Getting your study-abroad papers ready in United States
In short: 4 offices in United States verify, attest or issue the papers a student visa asks for. For each: what it does, the official portal, the steps, the fee as its official page prints it and its offices, read on 16 October 2026.
U.S. Department of State - Office of Authentications
Puts an apostille (or, for non-Apostille countries, an authentication certificate) on FEDERAL documents, for example your FBI Identity History Summary. It does NOT do state papers such as birth certificates or high-school/university papers notarised in a state - those go to the state's Secretary of State (see next entry).
Check the document is a federal one (for a student this is usually the FBI record). State documents go to your state's office instead.
Download and fill in form DS-4194 'Request for Authentications Service' - one form per person.
Write the country where the paper will be used on the form; $20.00 per document (not per page).
Pay by check or money order made out to 'U.S. Department of State' (exact amount; never send cash by post).
Post the form, the documents and payment to the mail-in address below and wait for them to come back.
Fee, as the official page prints it: The authentication process fee is $20.00 per document, not per page. This fee will be charged regardless of whether you receive an authentication certification or a correspondence letter. (official source, checked 16 October 2026)
Offices
Sterling, Virginia (mail-in only): Department of State, Office of Authentications, 44132 Mercure Circle, P.O. Box 1206, Sterling, VA 20166-1206. Mail-in service; no walk-in at this address
Your state's Secretary of State (state apostille office)
Puts the apostille on STATE public documents: birth certificates, state-notarised copies of diplomas and transcripts, and other papers signed by a state official or notary. Each U.S. state has its own office (in Georgia it is the Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority; in New Jersey the Division of Revenue). Use the official Hague Conference list to find your state's office and website.
Find the state that issued the document (or where the notary is commissioned) - that state's office must do the apostille.
Open the official Hague Conference list of U.S. competent authorities and click your state's website link.
Follow that state's own instructions (many accept mail; some have walk-in counters or online forms).
For a diploma or transcript, you usually first get a notarised copy or a registrar's statement signed before a notary, then send it to the state office.
FBI Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) - Identity History Summary
Gives you your FBI 'Identity History Summary' (the U.S. national police record check that many embassies ask for). If you need an apostille on it, the FBI version must then go to the U.S. Department of State Office of Authentications.
Get your fingerprints taken on a standard fingerprint card.
Fill in and sign the Identity History Summary Request Form (I-783).
Include payment of $18.00 per request (credit card payment form, certified check or money order).
Post the form, fingerprint card and payment to FBI CJIS Division - Summary Request (address below). Electronic requests are also possible through FBI-approved channelers.
If you need an apostille, send the FBI result to the U.S. Department of State Office of Authentications.
Fee, as the official page prints it: Mail the signed requestor information form, fingerprint card, and payment of $18 U.S. dollars to the following address: FBI CJIS Division - Summary Request, 1000 Custer Hollow Road, Clarksburg, West Virginia 26306 (official source, checked 16 October 2026)
Offices
Clarksburg, West Virginia (mail-in only): FBI CJIS Division - Summary Request, 1000 Custer Hollow Road, Clarksburg, West Virginia 26306. Mail-in
The UK asks for a tuberculosis (TB) test only from people who lived in listed countries; GOV.UK's list does not include the United States. Other destinations (for example Canada or Australia) may ask for a medical exam with their own approved doctors.
Where to apply for a student visa from United States
United Kingdom
UK Visas and Immigration decides. You apply online on GOV.UK. If you are asked to give fingerprints and a photo, you go to a UK visa application centre run by VFS Global (GOV.UK's centre finder links to VFS for this country). Some applicants prove their identity with the 'UK Immigration: ID Check' phone app instead and do not visit a centre. · Official booking
Get your CAS number from your UK university first; you need it for the form.
Apply online for the Student visa on GOV.UK (earliest 6 months before your course starts) and pay the visa fee and healthcare surcharge.
The form tells you whether to use the 'UK Immigration: ID Check' app or to book a visa application centre appointment.
If you need a centre, book it on the VFS Global page for this country and take your passport with you.
A decision usually comes within 3 weeks; if approved you get an eVisa and must set up a UKVI account.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). U.S. citizens and U.S. permanent residents may apply for a study permit at the port of entry when they arrive. Everyone else applies online from outside Canada. Fingerprints and photo can be given at a U.S. Application Support Centre (only if IRCC's letter tells you) or at a visa application centre in Los Angeles or New York (only if you are legally in the U.S.). · Official booking
Get your letter of acceptance from the Canadian school (and the provincial attestation letter (PAL) if needed).
Either apply online in your IRCC account before travel, or - as a U.S. citizen - tell the officer at the border you want a study permit.
If you apply online, pay the processing fee and the biometrics fee (CAD $85 for one person).
When the biometrics letter arrives, you have 30 days to give fingerprints and photo; book at an Application Support Centre or the Los Angeles / New York visa application centre.
U.S. citizens can usually enter Germany without a visa and apply for the residence permit at the local foreigners' office (Auslaenderbehoerde) after arrival. Some German cities still want a visa first; then you apply in person at the German Embassy in Washington or the Consulate General for your area (Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco). · Official booking
Ask the foreigners' office in your German university city whether you may come visa-free and apply there.
If you need a visa: use the Consulate Finder to see which mission covers your address.
Fill in the D-visa form on the national visa portal (videx-national.diplo.de).
Book a free appointment through the mission's online appointment system.
Bring originals plus 2 copies; show money of at least 853.00 EUR per month (blocked account or scholarship). Student visas take about 25 days.
No entry visa is needed: Ireland's official list says United States of America citizens do not require a visa. You still pass immigration control on arrival.
Make sure your course is on Ireland's Interim List of Eligible Programmes (ILEP).
Carry your college acceptance letter, proof of fees paid and proof of money to the border.
After arrival, register with Irish immigration if you will stay longer than 90 days.
France's visa service works with TLScontact for visa appointments in the U.S. (Campus France USA says FranceVisas lists 10 TLS centres in the U.S.). Before the visa, students must finish the Campus France 'Etudes en France' (EEF) step. · Official booking
Complete the Campus France USA 'Etudes en France' application and wait for the confirmation email.
Start your visa application on France-Visas.
Choose a TLScontact centre and book an appointment from the France-Visas link.
No MVV entry visa is needed: the IND lists the United States as MVV-exempt. Your Dutch university applies to the IND for your residence permit, and you collect the permit after arrival.
Accept your Dutch university's offer and send it the documents it asks for.
The university applies to the IND for your residence permit.
Travel to the Netherlands and follow the university's instructions to collect your residence permit.
The Chinese Embassy and Consulates-General in the U.S. (not an outsourced centre). You fill in the form online on the China Online Visa Application system, then hand in your passport at the office that covers your state. · Official booking
Get your admission letter and Form JW201 or JW202 from the Chinese university (X1 visa is for study over 180 days).
Create an account on the online visa system, fill in the form and upload documents.
When the status says 'Passport to be submitted', take your passport, the barcode page and originals to the Visa Office for your area.
Regular processing is about 4 business days from passport submission.
Washington, D.C. (Embassy Visa Office): 2201 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Suite 110, Washington, D.C. 20007. 9:30-14:30, Monday to Friday (closed weekends and holidays)
Education Malaysia Global Services (EMGS) handles student pass applications. You apply online after you get your offer letter; you get an electronic Visa Approval Letter (eVAL) before you travel. · Official booking
Get the offer letter from your Malaysian university or college.
Apply online through EMGS (or your institution submits it) while you are still outside Malaysia: passport photo, passport copies, signed health declaration, academic certificates and transcripts, English test result.
Wait for the eVAL (visa approval letter).
If your nationality needs a Single Entry Visa, get it before you travel.
After arrival, do the medical screening and your institution gets the student pass put into your passport.