The United States is the top global destination for international students, attracting students from almost every country across the globe. We recognize the serious challenges the COVID-19 pandemic has posed to universities and students alike, and we hope that many international students who had planned to study this fall in the United States will be still able to do so under the following temporary conditions.
In response to significant worldwide challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Department of State temporarily suspended routine visa services at all U.S. embassies and consulates on March 20, 2020. As resources allow, U.S. embassies and consulates continue to provide emergency and mission-critical visa services. Our overseas missions will resume routine visa services as soon as possible, but we are unable to provide a specific date at this time. International students will still have to obtain the appropriate visa, and may still be subject to other visa processing or travel restrictions due to COVID-19. Currently the United States Embassy in Oslo is not scheduling appointments for student visas. We will announce resumption of these services on the visas section of our Consular website when the situation permits.
Under U.S. law, student visa applicants in the F-1 and M-1 classifications must have the intent to travel temporarily to the United States solely for the purpose of pursuing a full course of study at an approved school. If the applicant does not plan to take any in-person classes in the United States, the applicant would not qualify for a student visa. For questions about maintaining status in the United States or removals, we refer you to DHS https://www.ice.gov/doclib/sevis/pdf/bcm2007-01.pdf