Important Information Regarding Students Visas

There are over 100,000 Saudi students in the United States, and we greatly value their contributions to the academic life of our country.

The United States welcomes thousands of students and researchers from around the world. Last year we issued almost one million student and exchange visitor visas worldwide, over 40,000 to Saudi citizens.

The vast majority of Saudis complete their academic programs successfully and on time, and never have problems with the law.

As many students from Saudi Arabia are now traveling to the U.S. to begin or continue their studies, we want to remind you of the importance of complying with U.S. law while in the U.S. and about keeping your student status current and up to date.

There has been no new policy change regarding visas for Saudi students or Saudi citizens.

Our visa laws apply equally to all citizens, whether they are Saudis or from another country.

In order to ensure that your visa status remains in effect, we urge that you follow the following rules and regulations:

Make sure that you fill out your visa application with the correct contact information so that we can get in touch with you even after your visa has been issued.
Make sure that your student information is updated, including your current school and enrollment status (SEVIS).
Obey all laws in the U.S. Even an arrest (resulting in no conviction) in the U.S. for a violation of our laws could lead to your visa being revoked.
Make sure that when you enter the U.S. you are complying with our customs’ laws and that if you are called in for secondary inspection at our ports of entry that you do not have anything in your possession that you would not mind having the immigration inspectors review.

All non-diplomatic travelers entering the United States, including U.S. citizens, must participate in routine Customs processing. Some people think that they are being targeted because of their nationality. This is incorrect.

U.S. law gives our Customs and Border Protection personnel the authority to ask all non-diplomatic travelers, including U.S. citizens, personal questions and to examine their belongings, including electronic equipment.

If you are denied entry to the United States, you can return to the Embassy or consulates in Jeddah and Dhahran to re-apply for your visa. Our embassies and consulates give priority to appointments for student and exchange visitor visa applicants.

If a visa is revoked, a student will be allowed to apply again, but will have to explain to a Consular Officer what happened, and there is no guarantee the visa will be reissued.