Still growing.New universities and courses are added most weekdays (not weekends), each checked against the university's own page before it goes live — worth checking back. Sources last read 1 Oct 2026. How we verify →

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QS #122Houston, United States· QS World University Rankings 2027

Rice University

Rice University, in Houston, United States, has 20 undergraduate courses listed on StudyPath. International tuition is US$71,140 a year. Rice publishes its own accommodation prices, from US$13,930 per year. 9 of the 20 publish an application deadline. Every figure above was read from Rice's own published pages and last checked on 13 September 2026.

Applying from abroad? Deadlines, final results and start dates catch many students out. Read this before you choose ↓

Courses
20
Fees verified
20 / 20
rice.edu ↗
Applies everywhere on the site, on this device — change it any time.
Not set — every fee below is the international rate. Home and EU/EEA rates are often far lower.

courses

20 courses

Economics

BA · Economics

International tuition

US$71,140 per year

Verified

2026/27 · Same rate across the institution · All students — no separate international rate

Rice's Cost of Attendance table publishes the same tuition figure across On-Campus and With Family living arrangements, and across both undergraduate cohorts (entered 2024 and later; entered prior to 2024), with no residency- or nationality-based breakdown -- consistent with the common US-private pattern of one flat rate for all students. Figure is tuition only; mandatory fees ($984), living expenses and other billed/unbilled costs bring the total to $97,309 (on-campus) or $83,379 (with family).

Show the fee on the university's site

Rice considers international first-year applicants on a need-aware basis and offers need-based aid to only a limited number of them (students not requesting aid at admission cannot apply for it in later years). Separately, merit scholarships are auto-considered for all admitted students (domestic and international alike) with no separate application, awarded to about 20% of admits each year based solely on merit with no fixed dollar figure published.

Show the source
Intake
Not verified
Application deadline
Not verified

What you'll study

Not yet added.

Computer Science

BS · 4 years · Computer Science

International tuition

US$71,140 per year

~US$284,600 for the whole 4 years, at today's fee
Verified

2026/27 · Same rate across the institution · All students — no separate international rate

Rice's Cost of Attendance table publishes the same tuition figure across On-Campus and With Family living arrangements, and across both undergraduate cohorts (entered 2024 and later; entered prior to 2024), with no residency- or nationality-based breakdown -- consistent with the common US-private pattern of one flat rate for all students. Figure is tuition only; mandatory fees ($984), living expenses and other billed/unbilled costs bring the total to $97,309 (on-campus) or $83,379 (with family).

Show the fee on the university's site

Rice considers international first-year applicants on a need-aware basis and offers need-based aid to only a limited number of them (students not requesting aid at admission cannot apply for it in later years). Separately, merit scholarships are auto-considered for all admitted students (domestic and international alike) with no separate application, awarded to about 20% of admits each year based solely on merit with no fixed dollar figure published.

Show the source
Intake
Not verified
Application deadline
4 January (Regular Decision)
Source

What you'll study

Not yet added.

Entry requirementsEnglish · tests · grades · interview

English language

  • TOEFL, 100 overall, 100 / 5.0* (Internet-based test)
  • IELTS, 7 overall
  • Cambridge English Exams (C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency), 185 overall
  • Duolingo English Test, 130 overall
Source

Admissions tests

  • SAT optional
  • ACT optional
Source

Academic offer

At a minimum, the natural science and engineering divisions require trigonometry or pre-calculus, and both chemistry and physics (a second year of chemistry or biology may substitute for physics).
Source
Convert your grade to compare →

Interview

International applicants may submit an optional interview from InitialView, on par with interviews offered directly by Rice.
Source

Bioengineering

BS · 4 years · Biomedical Engineering

International tuition

US$71,140 per year

~US$284,600 for the whole 4 years, at today's fee
Verified

2026/27 · Same rate across the institution · All students — no separate international rate

Rice's Cost of Attendance table publishes the same tuition figure across On-Campus and With Family living arrangements, and across both undergraduate cohorts (entered 2024 and later; entered prior to 2024), with no residency- or nationality-based breakdown -- consistent with the common US-private pattern of one flat rate for all students. Figure is tuition only; mandatory fees ($984), living expenses and other billed/unbilled costs bring the total to $97,309 (on-campus) or $83,379 (with family).

Show the fee on the university's site

Rice considers international first-year applicants on a need-aware basis and offers need-based aid to only a limited number of them (students not requesting aid at admission cannot apply for it in later years). Separately, merit scholarships are auto-considered for all admitted students (domestic and international alike) with no separate application, awarded to about 20% of admits each year based solely on merit with no fixed dollar figure published.

Show the source
Intake
Not verified
Application deadline
4 January (Regular Decision)
Source

What you'll study

Not yet added.

Entry requirementsEnglish · tests · grades · interview

English language

  • TOEFL, 100 overall, 100 / 5.0* (Internet-based test)
  • IELTS, 7 overall
  • Cambridge English Exams (C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency), 185 overall
  • Duolingo English Test, 130 overall
Source

Admissions tests

  • SAT optional
  • ACT optional
Source

Academic offer

At a minimum, the natural science and engineering divisions require trigonometry or pre-calculus, and both chemistry and physics (a second year of chemistry or biology may substitute for physics).
Source
Convert your grade to compare →

Interview

International applicants may submit an optional interview from InitialView, on par with interviews offered directly by Rice.
Source

Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering

BS · 4 years · Chemical Engineering

International tuition

US$71,140 per year

~US$284,600 for the whole 4 years, at today's fee
Verified

2026/27 · Same rate across the institution · All students — no separate international rate

Rice's Cost of Attendance table publishes the same tuition figure across On-Campus and With Family living arrangements, and across both undergraduate cohorts (entered 2024 and later; entered prior to 2024), with no residency- or nationality-based breakdown -- consistent with the common US-private pattern of one flat rate for all students. Figure is tuition only; mandatory fees ($984), living expenses and other billed/unbilled costs bring the total to $97,309 (on-campus) or $83,379 (with family).

Show the fee on the university's site

Rice considers international first-year applicants on a need-aware basis and offers need-based aid to only a limited number of them (students not requesting aid at admission cannot apply for it in later years). Separately, merit scholarships are auto-considered for all admitted students (domestic and international alike) with no separate application, awarded to about 20% of admits each year based solely on merit with no fixed dollar figure published.

Show the source
Intake
Not verified
Application deadline
4 January (Regular Decision)
Source

What you'll study

Not yet added.

Entry requirementsEnglish · tests · grades · interview

English language

  • TOEFL, 100 overall, 100 / 5.0* (Internet-based test)
  • IELTS, 7 overall
  • Cambridge English Exams (C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency), 185 overall
  • Duolingo English Test, 130 overall
Source

Admissions tests

  • SAT optional
  • ACT optional
Source

Academic offer

At a minimum, the natural science and engineering divisions require trigonometry or pre-calculus, and both chemistry and physics (a second year of chemistry or biology may substitute for physics).
Source
Convert your grade to compare →

Interview

International applicants may submit an optional interview from InitialView, on par with interviews offered directly by Rice.
Source

Civil & Environmental Engineering

BS · 4 years · Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering

International tuition

US$71,140 per year

~US$284,600 for the whole 4 years, at today's fee
Verified

2026/27 · Same rate across the institution · All students — no separate international rate

Rice's Cost of Attendance table publishes the same tuition figure across On-Campus and With Family living arrangements, and across both undergraduate cohorts (entered 2024 and later; entered prior to 2024), with no residency- or nationality-based breakdown -- consistent with the common US-private pattern of one flat rate for all students. Figure is tuition only; mandatory fees ($984), living expenses and other billed/unbilled costs bring the total to $97,309 (on-campus) or $83,379 (with family).

Show the fee on the university's site

Rice considers international first-year applicants on a need-aware basis and offers need-based aid to only a limited number of them (students not requesting aid at admission cannot apply for it in later years). Separately, merit scholarships are auto-considered for all admitted students (domestic and international alike) with no separate application, awarded to about 20% of admits each year based solely on merit with no fixed dollar figure published.

Show the source
Intake
Not verified
Application deadline
4 January (Regular Decision)
Source

What you'll study

Not yet added.

Entry requirementsEnglish · tests · grades · interview

English language

  • TOEFL, 100 overall, 100 / 5.0* (Internet-based test)
  • IELTS, 7 overall
  • Cambridge English Exams (C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency), 185 overall
  • Duolingo English Test, 130 overall
Source

Admissions tests

  • SAT optional
  • ACT optional
Source

Academic offer

At a minimum, the natural science and engineering divisions require trigonometry or pre-calculus, and both chemistry and physics (a second year of chemistry or biology may substitute for physics).
Source
Convert your grade to compare →

Interview

International applicants may submit an optional interview from InitialView, on par with interviews offered directly by Rice.
Source

Computational Applied Mathematics & Operations Research

BS · 4 years · Mathematics

International tuition

US$71,140 per year

~US$284,600 for the whole 4 years, at today's fee
Verified

2026/27 · Same rate across the institution · All students — no separate international rate

Rice's Cost of Attendance table publishes the same tuition figure across On-Campus and With Family living arrangements, and across both undergraduate cohorts (entered 2024 and later; entered prior to 2024), with no residency- or nationality-based breakdown -- consistent with the common US-private pattern of one flat rate for all students. Figure is tuition only; mandatory fees ($984), living expenses and other billed/unbilled costs bring the total to $97,309 (on-campus) or $83,379 (with family).

Show the fee on the university's site

Rice considers international first-year applicants on a need-aware basis and offers need-based aid to only a limited number of them (students not requesting aid at admission cannot apply for it in later years). Separately, merit scholarships are auto-considered for all admitted students (domestic and international alike) with no separate application, awarded to about 20% of admits each year based solely on merit with no fixed dollar figure published.

Show the source
Intake
Not verified
Application deadline
4 January (Regular Decision)
Source

What you'll study

Not yet added.

Entry requirementsEnglish · tests · grades · interview

English language

  • TOEFL, 100 overall, 100 / 5.0* (Internet-based test)
  • IELTS, 7 overall
  • Cambridge English Exams (C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency), 185 overall
  • Duolingo English Test, 130 overall
Source

Admissions tests

  • SAT optional
  • ACT optional
Source

Academic offer

At a minimum, the natural science and engineering divisions require trigonometry or pre-calculus, and both chemistry and physics (a second year of chemistry or biology may substitute for physics).
Source
Convert your grade to compare →

Interview

International applicants may submit an optional interview from InitialView, on par with interviews offered directly by Rice.
Source

How Rice compares

Against the other universities in the United States on StudyPath, using each one's verified international fees and its own published housing prices. Universities are only compared with others charging in the same currency (and, for housing, for the same period), so no figure here has been converted. A ~ marks a year worked out from a per-term or whole-course fee.

Rice's lowest undergraduate fee for international students is US$71,140 a year, for Bioengineering. Of the 89 other universities in the United States we list with undergraduate fees in USD, 15 charge more at their lowest, 74 charge less. Their lowest undergraduate fees run from ~US$2,440 (UoPeople) to US$75,960 (UChicago).

Student housing. Rice's own lowest published rate is US$13,930 per year. Of the 47 other universities in the United States we list that publish housing per year in USD, 5 charge more, 42 charge less. Their lowest published rates run from US$2,916 (Purdue) to US$22,608 (USC).

By subject
SubjectLowest fee hereAgainst other universities in the United StatesTheir lowest fees
Computer ScienceundergraduateUS$71,140Computer Science15 of 86 charge more~US$12,921 to US$75,960
Electrical & Electronic EngineeringundergraduateUS$71,140Electrical & Computer Engineering12 of 81 charge more~US$12,921 to US$75,384
Mechanical EngineeringundergraduateUS$71,140Mechanical Engineering12 of 77 charge more~US$12,921 to US$75,384
Biology & Life SciencesundergraduateUS$71,140Biosciences13 of 66 charge more~US$12,921 to US$75,960
Biomedical EngineeringundergraduateUS$71,140Bioengineering12 of 65 charge more~US$12,921 to US$75,384
PhysicsundergraduateUS$71,140Chemical Physics11 of 65 charge more~US$12,921 to US$75,960

Subjects taught at Rice

Each one opens every course in that subject, at every university we hold, with the same verified fees.

Where these figures come from

8 sentences from Rice's own site each back several figures above. Each is quoted once here; every course that uses one still opens it and links to its own source page.

  1. Used for international fee on 20 courses

    “*2026-2027 COST OF ATTENDANCE UNDERGRADUATES Entered 2024 & Later UNDERGRADUATES Entered Prior to 2024 CATEGORY ON-CAMPUS LIVING WITH FAMILY Direct Costs Expenses charged by Rice. Tuition $71,140 $71,140”
    Cost of Attendance | Office of Financial Aid | Rice Universityfinancialaid.rice.eduread 1 Sept 2026
    Open the official page ↗

  2. Used for cost note on 12 courses

    “Rice considers international applicants on a need-aware basis and offers need-based financial aid to a limited number of international first-year applicants. This means when the Admission Committee evaluates international applications, the amount of financial aid a family might need is taken into consideration.”
    First-Year International Applicants | Office of Admission | Rice Universityadmission.rice.eduread 1 Sept 2026
    Open the official page ↗

  3. Used for application deadline on 9 courses

    “Regular Decision is a non-binding decision plan. Students who apply Regular Decision must submit their materials by January 4. Admission decisions will be released by April 1.”
    First-Year International Applicants | Office of Admission | Rice Universityadmission.rice.eduread 1 Sept 2026
    Open the official page ↗

  4. Used for entry requirements on 9 courses

    “Test Minimum Score Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) 100 / 5.0* (Internet-based test) International English Language Testing System (IELTS) 7 Cambridge English Exams ( C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency ) 185 Duolingo English Test 130”
    First-Year International Applicants | Office of Admission | Rice Universityadmission.rice.eduread 1 Sept 2026
    Open the official page ↗

  5. Used for entry requirements on 9 courses

    “At a minimum, the natural science and engineering divisions require trigonometry or pre-calculus, and both chemistry and physics. Students may substitute a second year of chemistry or biology for physics.”
    First-Year International Applicants | Office of Admission | Rice Universityadmission.rice.eduread 1 Sept 2026
    Open the official page ↗

  6. Used for course length on 9 courses

    “In certain situations and with some terminal master's degree programs, Rice students have an option to pursue a master’s degree by adding an additional fifth year to their four years of undergraduate studies.”
    The same sentence appears on 9 pagesga.rice.eduread 13 Sept 2026
    Open one of them ↗

  7. Used for entry requirements on 9 courses

    “International students applying to Rice University may submit interviews from InitialView . Similar to interviews offered directly by Rice, InitialView interviews are optional.”
    First-Year International Applicants | Office of Admission | Rice Universityadmission.rice.eduread 1 Sept 2026
    Open the official page ↗

  8. Used for entry requirements on 9 courses

    “Students applying to Rice University are recommended but not required to submit SAT or ACT for admission consideration.”
    First-Year International Applicants | Office of Admission | Rice Universityadmission.rice.eduread 1 Sept 2026
    Open the official page ↗

More about Rice

About & contact

Houston, United States· view on Google Maps ↗rice.edu ↗

Find nearby

Halal food ↗Mosque ↗Supermarket ↗Pharmacy ↗Bank / ATM ↗SIM card ↗

These open a map search near Houston. StudyPath isn't listing or vouching for specific places — what the university itself publishes about on-campus facilities appears under On-campus amenities, cited like everything else here.

No admissions email, phone number, or address verified for this university yet. Not yet collected, not necessarily unavailable.

Accommodation

US$13,930per year

Rice University, room-only charge (excludes meal plan) for residence in a residential college, 2026-27 academic year

A meal plan is billed separately and required for on-campus residents (Option A: $6,600/year); combined room and board is $20,530/year per Rice's own figure.

Published by the university itself, not a live listings price. Actual cost depends on room type, availability and when you apply.

Show the source
✓ Word for wordRead 4 Sept 2026
“Room and Board Semester Annual Room $6,965 $13,930”
Tuition, Fees, and Expenses < Rice Universityga.rice.edu
Open the official page ↗

Search student housing near Houston → (partner link)

Applying to the US from abroad: what catches students out

Deadlines, results and start dates, in the words of EducationUSA, Study in the States, ICE and the State Department. Check them before you choose, not at the last step.

When to apply

  • Most US undergraduate applications are due between November and January, for a start the following September.
    Their words
    ✓ Word for wordRead 11 Oct 2026
    “It is typical for U.S. undergraduate applications to be due between November and January for students who wish to begin courses the following September.”
    Complete Your U.S. Application: Undergraduate | EducationUSAeducationusa.state.gov
    Open the official page ↗
  • Requirements vary a lot between universities, so check each one's international admissions page.
    Their words
    ✓ Word for wordRead 11 Oct 2026
    “In the United States, application requirements can vary greatly from one institution to another. Check the specific requirements on the website of each institution’s international admissions office.”
    Complete Your U.S. Application: Undergraduate | EducationUSAeducationusa.state.gov
    Open the official page ↗

Student visa (F-1)

  • A student visa can be issued up to 365 days before your programme starts, but you can only enter the US in the 30 days before the start date on your Form I-20.
    Their words
    ✓ Word for wordRead 11 Oct 2026
    “The Form I-20 lists your program start date, 30 days before which you are allowed to enter the United States. F-1 and M-1 student visas can be issued up to 365 days in advance of your course of study start date.”
    Students and the Form I-20 | Study in the Statesstudyinthestates.dhs.gov
    Open the official page ↗
  • Before the visa you pay the I-901 SEVIS fee: $350 for F-1 students.
    Their words
    ✓ Word for wordRead 11 Oct 2026
    “I-901 SEVIS Fee F or M visa applicants (full payment) $350”
    I-901 SEVIS Fee | ICEice.gov
    Open the official page ↗
  • You can book the interview first, but pay the fee at least three business days before it so the payment is on record.
    Their words
    ✓ Word for wordRead 11 Oct 2026
    “The I-901 SEVIS fee payment does not have to be completed until you appear for the interview. You can schedule an interview before you make the I-901 SEVIS fee payment . Allow at least three business days for the payment to be received and verified.”
    I-901 SEVIS Fee Frequently Asked Questions | ICEice.gov
    Open the official page ↗
  • Since June 2025, student visa applicants are told to set all their social media profiles to public, for vetting.
    Their words
    ✓ Word for wordRead 11 Oct 2026
    “To facilitate this vetting, all applicants for F, M, and J nonimmigrant visas will be instructed to adjust the privacy settings on all of their social media profiles to “public.””
    Announcement of Expanded Screening and Vetting for Visa Applicants - U.S. Department of Statestate.gov
    Open the official page ↗

The work limits: further down, in “After you graduate” ↓

After you graduate

Rules read 17 Aug 2026. Check the current rules, this may be out of date

What United States's own immigration authority currently publishes. Not a ranking, not a guarantee, and not the same as what any agent or forum will tell you. Whether someone actually obtains residence depends on occupation, points, funds and policy that can change between application and graduation.

Work during study

F-1 students may work on campus without separate USCIS authorization: up to 20 hours per week while school is in session, and full-time during official school breaks and the annual vacation, at a qualifying on-campus job (or an off-campus job that is educationally affiliated with the school, e.g. contractually funded postgraduate research) that does not displace a US citizen or lawful permanent resident. Off-campus employment based on economic need is not available by default — it requires case-by-case USCIS approval (a separate Form I-765 Employment Authorization Document application), granted only after a full academic year in status and only on a showing of severe economic hardship from unforeseen circumstances (or a DHS-declared 'emergent circumstances' event), and is capped at 20 hours/week in session, full-time out of session. Curricular Practical Training (CPT) and pre/post-completion Optional Practical Training (OPT) are separate, study-related practical-training work authorizations governed by their own rules (OPT is covered under 'post-study work' in this entry).

Show the source
✓ Word for wordRead 17 Aug 2026
“May work up to 20 hours per week while school is in session (full-time during those periods when school is not in session or during the annual vacation)”
Employment | ICEice.gov
Open the official page ↗

Post-study work visa

Optional Practical Training (OPT), including the 24-month STEM OPT extension . Up to 3 years
Any F-1 graduate, in any field, may apply for up to 12 months of post-completion Optional Practical Training (temporary employment directly related to their major, authorized via an Employment Authorization Document from USCIS; any pre-completion OPT already used is deducted from this 12 months). A graduate whose degree appears on DHS's STEM Designated Degree Program List (defined by Classification of Instructional Programs codes covering engineering, biological sciences, mathematics, physical sciences and related fields — not every STEM-sounding degree necessarily qualifies) may then apply for a further 24-month STEM OPT extension, for a combined maximum of 36 months, provided the employer is enrolled in and stays in good standing with E-Verify, signs a formal Form I-983 training plan, and the graduate works at least 20 hours per week for that employer. A second 24-month STEM OPT extension can become available if the graduate later earns another qualifying STEM degree at a higher educational level. Allowed unemployment while on OPT is capped at 90 days on the initial 12 months and a further 60 days (150 total) if a STEM extension is granted. Separately and importantly: a DHS final rule taking effect 15 September 2026 replaces the prior open-ended 'duration of status' framework with a fixed admission period (based on the program's length, capped at 4 years) — an F-1 student who needs to remain for post-completion OPT or a STEM OPT extension beyond that fixed period must separately file and be approved for a USCIS Extension of Stay (Form I-539) or the OPT/STEM OPT authorization cannot lawfully be used to remain in the country.

Show the source
✓ Word for wordRead 17 Aug 2026
“The STEM OPT extension is a 24-month period of temporary training that directly relates to an F-1 student's program of study in an approved STEM field. On May 10, 2016, this extension effectively replaced the previous 17-month STEM OPT extension. Eligible F-1 students with STEM degrees who finish their program of study and participate in an initial period of regular post-completion OPT (often for 12 months) have the option to apply for a STEM OPT extension.”
STEM OPT Extension Overview | Study in the Statesstudyinthestates.dhs.gov
Open the official page ↗

Route to permanent residence

OPT and the STEM OPT extension are temporary work authorizations tied to F-1 student status — neither one converts automatically into any form of permanent residence. The realistic route runs through employer sponsorship: an employer petitions for a temporary H-1B specialty-occupation worker visa (initial period up to 3 years, extendable to 6, generally requiring at least a US bachelor's degree or equivalent in a field directly related to the job), which is numerically capped at 65,000 new statuses per fiscal year plus a 20,000 exemption for holders of a US master's degree or higher, and allocated by an electronic registration lottery when demand exceeds the cap — USCIS confirmed the regular cap and the master's-degree cap were both already reached for fiscal year 2027 as of this reading. While on H-1B (or, for a smaller number of people, directly from F-1 in narrower cases such as extraordinary-ability or national-interest-waiver petitions), an employer or the individual can pursue one of five employment-based immigrant-visa (green card) preference categories (EB-1 through EB-5), most of which require the employer to first obtain a Department of Labor labor certification (PERM) showing no sufficient, willing, qualified US worker is available for the role — a process with no fixed timeline. Approximately 140,000 employment-based immigrant visas are available across all categories each fiscal year, and per-country annual limits mean the wait for applicants born in some countries (notably India and China) is materially longer than for others.

Show the source
✓ Word for wordRead 17 Aug 2026
“Some immigrant visa preference categories require you to have a permanent job offer from a U.S. employer. This employer will be considered your sponsor/petitioner and will file an immigrant petition with USCIS on your behalf.”
Permanent Workers | USCISuscis.gov
Open the official page ↗

Route to citizenship

Naturalization is administered by USCIS — the same agency that runs the immigration system, since both sit under the Department of Homeland Security. The most common route requires having held lawful permanent resident (green card) status for at least 5 years (3 years if married to and living with a US citizen for that period), continuous residence in the US for that period, physical presence in the US for at least 30 months of the preceding 5 years, at least 3 months' residence in the state or USCIS district where the applicant applies, good moral character for the qualifying period, basic ability to read, write and speak English, knowledge of US history and civics, and taking the Oath of Allegiance. The Oath itself contains renunciation language — an applicant swears to 'absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty' of which they were previously a subject or citizen — but this is a declaration of allegiance to the United States rather than a mechanism the US enforces against a person's other citizenship: US law does not require a naturalizing citizen to formally give up their original nationality, and the State Department's own guidance states that a person may naturalize in the United States (or abroad) without any requirement to choose between US citizenship and another nationality. Whether the applicant's country of origin lets them keep it in turn is that country's own decision, not a matter of US law.

Show the source
✓ Word for wordRead 17 Aug 2026
“Show you have been a lawfully admitted permanent resident of the United States for at least five years;”
I am a Lawful Permanent Resident of 5 Years | USCISuscis.gov
Open the official page ↗

What the government currently prioritises

The United States has no federal points-based or general shortage-occupation list of the kind Canada, Australia, the UK or New Zealand publish. The closest official equivalent is the Department of Labor's narrow 'Schedule A' designation, published on USCIS's own site, which exempts only two specific groups of occupations from the standard PERM labor-certification process because DOL has already determined there are not enough available US workers for them — it is not a broader skills-shortage list and covers only a handful of roles.

Show the source
✓ Word for wordRead 17 Aug 2026
“Currently, DOL has designated 2 groups of occupations under Schedule A. Group I includes professional nurses and physical therapists. Group II includes beneficiaries with exceptional ability in the sciences or arts (including college and university teachers) and immigrants of exceptional ability in the performing arts.”
Permanent Workers | USCISuscis.gov
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Read 17 August 2026, during an unusually volatile stretch of US immigration policy — re-check every figure here before relying on it, more so than for any other country on StudyPath. Three developments in particular are live and could each change what a prospective student should expect: (1) A DHS final rule published 17 July 2026 ends the decades-old 'duration of status' framework for F-1 students effective 15 September 2026, replacing it with a fixed admission period (program length, capped at 4 years) plus a mandatory USCIS Extension of Stay (Form I-539, with biometrics and a fee) for anyone needing to remain for post-completion OPT or the STEM OPT extension beyond that fixed period — a procedural step that did not previously exist for most students. A transition window applies for students already in the US on the effective date. (2) A presidential proclamation effective 21 September 2025 requires a $100,000 payment for most new H-1B petitions filed for a beneficiary outside the US without a valid H-1B visa — the single biggest practical barrier between OPT/STEM OPT and long-term US employment for a new graduate whose employer has not already secured them an H-1B. As of this reading a federal district court had vacated DHS's guidance implementing the payment and a Court of Appeals had denied a government motion to stay that ruling, so DHS states it is complying 'while DHS considers next steps' but 'still plans to collect the payment' if the ruling is overturned — the requirement's real-world status is genuinely unsettled. (3) USCIS had already announced the regular H-1B cap (65,000) and the master's-degree exemption (20,000) were both reached for fiscal year 2027, meaning cap-subject H-1B sponsorship is a lottery with no guarantee of selection even where an employer is willing to sponsor. Only DHS/ICE (via the Student and Exchange Visitor Program), USCIS and studyinthestates.dhs.gov are treated as authoritative here per StudyPath’s rules — never a university international office, an immigration-law firm's explainer, or a visa-consultancy aggregator, all of which publish this same information with varying currency and interest in the outcome. citizenshipRoute added 17 August 2026: the 5-year/N-400 residence requirement and the Oath of Allegiance's literal renunciation clause are both cited to uscis.gov (460266156f73de78 and bd9ee58930f2ed05, the USCIS Policy Manual's own Oath of Allegiance chapter, already archived above for a different purpose and reused here). The practical dual-nationality statement is instead cited to the State Department's own travel.state.gov — a government domain newly accepted as a source here — because USCIS's own naturalization pages state the Oath's renunciation wording without separately confirming that the US does not enforce it, while travel.state.gov's 'Dual Nationality' page states the practical policy directly ('U.S. law does not require a U.S. citizen to choose between U.S. citizenship and another (foreign) nationality'). travel.state.gov returned HTTP 403 to automated fetching; it was archived from a browser capture. naturalisationStatus set to 'published-route' on 18 August 2026: the authority already cited under citizenshipRoute publishes criteria a foreign resident could actually follow, which is the only claim this field makes. It is deliberately not a judgement about how attainable that route is in practice. studentVisaFunds deliberately left empty, 19 August 2026, after checking: the United States publishes no national proof-of-funds figure for the F-1/M-1 student visa, so there is nothing to record. SEVP’s own Study in the States page on Financial Ability (the page itself last updated May 25, 2023) states the rule without any amount: a prospective student must show that they or a sponsor have “sufficient funds to cover tuition and living expenses during the period of intended study”, and it is the designated school official (DSO) at the SEVP-certified school who collects that evidence before issuing the Form I-20. The threshold is therefore set per school and per programme on the I-20 itself, and acceptable forms of evidence vary by school too. Any single dollar figure presented as “the US requirement” would be invented. A future collector should not go looking again unless DHS or the State Department starts publishing one.

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