#5 destination for Nepali students
United States
The most expensive to attempt and the least likely to work. Between the SEVIS fee, the visa fee and the application fees, a refused American application costs a family well over a lakh with nothing to show for it. Worth doing when the profile is genuinely strong, and worth saying no to when it is not.
Odds
19 in 100 applications from Nepal are granted
Four in five F-1 interviews from Nepal end in a refusal, up from three in five the year before. An I-20 is not an indicator: the interview is the decision, and it lasts about three minutes.
What gets through
Applicants who can answer the return question in one sentence and mean it. The interview is about ties to Nepal and intent, not about your I-20. Strong funding that clearly belongs to your family, a course that follows from your degree, and a specific answer about what you will do here afterwards is what the one in five look like. A scholarship or an assistantship changes the conversation completely.
Of every ten who apply
8 refused, 2 granted.
Money
What it costs, in rupees
Before you fly
2.9 lakh
Tests, papers, government fees and the flight.
Must be in the bank
46.1 lakhest
The full first-year cost of attendance shown on the I-20, evidenced with liquid funds and a sponsor with provable income.
Everything, year one
48.7 lakh
Including tuition at the lower end and twelve months of living costs.
At NPR 153.70 per USD, Nepal Rastra Bank, 2026-09-20.
Life there
What USA is actually like once you land
Wages, rent, the first job you will realistically get, and whether staying is a plan or a hope. All of it in the local currency, because that is what you will be thinking in by month two.
What you can earn
USD 7.25 /hourest
The federal floor. Campus jobs typically pay USD 12 to 16, and many states set a higher minimum than the federal one.
Legal hours
20 hours a week, on campus only, during term.
Which comes to, per month
USD 1,100
Working the full legal hours at the minimum rate, before tax.
Against living costs of
USD 1,800 /month
Work covers roughly 61 percent of living costs. The rest comes from home.
A room costs
USD 600–1100est
a shared apartment near campus, outside the big coastal cities.
New York, Boston and the Bay Area are far higher. On-campus housing is often the cheaper option in year one and worth taking.
The most restricted of the five: on-campus only, so there is no falling back on a warehouse or a restaurant when campus jobs run out, and they do. Assume American study is funded by family or a scholarship, not by working.
The first job
What people actually get in the first six months
- Library, dining hall and campus facilities, which is most of what exists
- Departmental assistant or lab assistant
- Teaching or research assistantship at postgraduate level, the only well-paid option
- Campus IT help desk
Who is already there
The Nepali community
2,64,317
Nepalis in United States, as of 2024.
Where. New York, Texas, Maryland, Virginia and California.
The largest Nepali population of the five, but spread across a continent. Whether there is a community where you are going depends entirely on which state your university is in, and it is worth checking before you accept.
Afterwards
Can you stay?
Post-study work. Optional Practical Training, 12 months, plus 24 more if your degree is on the STEM list. That extension is the reason STEM matters so much here.
The route to residency. An employer sponsors an H-1B, you win the lottery, and years later they sponsor a green card.
The H-1B is a genuine lottery, entered once a year. A STEM degree gives you three years of OPT and therefore three entries; a non-STEM degree gives you one. That is the whole calculation, and it is why the field you choose matters more in America than anywhere else on this list. Go for the education and the OPT experience, and treat staying as the upside rather than the plan.
Staying is what families are really paying for, so it is the line most worth being straight about. What is above is the route and what actually moves it, and it changes on this page when the rules change.
Worth knowing before you go
The interview is the visa
Four in five F-1 interviews from Nepal end in refusal, and the interview lasts about three minutes. An I-20 and paid fees are not an indicator of anything.
The refused application still costs you
SEVIS at USD 350 and the DS-160 at USD 185 are spent whatever the outcome. That is over a lakh in rupees for a three-minute conversation.
Health insurance is not optional and not cheap
Around USD 1,800 a year on a university plan, and using it still leaves you paying a share of every bill.
Funding changes the whole conversation
American universities give real money away. An assistantship or a scholarship does more for an F-1 interview than any amount of coaching, and it is the single thing most worth chasing before you apply.
Requirements
What it asks for
TOEFL 79 or IELTS 6.5 typical. Some accept Duolingo 105.
As stated on the I-20 by most universities.
The DS-160 application fee. The SEVIS I-901 fee is USD 350 on top, making USD 535 in government fees before the interview.
University plan, typical.
Work
During study. 20 hours a week on campus only.
Afterwards. OPT 12 months, plus 24 months more for STEM fields.
Work rights are what you may do once you are there. No country on this site will grant a visa on the strength of money you have not earned yet, so the first year has to be funded without them.
Intakes
When to apply
Summer 2027
69 days
Teaching starts May 2027. Offer in hand by 28 November 2026.
Fall 2027main intake
105 days
Teaching starts Aug 2027. Offer in hand by 3 January 2027.
Spring 2028main intake
286 days
Teaching starts Jan 2028. Offer in hand by 3 July 2027.
Before the NOC
The No Objection Certificate cannot be applied for until the offer exists. It costs NPR 2,000, is paid through ConnectIPS, eSewa or Khalti, and takes three to seven working days. Since 2024 the whole thing is online and the certificate comes back as a signed PDF with a QR code on it.
Other destinations