Immigrating through study to the United States
Topics covered in this article:
Immigration through study to the United States is one of the attractive ways of immigration to the United States for Iranians. Universities of the United States are world-renowned because of their high level of educational quality, and and welcome many international students each year. Many Iranians also apply for immigration to the United States through study, but the late tensions between the two countries (Iran and the U.S.) has created many concerns for the applicants in this regard. Many of the U.S. visas have become unavailable for Iranian, but fortunately you can still acquire student visa.
You can also ask questions in the comments section and receive an answer in a short time.
What are the general conditions of immigrating through study to the United States?
At the beginning of the discussion of Immigration through study to the United States, it is necessary to provide some initial explanations about this country. If familiarity with the United States is not interesting to you, skip this section and study the information about education in the United States in rest of this article. The United States located on the continent of North America, is a federal republic consisted of 50 states, 1 federal region, 5 autonomous regions, and a collection of scattered islands and is the most diverse country in the world regarding race and nationality. The United States has a total area of 9.8 million square kilometers, and its population is around 325 million. The United States is the 4th largest and 3rd most populous country in the world. The capital city is Washington D.C. and its most populous city is New York. The United States has common border with Canada from the north, Mexico from the south, the Pacific Ocean from the west, and the Atlantic Ocean from the east. The currency of the United States is dollar and its official language is English.
The United States has one of the best education systems in the world. The United States has the best colleges and universities with the highest rankings, and the bachelor’s, postgraduate, and PhD degrees issued by universities of the United States are acceptable all over the world. Also, the United States is the home of many universities which are the best and most brilliant universities in the world. That is why many people have a tendency towards immigration through study to the United States, but it should be kept in mind that education in the United States and acquiring admission from its universities should be approached with great caution, because at this period the embassy of the United States, all over the world, is very strict with Iranians coming from all over the world, and this fact must be taken into account.
Immigrating through study to the United States in a Glance
Is it possible to acquire admission for children in schools of the United States?
Immigrating to the United States through study in school is not easily possible. Elementary schools in the United States include 5 years of education from the 1st to the 5th grade. Overall, each student passes 6 years in school including the kindergarten. The beginning of the educational year is in September and students can study in public and private schools in this country. In the United States education takes 6 years in elementary school (1 year of kindergarten and 5 years of other education), 3 years in middle school, and 4 years in high school.
Private schools have high tuition fees, but also they have very high educational quality and facilities. Although public schools are free for the U.S. students and their educational system is ordinary and normal compared to private schools. Around 85 to 90 percent of the U.S. students study in its public schools for free. International students don’t easily get admission to study in the U.S. schools and usually non-U.S. students can’t attend the United States schools unless they’ve travelled to the United States with their parents and their parents have acquire citizenship of the United States through one of different procedures. Only in this case it’s possible for children to study in schools of the United States. You can ask your questions is the comments section and receive an answer in a short time.
What are the conditions and procedures of acquiring admission in bachelor degree?
It is possible that immigration through study to the United States for undergraduate studies is the aim of some people. Students enter universities (for undergraduate studies) after spending 12-year school period in primary and secondary schools. Thus, foreign students who want to enter universities of the United States for undergraduate must have acquired a degree equivalent to high school diploma. Students can choose a 1- or 2-years long course for Associate Degree (if they have an 11-year diploma) or a 4-year long for undergraduate (if they have a 12-year diploma). Next, students have to choose a major until the second year of college. Among important requirements for admission in this course is IELTS 6 or equivalent TOEFL degree. If an applicant has a GPA under 16, it is better he/she first takes the Associate Degree course for 2 years, and then enter undergraduate. Students can study in the fields of management, law, engineering, science, biology, and educational science. To study in the United States for undergraduate, first you need to take an exam which is explained below:
What are the conditions and procedures of acquiring admission for postgraduate?
The applicants of immigration through study to the United States can also apply for postgraduate. To enter this course, students must have passed 16 years of formal education, it means they must have fulfilled 12 years at school (In primary and secondary schools) and 4 years of undergraduate. The postgraduate in the United States takes 2 years. The students can acquire admission in a variety of educational fields from large numbers of universities in this country for postgraduate. But, generally the students have to take some other exams to be able to start their postgraduate. These exams are as follows:
How should we apply for a PhD in the United States?
Another way of immigration through study to the United States is to study for a PhD in this country. In this regard, the important point is that the applicants must have a brilliant proposal and a high degree of language proficiency. Usually, IELTS higher than 7 is required. Another important factor is having a supervisor which is very important in acquiring a PhD admission. PhD degree in the United States usually takes 4 to 6 years. Other important notes that you should be aware of are stated as follows:
PhD program in the United States is a research program that has the highest credibility among other degrees in this country. Acquiring PhD in the United States requires 3 to 6 years of continuing education. Universities of the United States are divided into two types of state school and private school. State schools are usually cheaper, but there might have limited capacity in admitting international students.
Based on being a research center or not, universities of the United States can be divided into two groups:
What are the important points for receiving an educational scholarship?
In many cases, the applicants of immigrating through study to the United States may be after acquiring scholarships. But receiving a scholarship, similar to a PhD degree, requires very special conditions such as a language degree with high score, exceptional university scores , high average score (GPA), strong and brilliant proposal, ISI papers, recommendation letters from your previous supervisors or teachers, and having a supervisor. The United States might offer scholarships in different educational programs (Degrees). To enter for a undergraduate, the students must have high scores and GPA in their diploma, and also they must have TOEFL or IELTS language certificate, and they shouldn’t have large educational gaps or be above a certain age. In these case, students can apply for scholarship after acquiring admission from one of the U.S. universities. To be qualified for a postgraduate or PhD degree, the students must have GMAT certificate in management, GRE with a score of 70 in engineering, and LSAT in law. Recently, acquiring scholarships is very difficult, but if students can present the above mentioned requirements they might have a chance in receiving a scholarship.
How much are the expenses of education and living as a student in the United States?
The cost of education in the United States is variant depending on the type of university. Education in private institutes in the United States costs around 60,000 dollars which is very expensive. Those students who want to have a reasonable educational cost can choose state or public universities. The cost of education in these universities for the U.S. residents is around 9,139 dollars and for other students it’s different. The cost of education for international students is around 15,000 to 22,000 dollars for undergraduate, 18,000 to 25,000 for postgraduate students, 18,000 and 25,000 for PhD students, and 35,000 to 50,000 for medical sciences students. Next, we will explain the expenses of living in the United States. The expenses of living in the United States is 73 percent higher than Iran. Moreover, the rent expenses in the United States is 183 percent more expensive than Iran.
| States and cities of the United States |
Yearly expenses of living |
| Boston (Massachusetts), Miami (Florida) |
Around 20,000 to 25,000 |
| Atlanta |
Around 18,000 to 20,000 |
| Philadelphia |
20,000 to 22,000 |
| Washington D.C and New York |
22,000 to 30,000 |
| Los Angeles (California) |
22,000 to 30,000 |
| San Francisco |
20,000 to 26,000 |
| Seattle (Washington) |
23,000 to 26,000 |
| Chicago |
16,000 to 22,000 |
| Ohio |
18,000 to 23,000 |
| Detroit (Michigan) |
19,000 to 22,000 |
| Dallas (Texas) |
20,000 to 24,000 |
Is it possible to work while studying in the United States?
One of the important matters for the students who immigrate through study to the United States is to work while studying. In this country, students are allowed to work both inside and outside of the university. For working inside the university, a work permit from the U.S. Immigration Service is not required, but when students want to work outside universities, they have to acquire work permit from the U.S. Immigration Office. According to a similar rule which also exists in other countries, students are allowed to work part-time for 10 hours per week in undergraduate, 20 hours per week in postgraduate, and 30 hours per week in PhD degree. Students can use job searching websites to find a job. The important fact is that people can’t obtain easily a student visa of the United States and this process is difficult and complicated.
What are the requirements for obtaining a dependent visa in the United States?
In immigration through study to the United States acquiring a dependent visa is also a concern for applicants. Students who have acquired student visa can apply for dependent visa for their spouse and their under-21 children, but acquiring dependent visa for over-21 children who are single might need a long time (maybe more than 6 months). Also, people who have permanent residency of the United States need more time to acquire dependent visa for their family than those who are the U.S. citizens, meaning that the U.S. citizens can acquire the dependent visa much faster.
Another important point in acquiring dependent visa is that if the companions suffer from incurable or serious diseases or have criminal record. In these cases, dependent visa will not be issued to them. Moreover, if the main applicant proves adequate financial support to cover the expenses of living in the United States for his/her companions, and proves that he/she has no need of help from the government of the United States in this regard, his chance of acquiring dependent visa will increase.
What are the top universities in the United States?
Regarding immigration through study to the United States, it can be stated that this country has top rank universities which many applicants and elites apply to study in these universities. It is noteworthy that students who graduate from top universities of the United States can be employed in high profitable jobs and enter suitable job markets and earn a very high income. There are many state and non-state universities in the United States which have top ranks in the world. We present some of these top universities in the United States in the following table. This content has been provided by the MIE Consulting Institute and all rights are reserved. Any copy without consent is not allowed.
| Name of universities |
About universities |
| Harvard University |
This university was founded in 1636 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard is the first private university in the U.S. country. Moreover, It has always been ranked among the top 10 international universities in the world. |
| Stanford University |
This university was founded near San Francisco, California. It’s among the top 10 universities of the world and is the 3rd wealthiest university in the world. |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
This university was founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1861. It has many colleges and faculties, and many different majors are taught in this university. |
| Columbia University |
This university is located in New York, New York. It accepts students in medical science, engineering, art, and law. It’s the 5th oldest university in the U.S. |
| University of Berkeley (California) |
This university is located in Berkeley, California, built in 1868. This university offers many scholarships. |
| University of Chicago |
This university is located in Chicago, Illinois, built in 1890. It’s among the top ranked universities in the U.S. |
| Princeton University |
This university was built in Princeton, New Jersey, in 1746. Originally, it was a college and after creating various faculties, it was renamed as a university. |
| Cornell University |
This university was built in Ithaca, New York, in 1865. It accepts students in various majors from all over the world. |
What documents are required for acquiring a student visa in the United States?
In immigration through study to the United States special documents are required that we will mention them in this section. Applicants for a undergraduate, must provide high school transcripts and English language certificate. Applicants for postgraduate must provide Statement of Purpose (SOP), recommendation letter, bachelor degree and high school score transcripts. First, we will present some explanations about various types of the U.S. student visas:
The most important required documents for acquiring student visa are as follows:
How can we get post-study work permit in the United States?
In immigration through study to the United States, most of the applicants want to find a job and enter the job market after their graduation. Usually finding a job after graduation depends on the skills and abilities of the applicant in his/her major. Students must be fluent in English and prove their efficiency to employers. It’s noteworthy that employers usually tend to employ the U.S. citizen rather than non-U.S. people. But this point is also worth mentioning that foreign people who have graduated from the U.S. universities have a higher chance of finding a job than those who have entered this country in sake of working and have not acquire a degree from the U.S. universities.
Graduated people can look for jobs directly through job searching websites or through job seeking firms to find their desired job in a suitable time. Normally, the student must leave the United States 60 days after graduation, unless he succeeds to convert his student visa to work visa. It means the the deadline to find a job after graduation is two month (60 days). In this regard, we will examine the rate of unemployment in the United States. The unemployment rate in this country had a decreasing slope from 2010 to 2018. It was reduced from 10 to 4 percent. The following chart illustrates this point:
How can we acquire U.S. citizenship through study?
People who enter the United States via immigration through study generally intend to acquire residency and citizenship after graduation. To achieve this purpose, these people must find a job in the United States after graduation, or do investing, or marry an U.S. citizen. Among these options, the best way is to find a suitable job, because investing requires a lot of investment. People who succeed in finding a related and suitable job, can acquire permanent residency and the US. Green Card after paying taxes for a few years. Then, they can take action to acquire citizenship and passport of this country. However, you must keep in mind that finding a job for a non-U.S. person can be kind of difficult. The time period to acquire permanent residency of the United States is different based on the type of their temporary residency. However, people who have acquired permanent residency can obtain passport and citizenship of the United States after 5 years.
Answers to frequently asked questions about education in the United States
✅ Is education in the United States free?
No, to study in the universities of the United States you have to pay tuition, unless you have acquired scholarships.
✅ Is it possible to study in the U.S. without an English language certificate?
Yes, but in order not to reduce your chance of receiving a visa, you should have an English language certificate
✅ Is it possible to acquire scholarships from universities of the United States?
Scholarships are usually granted to PhD students and you must present a strong resume including high English language scores, and published papers in outstanding international scientific journals, and also high grades and GPA.
✅ Is it possible to work in the United States after graduation?
After graduation, you are given an opportunity to look for a job in The U.S. If you succeed in finding a related and suitable job, you can convert your residency to work type.
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!