International Applicants

Virginia Theological Seminary is a seminary of the Anglican Communion with a strong Anglican identity and commitment to forming international students for leadership within the Anglican faith tradition. We offer 2-3 scholarships per year for international students from the Anglican Communion to attend VTS. Competition is very competitive for these scholarships. If you are an international applicant who is of the Anglican faith tradition in your country, we welcome your application.

International applicants are considered for admission based on a number of criteria, including:

Proven academic ability
Current work in ministry
The potential for contributing to transformative educational or ministerial programs in their home context
The potential to contribute to the cross-cultural understanding of their fellow students at Virginia Theological Seminary by sharing their own stories and contexts for ministry

Consideration is given to those applicants from dioceses and institutions within the Anglican Communion with which Virginia Theological Seminary has historical ongoing partnership relationships.

To learn more about F-1 visas and the associated costs, please follow this link. Additional information can be found at http://www.ice.gov/sevis/students/.

FAQs

What is a Visa?

A visa is a document issued by the United States embassy in your country to allow you to legally enter the United States. There are several kinds of visas, including tourist visas, business visas and student visas. The visa is placed in your passport and is shown to the officials at the U.S. border when you pass through customs and immigration.

International students (any non-US citizens) who are accepted for study at Virginia Theological Seminary must apply for a student visa to enter the United States for study.

The F-1 Student Visa

Those applicants who are accepted for study in the Masters level or Doctor of Ministry programs of study at Virginia Theological Seminary and who are not United States citizens or permanent residents (green card holders) must apply for and be granted an “F-1 Student Visa” in order to enter the country for study or to remain in the United States for further study after transferring from another school that had previously authorized the issuance of the F-1 visa. Students may not enter the U.S. using a tourist or other previously issued visa if they are coming specifically for study at an institution of higher education, including Virginia Theological Seminary.

How does one apply for an F-1 student Visa?

The Director of Admissions and the Assistant Director for Admissions and Financial Aid at Virginia Seminary are authorized to issue the paperwork that will allow the student to apply for an F-1 student visa at the United States embassy or consulate in the student’s home country. Authorization to issue this paperwork (called the I-20 form) is granted under the auspices of several agencies that work with immigration in the United States Government. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE), working under the direction of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), operates the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) and the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS).

International Masters Level Applicants

Offers of admission are made in late January, after the December 1 application deadline, with the expectation that those offered admission will begin their course of study the following August. The admissions office issues the I-20 and sends it to the student in the early spring. Typically an F-1 visa will be in effect for the entire course of study and the student will need to apply for the visa only one time (although the length of time for which the visa can be issued does vary from country to country). The visa will allow the student to re-enter the U.S. after absences of five months or less, which coincide with the seminary’s regular summer vacation and Christmas holiday. This assumes, of course, that the student remains in good standing in a full-time course of study at the seminary.

International Students in the Doctor of Ministry Programs

Because the International Doctor of Ministry student is only resident in a full-time capacity on campus for two-to-three week periods during the January and summer terms, and because these terms are often more than 5 months apart, the student will usually need to apply for and be granted a new visa for each residency. This is because the F-1 student visa lapses when the student is outside of the United States, and/or not actively attending the full-time residential term for more than a 5 month period. Those international students accepted for study in the Doctor of Ministry programs need to be aware of this and plan for the added expense and time needed to secure the visa for each residency period.

Costs and Procedures

The student is responsible for paying the costs and following the required procedures for the visa application process. There are usually two fees that are charged. One is a $200 USD fee to pay for costs incurred by SEVIS. The document that is issued by the U.S. Government to show that this fee has been paid is called the I-901. The second fee is the actual visa application fee. It varies from country to country but is usually about $160 USD. These fees must be paid in advance of the official visa interview appointment with the United States embassy consular office. Instructions for paying the fees are posted on the United States Embassy website for each country. In some cases, there may also be a Visa Issuance Fee to be paid once the visa has been approved. NOTE: The requirements to secure an F-1 student visa are different for citizens of Canada and Bermuda. The admissions office at VTS will be in contact with any applicants from these countries to provide special instructions for securing the necessary documents to enter the United States.

Resource List for Academic Credential Evaulation

http://www.evaluationworld.com/fees.html (Evaluation World)

http://www.wes.org/students/ (World Education Service)

http://www.aice-eval.org/ (Association of International Credential Evaluators)

http://www.naeg.org/ (North American Educational Group)

http://www.usuniversity.edu/ (list of US government approved credential evaluators)

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International Applicants