As soon as you have been accepted to a school in the United States you should fill out the DS-160 online visa application. You will get a receipt for the application at the end of the process; it is important that you save the receipt. You will also need to fill out a Student or Exchange Visitor (SEVIS) I-901 application and pay a fee. This can be done online. Save this receipt, too.
As soon as you receive your form I-20 from the school you will be attending, you should start gathering all the documents you will need for your visa appointment.
The following documentation is required at the time of your appointment:
1. Valid passport
2. Receipt for your completed DS-160 online visa request form.
3. One 2-inch square color photograph less than 6 months old, full frontal view against a white background
4. The original bank receipt for your application fee
5. Passports containing all previous U.S. visas, even if expired
6. Your completed SEVIS Form
7. Receipt for your SEVIS Fee
8. Proof of economic, social or family ties that demonstrate your intent to return to China
9. Proof that you can support yourself during your stay in the United States without working
10. Detailed information about your planned studies
11. Detailed information about your past academic and professional experience
12. If you are a returning student, your school transcript
13. For graduate students who have already been assigned an advising professor, a copy of the advisor's biography
When your documents are ready and you have paid your application fee, buy a prepaid PIN card from China CITIC Bank or visit the Visa Information Call Center website to purchase a PIN online. PIN cards cost 54 RMB for 12 minutes of phone time or 36 RMB for eight minutes. Once you have a prepaid card, call the Visa Information Call Center at 4008-872-333 to make an interview appointment.
Appear for your appointment on the scheduled date. Bring all of your documentation with you. Be prepared to wait three to four weeks for the decision on your student visa.