Today, a student from Russia had inquired to ask about booking an English course in Boston for 20 months. We checked with our partner school Kaplan Aspect whether this is possible, and here’s the message we received:

“…our I-20 is only valid for 13 months and the actual duration that they can study is 12 months.  Actually, in order for us to extend the I-20 after 12 months, there should be a valid reason as to why the student will need to study more than 12 months.  Normally Immigration thinks that learning English for 1 year should be enough for the preparation of going to college if they did their best while studying during those 12 months.”

So for those of you contemplating about studying English in the US for more than a year, the immigration policy in the United States unfortunately makes it tough for foreigners to study English here for more than a year. For those interested in studying in the US for greater than 12 months, consider taking a post-graduate degree at a university instead.

Read more information about English classes in the US.