erwinschro:

You can arrive after the start day but not to far off. As long as registration is still on. All in all, God does it. Am a clear example of it.


I think you 100% can be denied for this. Overall, your start date on your I20 is what matters. Even if they give you the visa, you can be denied at the port of entry if you arrive after the start date on your I20. The school is able to give you permission to arrive 1 week late, and in most circumstances this should be fine at the port of entry and they understand the sort of backlogs we have in Nigeria. Anything after 1 week and the chances at the port of entry get dicey. So if your visa appointment is already 1 week after your start date and it takes another 3-5 days to get your passport then the best option is to defer. The consular officers also know this, and likely won't grant you a visa if you will be arriving at the port of entry 2 weeks after the start date. I was in the embassy this morning and it was mostly F1 and they made it a point to tell all the people they gave visas not to arrive after their program start date or they will be sent back to Nigeria

Thewizardof0zil:
Please how soon can I reapply after getting denied F1 visa?