Studying at a college or university in the United States is a dream for many international students, but leaving behind a loved one can be a hard decision. If you are on an F-1 student visa, you may have the option of bringing your dependents with you.

An F2 visa is a type of visa that allows dependents of F-1 student visa holders to move to the U.S. and live with the F-1 student while they complete their degree programs at approved U.S. colleges or universities.

• How to Apply For F2 Visa
• F2 Visa Requirements
• F2 Visa Processing Time
• F2 Visa Rejection Reasons
• F2 Visa Approval Chances
• Can F2 Visa Holders Open a Bank Account?
• How Much Funds to Show For F2 Visa?
• F2 Visa for Husband
• Can F2 Visa Holder Apply for Green Card?
• How to Change an F2 Visa to an H-1B Visa
• Can I Earn Money Through YouTube While on F2 Visa?
• Do I Have to Pay Taxes on The Money I Make Online?
• Can a F2 Non-immigrant Visa Holder Work Online and Have a Foreign Income?
• Can a Person on an F2 Visa Earn Through Foreign Based Job?
• Can F2 Visa Holder Work Outside USA?
• Can I Apply For Jobs on F2 Visa?
• F2 Visa Volunteer Work
• Can F2 Open Bank Account?
• Can F2 Get Social Security Number?

How to Apply For F2 Visa

The process of applying for an F-2 visa is fairly straightforward. Below is the application process in easy-to-follow steps to help you prepare for what you need to do.

1. Obtain a Form I-20 from the approved school

The DSO is normally responsible for handing out Form I-20s for you and your dependents at an approved university or educational institution.

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You may have to inform the DSO of your intention to bring your spouse and/or minor children with you with nonimmigrant dependent F-2 visas, after which you and your dependents will each be provided with your own Form I-20 to fill out.

2. Complete the online Form DS-160

After you have received your Form I-20, the next step is to complete Form DS-160, the application for a nonimmigrant visa. Have in mind that you won’t be able to complete Form DS-160 without the Form I-20 from your SEVP-approved school.

Form DS-160 can only be completed and submitted online on the Consular Electronic Application Center of the U.S. Department of State (DOS). 

After you fill out this application form and submit it, you’ll be taken to a confirmation page that generates a unique barcode for your application. Print this barcode and bring it with you to your visa interview appointment. The information that you provide on your visa application will be used to process it.

3. Pay the visa application fee

Each dependent for whom you are requesting an F-2 visa for will have to pay the application fee of $160. Depending on your home country, you may also have to pay a visa issuance fee. Once you’ve made the payments that apply to you, keep the receipts; you’ll need them later on during your interview at the U.S. consulate or embassy.

4. Schedule your visa interview

After you have completed your visa application and paid your fees, the next step is to schedule a visa interview at the U.S. embassy or consulate in your country of residence. Visa interviews are usually held on a first-come, first-serve basis and may be scheduled for months in advance.

This makes it important for you to schedule your appointment early. Once you schedule your interview, a confirmation will be sent to your email. You will need to print this interview appointment confirmation to show to the officials when you arrive for your visa interview.

5. Gather all important documents

You may refer to the list of recommended documents above so you know what to provide during the interview. Organize the receipts and documents and group them together according to who they are for—you, your spouse or your children. Failure to bring required documents may result in unnecessary delays and, in worse case scenarios, may lead to application denial. 

6. Go to your interview

Arriving early on your interview date is a good idea. Have all your documents, including your proof of financial capability. You will present them to your interviewer, who will ask you questions about your intent to study in the U.S. and desire to bring your spouse or children with you.

F2 Visa Requirements

To be eligible for an F-2 visa, applicants should fulfill the following requirements:

• Be a spouse of an approved F-1 visa foreign national
• Be an unmarried child under the age of 21 of an approved F-1 visa foreign national
• Have the financial capacity to support their stay in the U.S.

The eligibility of the F-2 visa is normally based on the status of the F-1 visa holder.

F2 Visa Processing Time

The processing time for F-2 visa applications tends to vary. In many cases, however, you can expect an official decision to be made one to two weeks after your interview. Don’t make travel plans before you’ve received an official decision from the embassy or consulate.

F2 Visa Rejection Reasons

1. If you show your intention to remain in the U.S. after you graduate

This is the most common reason that makes visa officers reject a student’s F1 visa and the most important aspect they follow during the visa interview. Without any exaggeration, try to make it as clear as possible that your only plan is to study in the States and that you will return home after you graduate.

2. If you cannot show financial ability to support yourself

You have to prove that you have the finances to live in the US. If you don’t, you’ll need to show your willingness to take a job to fund your studies and that contradicts the purpose of a student visa.

3. If your university/degree looks suspicious

If the visa officer considers that the university you applied to may not be accredited or sees other aspects that will make him/her wonder of the credibility of your chosen course or degree, this could be a reason to reject your student visa application.

Your school must be approved by the Student and Exchange Visitors Program, Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

4. If you have members of your family already living in the U.S.

This raises the suspicion that either you apply for a student visa under a false pretext and your real plan is to immigrate or that you will remain in the U.S. after you finish your studies and pursue a career, with no intention of returning home.

F2 Visa Approval Chances

There is no magic formula or words that will convince a consular official that one’s intentions are genuine, that one is not an intending immigrant and has sufficient and strong reasons to return home. In addition, all the documentation is the world is not worth the paper it is printed on other than the very specific documentary evidence that the visa type requires such as providing a marriage certificate or birth certificate to prove one’s relationship.

F visas require the applicant not to have immigrant intent. It is expected that the applicant will return home. Yes, there is F-1 OPT and possibly other future options to remaining in the US longer beyond the end of one’s studies.

The other factor is that F-2 status holders are not permitted to work, so they must be able to support themselves in the US. Supporting a family, even just a spouse, in the US while studying is even something that US citizen students have difficulty with.

Ideally, consular officials want to see that spouses and minor children of F-1 status holders opt to remain outside the US, these are really good reasons for the F-1 status holder to leave the US. The best practice is for the F-1 status holder to do all the traveling and have immediate family stay in their home country. The F-2 applicant may wish to apply for a B-2 visa instead. There’s always Skype, Messenger and Facetime for staying in contact.

Can F2 Visa Holders Open a Bank Account?

Yes, an F2 Visa holder can open a bank account as long as the bank account accepts an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) instead of a Social Security Number (SSN).

The ITIN acts like a Social Security Number for non-citizen residents such as those with a F2 Visa.

You can apply for an ITIN by completing Form W-7 via the IRS website.

Most banks, especially smaller banks, require a social security number to open a bank account.

F2 Visa holders are not eligible to receive a SSN because they are not permanent residents, therefore this can be an issue with many banks.

You will want to call several banks to see if they allow non-US Citizens to open a bank account.

Larger banks such as Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Chase, TD Bank, and US bank will allow non-residents to setup a checking and or savings account.

How Much Funds to Show For F2 Visa?

The F2 visa has an application fee of $160. You must pay this fee to be able to proceed with the application. Upon completion of payment, you will get a receipt that proves it and you should keep it for later on. There might also be other fees depending on the country or US Embassy you are applying from, such as visa issuance fees or reciprocity fees.

Additional proof of financial support covering a minimum of $13,403 USD for spouse and $6,701 USD per child

F2 Visa for Husband

Only the spouse and unmarried minor children (under age 21) who accompany the primary visa holder to the U.S. may receive F-2 dependent status. Their eligibility to stay legally in the U.S., as well as to extend their stay, is contingent upon the primary visa holder maintaining his/her legal status and extending his/her program in a timely manner.

All other family members must apply for a B-1 or B-2 visitor’s visa to gain entry to the U.S.

Can F2 Visa Holder Apply for Green Card?

The F2 Dependent Visa is a nonimmigrant permit, meaning that it cannot lead to obtaining a Green Card, but you may apply for a change of status while in the U.S. on this visa.

While you can find a U.S.-based sponsor to change your status, you cannot seek full-time employment or education until you get a different permit.

As long as you do not violate the terms of your visa, you should be able to change your immigrant status without leaving the U.S.

If you decide to travel abroad before you receive your new visa and after your F2 permit expiration date, you may not be able to re-enter the country.

How to Change an F2 Visa to an H-1B Visa

You should be able to change your immigration status without leaving the United States, so long as you have not violated the terms of your F-2 visa, for example by working without authorization or staying beyond the expiration date of your permitted stay.

If you do in fact leave the United States before applying for the H-1B visa, you can apply for an H-1B visa from overseas. However, receiving it might take several weeks or months.

If you leave the U.S. after having changed to H-1B status, realize that you’ll have to stop by a U.S. consulate to pick up an actual entry visa for use when you return to the United States. The agency that grants you the H-1B change of status is USCIS, and it does not have the authority to issue actual visas for U.S. reentry.

Only the State Department can do that, through its overseas consulates and embassies. But you shouldn’t have any trouble getting the physical visa from the consulate if your change of status was already approved by USCIS.

The first step in the process of applying for H-1B status doesn’t involve you at all. Your employer will need to file the LCA, which DOL will endorse. Next, your employer must file a petition on USCIS Form I-129. Because you’re presumably already in the U.S. in lawful status, your employer will request on the I-129 petition for your status to be changed to H-1B and extended for the duration of the petition, which typically is three years.

Be aware that only a limited number of H-1B visas (85,000) are made available each fiscal year. They run out fast. Under current USCIS policy, employers need to pre-register with USCIS in the first quarter of the calendar year. USCIS then notifies employers of the timing to submit their H-1B petitions. In years when more pre-registrations are submitted than the available visas, USCIS will conduct a random lottery to allocate them and notify employers accordingly.

Your employer likely will work with an attorney to help with this complicated process. If not, you might gently suggest that it do so, in order to ensure the case is handled correctly. If the paperwork is done wrong, and your application gets delayed, the supply of visas will likely run out for the year, leaving you waiting another year to try again.

Keep in mind that the DOL views all H-1B costs, including legal and filing fees, as the employer’s obligation. Therefore, an attorney you hire yourself would have a limited role.

Can I Earn Money Through YouTube While on F2 Visa?

You cannot work in the US, except for authorized work in accordance with your visa, such as work-study or practical experience, without violating your visa requirements. Further, any US source income must be reported on a US income tax return, unless it is less than the amount of your standard deduction.

Failure to comply with US tax law could be considered for any visa or immigration renewal or change. You should get professional advice before you make decisions that may affect your entire life.

Depends what videos are being posted and the intent behind posting such videos. Generally speaking videos posted for sharing general information or education information is good; however, if the intent is to earn, then you should refer this aspect with your CPA as generally they would be the best person to guide you on the taxation on income earned while in US.

Do I Have to Pay Taxes on The Money I Make Online?

A provision of the 2021 American Rescue Plan, now requires earnings over $600 paid through digital apps like PayPal, Cash App or Venmo to be reported to the IRS. If you have a side hustle or full-time freelance gig and earn money through a third-party payment app, you may have some questions.

If you’re self-employed , you should already be paying taxes on your total income, regardless of how you receive your payments for goods and services. The new legislation is not a tax change: It’s a tax reporting change so the IRS can keep tabs on transactions made through payment apps that often go unreported. 

Prior to this legislation, third-party payment platforms would only report to the tax agency if a user had more than 200 commercial transactions and made more than $20,000 in payments over the course of a year. 

Going forward, third-party payment companies will issue you a 1099-K tax form each year if you earn $600 or more annually in income for goods or services. This tax form might include taxable and nontaxable transactions, particularly if the account is for both business and personal use. 

The IRS will also receive a copy of the tax form and won’t be relying purely on self-reporting. “The IRS will be able to cross-reference both our report and yours,” PayPal noted in a statement in November.

To make managing your business finances easier, we recommend creating separate PayPal, Zelle, Cash App or Venmo accounts for your professional transactions.

Can a F2 Non-immigrant Visa Holder Work Online and Have a Foreign Income?

Generally the answer is no. Business online means you’re self employed and that is not allowed with a F2 visa. They can, however, engage in unpaid voluntary work. Without a work permit, the F-2 visa holder also won’t be able to get a Social Security Number.

The F-2 spouse and children of an F-1 student may not accept employment in the U.S. However, they may do volunteer work as long as there is no compensation of any kind and the F-2 dependent is doing a job usually done by volunteers.

Can a Person on an F2 Visa Earn Through Foreign Based Job?

No. You cannot seek full-time employment on a F-2 visa. To be able to work overseas, you will have to first apply to get a different permit. A person on F2 visa is not legally allowed to work while in that status in USA. That means work from home for a foreign employer also. No legal violations are risk free. Therefore where your earnings are deposited hardly matter.

If you are that desperate to work then why don’t you stay back in your home country and make visits to meet your spouse in US. Or find an employer in US and file COS to H1B instead of applying these different permutations and combinations. And finding job on F-2 won’t look that good in future if you would be interested in GC down the lane. But if you have good intentions it’ll have no impact at all.

Immigration officers are also humans and they are not there to just throw everybody out of country. They just want to make sure they are not giving immigration benefits to any non deserving candidate who just want to play with their countries immigration laws for their own benefit by doing immoral activities. Just like you want to keep your home clean their job is also to keep their country clean.

Can F2 Visa Holder Work Outside USA?

F-2 visa holders are able to live in the U.S with the F-1 visa holder. They are not, however, normally allowed to work.

Business online means you’re self employed and that is not allowed with a F2 visa. If the business is outside the US, potentially you can do it since you’re not “working” in the US but you should first check with an immigration attorney.

Can I Apply For Jobs on F2 Visa?

F-2 dependent (spouse) visa holders are not eligible for employment. An F-2 dependent who would desire to pursue any employment, paid or non-paid, in the U.S. would need to find an employer willing and able to sponsor them for an employment visa.

However, J-2 dependent (spouse) visa holders are eligible, after entry to the US in J-2 status, to apply for a work permit from USCIS.

F2 Visa Volunteer Work

Dependent spouses and children holding an F-2 visa and I-20 are not allowed to accept employment or engage in business under any circumstances. There are no exceptions to this rule.

F-2 visa holders can, however, volunteer their time. Volunteering is considered a selfless act of donating your time to the benefit of others. It is not unpaid employment. True volunteers donate their time without expecting anything in return professionally or monetarily.

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F-2 dependents may find that volunteering allows them to improve their English skills, find a new community and network, or discover a new hobby.

If you are interested in volunteering, here are some resources to get you started:

https://www.jerseycares.org/ or https://www.volunteermatch.org/

Can F2 Open Bank Account?

Yes, an F2 Visa holder can open a bank account as long as the bank account accepts an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) instead of a Social Security Number (SSN).

The ITIN acts like a Social Security Number for non-citizen residents such as those with a F2 Visa. You can apply for an ITIN by completing Form W-7 via the IRS website.

If you are a F2 Visa holder wishing to open a bank account in the United States, you will need to bring the following documents with you when you go to open the accounts:

• Valid passport
• ITIN – Individual Taxpayer Identification Number
• Immigration documents
• A government issued-ID
• Initial deposit which varies depending on the bank

Can F2 Get Social Security Number?

F-2 dependents are not allowed to work, and therefore are not eligible for a social security number. However, an F-1 student may apply for an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) for his/her spouse and each child in F2 status, for tax filing purposes.