Skip to content

International Student Guidelines

Admissions

Admissions

International Student VISA Guidelines for Online Courses/Programs

No Student VISA Required for Online Classes/Programs

International students who are accessing online courses/programs from outside the U.S. with the intent to stay outside of the U.S. are not required to obtain a visa. In others words, international students can complete an online degree program or online courses from their home country (or other location outside the U.S.) without a student visa.

You may apply with no visa required if you will only be taking online studies through MVNU’s Graduate and Professional Studies and will not be entering the U.S. for studies. If you are enrolled in online studies, there is no need to enter the U.S. for academic purposes.

F-1 or J-1 VISA Requirements

All coursework within the School of Graduate and Professional Studies is considered online. Because of this, students in a GPS program are not eligible for an F-1 or J-1 visa by federal standards. See below for more details.

  • International students in the United States with F-1 or J-1 visas must maintain full-time enrollment (at least 12 credits undergraduate, 9 credits graduate) at MVNU. Of the required full-time enrollment, only 3 credits can be taken as online coursework.
  • F-1 or J-1 students may engage in part-time (up to 20 hours per week) employment on the MVNU campus while classes are in session and full-time (40 hours per week) between terms and during the summer vacation.
  • As mentioned above, International students studying on an F-1 or J-1 visa inside the US are not allowed to enroll in an online degree.

VISAs Other Than F-1 & J-1

  • If your visa type allows study (H-4, L-2, E-2, R-2, etc.), you may register for part-time or full-time MVNU Graduate and Professional Studies courses/programs.
  • If your visa type is H-1, study is limited to part-time only.
  • If your visa type is F-2, full-time study is not allowed due to Federal Regulations. Part time study is permitted.
  • If your visa type is B-2, study is not allowed due to Federal Regulations.

International Students Coming to MVNU's Campus

MVNU’s online degree programs are separate from our on-campus traditional programs, and most students do not transfer between the two modalities (online and on-campus). However, if you are an international applicant outside the United States with the intent to enter the United States at some point during your online degree program, the following pertains:

  • While you are taking online courses from outside the United States, you will not be required to have a visa, and will not be eligible for a student visa.
  • If you would like to attend classes on campus at MVNU, you must apply for university admission through the traditional undergraduate admissions office. Prior to entering the United States you must obtain a form I-20 from the University. You must then apply for the F-1 Student Visa for entry into the United States.
  • Once you are admitted and taking courses at the university, you must maintain full-time enrollment at MVNU. A maximum of 3 credits of your full-time enrollment can be online coursework. (See additional guidelines in section above for students with F-1 or J-1 Visas.)

Further Questions?

If you have questions, please contact your Enrollment Specialist or email GPSAdmissions@mvnu.edu. You can also call/text 800-839-2355.

Start typing & press 'enter'

Site Designed and Developed by 5by5 - A Change Agency