• Make sure the photo presents the full head from the top of the hair to the bottom of the chin
• Center the head with the frame
• The person in the photo should have a neutral expression and be facing the camera

• Photo must be 2 inches by 2 inches
• The height of the head (top of hair to bottom of chin) should measure 1 inch to 1 3/8 inches (25 mm – 35 mm)
• Make sure the eye height is between 1 1/8 inches to 1 3/8 inches (28 mm – 35 mm) from the bottom of the photo

• The top of the head, including the hair, to the bottom of the chin must be between 50% and 69% of the image’s total height. The eye height (measured from the bottom of the image to the level of the eyes) should be between 56% and 69% of the image’s height.
• Image pixel dimensions must be in a square aspect ratio (meaning the height must be equal to the width). Minimum acceptable dimensions are 600 pixels (width) x 600 pixels (height). Maximum acceptable dimensions are 1200 pixels (width) x 1200 pixels (height).

Students who are legally staying and studying in the U.S.A with F-1 student visa can apply for the DV Lottery if they meet the simple eligibility requirements.

To get the benefit form the winning, you must come from one eligible country.

You must have the required education/work experience.

If you are married then you must include your spouse and eligible children too with their individual image files and details.

The important thing is the duration of your F-1 student visa.

You must know that the Diversity Visa Lottery results will be available in the month of May.

Then the visa interviews and changing of status will take place from the month of October to next September.

If you have enough time and if you are a winner you can wait for your case number to be current and can contact the USCIS office to change your status to LPR status.

Other wise you can fill the visa application forms and send them back to the KCC. And go back to your country and face the interview according to your case number.

So if you are coming from an eligible country and got the required education/work experience, don’t miss the opportunity to become as a U.S LPR holder. And it may lead you to your American citizenship after living there continues for certain years.

Nationals of countries who have sent more than 50,000 immigrants to the United States over the past five years are not eligible to apply for the Diversity Visa program.

For DV-2013, natives of the following countries are not eligible to apply:

• BANGLADESH
• BRAZIL
• CANADA
• CHINA (mainland-born), except Person born in Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, and Taiwan
• COLOMBIA
• DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
• ECUADOR
• EL SALVADOR
• GUATEMALA
• HAITI
• INDIA
• JAMAICA
• MEXICO
• PAKISTAN
• PERU
• PHILIPPINES
• SOUTH KOREA
• UNITED KINGDOM (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and
• VIETNAM.

Persons born in Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, and Taiwan are eligible.

The online registration period for the 2013 Diversity Visa Program (DV-2013) will begin on

Tuesday, October 4, 2011, at noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4),

and conclude on

Saturday, November 5, 2011, at noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4).

Don’t wait until the last minute, since most of the time the server will often crash one week before the last day of registration. Apply Here at http://dvlottery.state.gov.

Legitimate Student:

Show that you have a coherent plan of study. e.g. B.A. English in undergrad in India then MS in Computer Science in US is not a coherent plan. B.E. Electronics & Communications then M S (Telecommunications) is very clearly coherent. Also, try linking the plan of study to India. There should be a connection between past study and future plan.

Reputation of School:

The better the ranking of the school that you finally choose, the higher your chances of getting a visa. Visa officials have actually been quoted saying that they never cancelled the visa application of a Harvard or Stanford student (they don’t even look at anything else if he has a Harvard offer). Of course, everybody doesn’t get Harvard, but then if you choose an obscure university, your chances of a visa decrease correspondingly, as suspicion about your choice rises. The official thinks “he’s going there only to get to the US, there are better univs than this in India”.

Exclusiveness of course:

If the course chosen is not offered in India, then it is a positive sign – as long as you can still show that it is logically related to your past studies. So you can’t choose Evangelism after a BSc Chem and then say “it’s not offered in India”. Well, actually, you can but you have to show compelling reason why you want that subject.
Evidence of having researched all options:Show all schools that you chose (say, printouts of websites, photostats of brochures), show clearly which ones you short listed and why, which ones you got offers from, which ones you chose and why. Basically, show yourself as a thorough student.

Proper documentation of previous study:

Have original copies of Board certificates, college degrees, diplomas, extra courses (like NIIT) etc. Also have original results of GRE, A-GRE TOEFL, TSE and other standardized tests handy.

Show proof of networking (if any) with professors:

If you have emailed (or written to) professors, have copies of the mails ready to show, to establish seriousness of intent to study and to show that you consider your education as an investment.

Multiple Offers:

If you have received offers from many universities, show that. Especially if you have a scholarship offer from a lower ranked university and are still going to a higher one, then attach proof of this with your application.
Covering Letter: Prepare a covering letter which covers all these points and all the supporting documentation.

Be Systematic:

Carry a folder with the covering letter and all these papers in order, so that (a) you don’t fumble around in front of the counter window looking for the right papers (b) you look systematic and thorough.

Steps to build Credit History

1. Open a new Bank Account ( Checking and if possible Savings account too)
2. Apply for Social Security Number.
3. After you have SSN, apply for Student Credit Card(s)
4. Use your credit card for daily purchase
5. Pay your bills on time ( pay in full )
6. Check your Credit Report atleast once in a year.
7. Watch your credit history and credit score ( 350 to 850) grow.

Applying for Credit Cards

There are many banks that offer student credit cards, that will help student to build credit history. Student credit cards will have low credit limits. Credit Limit varies from $300 to $2000 for student card.

Universities offer their own card through some bank. There are good chances that you will get your credit application approved, if your university has one. Even if its an Alumni Association card.

Some of popular students cards are , MBNA ( now its Bank of America), American Express Blue for Student, Citi Students Cards, Chase Students Card. Usually, seniors don’t suggest to apply for Discover card, until you have good credit history. Don’t apply for too many cards. First apply for 1 and see the outcome. If you get it approved, use it for 6 months to 1 year, build your credit history, ask for credit line increase.

Using Your Credit Cards

If you want to build the credit history, you need to use your credit cards for paying bills, grocery store purchase, .. and make sure you pay the bills before the statement due date. Your credit score will improve every month. It will take atleast 6 months to have decent credit history.

Life is US is tightly knit around Credit Score and Credit history. To build your credit score and credit history, you would need credit card.  When I started learning about credit cards, it was all confusing. When seniors talk about balance transfer, APR, credit score, credit report, rewards, cash back, etc it was way above my head. That was when I was new to USA and just getting my feet wet about financial rules and regulations.

Spend sometime to learn about credit cards, credit history and how it will impact your finances in long run. Do your research to find out

• Good student credit cards
• first time credit cards

I have seen many of my friends get in trouble, because they failed take care of their credit history. They messed around with credit cards, opening several accounts, multiple balance transfer and getting add-on cards with friends.

Importance of Good Credit History

You will know the importance of having good credit history when you plan to

• rent an apartment
• buy car
• buy home
• opening other accounts (water, gas, cell phone, ..)

Having good credit report is like having very high GRE score and GPA. You have higher chances of getting loan with low interest rate with good credit history (similar to getting admit in good universities).

• Credit report contains credit history.
• 3 Credit Bureaus have your credit history
• Banks report your billing activity to credit bureaus

How to Build Credit History

You build your credit history by paying bills on time. Cars and home mortgages are big ticket items. Your credit history will show your payment history. If you can pay your credit card bills on time, thats indication that you will be able to make large payments on time.

So, if you want to build your credit history, do that following

1. Get  a credit card
2. make purchases using credit card
3. pay bills on time ( avoid carrying balances)

What is APR

ARP stands for Annaul Percentage Rate. Its the interest rate on your card. APR on the card varies based on terms of the card.APR can be

• Fixed  ( bank can change it after informing you)
• Variable (rate changes based on finance markets)

When you apply for student credit cards, you will typically get introductory ARP of 0% or low APR for 6 months to 1 year. Don’t fall into this trap of not having to pay interest for long periods of time. If you max out your card without paying monthly bills on time and when introductory period is over you will have to pay interest rates on your balances.

Before you apply for a card, make sure you completely understand the credit cards terms and conditions in fine print. Key is to find a credit card with low ARP.

Top Student Credit Cards in USA

1. Discover Student Open Road Card
2. Discover Student More Card
3. Bank of America (University Alumni Credit Cards)
4. Citi Dividend Platinum Select Visa card for College Students
5. Citi Platinum Select MasterCard for College Students
6. Local Credit Union Credit Cards

Why Student Credit Cards

• Foreign students will not have credit history.
• For foreign students in USA, credit card is the easiest way to build your credit history.
• Student credit cards will have less income and credit history requirements to get approval.

You can also consider getting pre-paid student credit cards. Once you have built sufficient payment history, you can apply for regular student credit cards.

The final category of employment for international students in the U.S. on F-1 visas is employment with a “recognized international organization.” To qualify, an organization must be on the official State Department list, and listed organizations include the Red Cross, African and Asian Development Banks, the World Health Organization, the World Trade Organization, and many other similar but less well-known organizations. Because it does not have the universal application of OPT or CPT, this category of employment is often overlooked. Only students with a job offer and sponsorship from one of the listed organizations are eligible. However, for those lucky students who do have such sponsorship, there are clear benefits of this employment category.

Requirements to work for an international organization:

1. The student must have an internship/employment with a “recognized international organization.” Click here to see a recent listing of all “recognized international organizations”
2. The employment must be within the scope of the organization’s sponsorship, and within the student’s field of study.
3. The student must have been in valid F-1 status for at least one full academic year.
4. The student must be in good academic standing.

If you meet these requirements, you can apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS). You can start to work only after you receive your EAD, which can take up to 3 months.

There are certain advantages of this type of employment when compared to CPT or OPT.
• Employment does not have to be for-credit nor required for your degree program.
• Regardless of how much or how long you work, this type of employment will not take away from your 12-month post-completion OPT.

Any F-1 student suffering “severe economic hardship” as defined by USCIS is eligible to work off-campus for up to 20 hours per week while school is in session, and full-time during breaks.

To be eligible, a student must:

1. be in valid F-1 status for at least one academic year (9 months)
2. be in good academic standing
3. provide evidence of economic hardship based on unforeseen circumstances beyond the student’s control
4. show that on-campus employment is neither available nor sufficient
5. make a good faith effort to locate employment on campus before applying

The rule gives examples of the types of things that could be considered “severe economic hardship caused by unforeseen circumstances beyond the student’s control.” These circumstances may include:

•  loss of financial aid or on-campus employment without fault on the part of the student
•  substantial fluctuations in the value of currency or exchange rate
•  inordinate increases in tuition and/or living costs
•  unexpected changes in the financial condition of the student’s source of support
•  medical bills or other substantial and unexpected expenses.

You must apply for an “employment authorization document” (EAD) with the help and guidance of your International Student Office — you do not need a job offer before you apply for the EAD. But several forms and documents are required, together with fees and photos, etc., and processing can take up to 12 weeks or longer — and you cannot start work until you receive the EAD. Once you receive the EAD, you may work for an employer at any job, anywhere in the United States. Employment authorization is automatically terminated when a student fails to maintain valid F-1 status.