-20 be the [b]same as the SEVIS number[/b] on the old I -20 that I paid before ?



2.      What if [b]the SEVIS number[/b] on the new I-20 is [b]not matching the SEVIS number[/b] on the old I-20 that I paid before ? Should [b]I pay the SEVIS fee again[/b] ? will this be sufficient or [b]should I attend the interview again[/b] .



 



I have my flight booked for [b]August 8th 2012[/b]  - I am getting very tensed here as nobody is able to answer my questions here ! I really hope I can get a reply from u guys asap so I can do the necessary !
1 Like

As I communicated to you via email. You need to talk to the DSO of the current school or work with folks in Visa Consulate. Do NOT just get nervous, try out options.

Call the school or SEVP office. It is on SEVP website.

What happened? Did you travel on old visa or got a new one. Please let me know I am in the same situation. Thanks