United States
Closed: spouse may not work. This route is not ranked.
Verdict
Drop it. Your spouse gets no work rights at all on F-2, the first year costs about USD 45,000, and roughly three in four Bangladeshi F-1 applicants were refused in 2025. Even with a visa, the earliest realistic arrival is August 2027.
Permanent residence is an employer-dependent lottery of 6 to 9 years, with OPT and H-1B both under active threat. Reconsider only with a funded assistantship or a sponsor of USD 50,000 or more, and your spouse still could not work.
checked 14 Nov 2026 · source money plan for this route compare
- Can the spouse come
- Yes
- Conditions
Yes, for any taught master's at an SEVP-certified school. The school's international office (DSO) issues a separate Form I-20 for each dependant. Your spouse applies for an F-2 visa and can interview and travel with you or follow later. The I-901 SEVIS fee is charged to the student only.
You must document extra funds for your spouse for the I-20 (USD 4,000 a year at Pittsburg State, USD 6,250 a year at UMKC; other schools up to about 8,400). A spouse who cannot work, combined with limited funds, makes the consular officer's INA 214(b) test (ties to home, ability to pay) harder.
This comes on top of a very high refusal rate for Bangladeshi applicants.
- Spouse work rights
- None
- Spouse work in detail
DHS Study in the States says F-2 dependants "May not work" and are not eligible for Social Security numbers. They may study only less than a full course of study. This holds through the degree and the OPT period. To work, your spouse would need a status of their own: an own F-1 with full tuition, or later an H-1B.
An H-4 work permit (EAD) is possible only after you are on H-1B with an approved I-140. Your spouse has no work rights at any point on the student route.
- Student work hours
On-campus work only, at most 20 hours a week while school is in session (DHS). Full-time work in breaks is standard practice. No off-campus work in the first academic year. After that, only CPT or OPT tied to your field, or economic-hardship authorisation recommended by the DSO. Unauthorised work ends your status.
- Cash before landing
- about 22.5 lakh USD 18,000 more than your first 15 lakh: needs part of the second 15 lakh before you land
- checked 14 Nov 2026 · source
- First year for two
- about 56.1 lakh USD 45,000 before earnings over the 35 lakh ceiling
- checked 14 Nov 2026 · source
- Tuition in detail
No free tuition. The cheapest regional public universities charge about USD 20,000 to 27,000 per academic year for international master's students. Examples: Pittsburg State 2026-27 flat tuition including campus fees USD 20,516; UMKC 2026-27 graduate tuition and fees USD 26,597.
Mainstream state flagships and private universities for MS Business Analytics or MIS typically charge USD 30,000 to 60,000 or more a year (general range, not confirmed). Programs are usually 30 to 36 credits over 1.5 to 2 years, so total tuition is roughly USD 30,000 to 50,000 at the cheap end.
Assistantships and tuition waivers exist but are uncommon for taught business master's degrees.
- Money to show in detail
There is no single government figure. Each school sets the I-20 amount: one academic year of tuition, living costs and insurance, plus an add-on for a dependant. You must document the full amount before the I-20 is issued and defend it again at the visa interview.
Pittsburg State (Kansas) 2026-27: USD 34,891 for the student (tuition 20,516, insurance 2,661, books 1,000, living 10,634, orientation and SEVIS compliance
80) plus at least USD 4,000 a year for a spouse, total USD 38,891. UMKC (Missouri): USD 51,231 (26,597 tuition and fees, 24,634 living and other) plus USD 6,250 for an F-2 spouse, total USD 57,481. No blocked account is needed.
Funds are normally liquid bank balances held by you or a family sponsor (with an affidavit of support) and sanctioned education loans. Rules on statement age and sponsors are set school by school; UMKC says to ask its office.
Excluding tuition, the lowest amount a couple must show is USD 18,375 (Pittsburg State); with tuition it is USD 38,891.
- Budget note
Exchange rate: 124.75 BDT per USD (Bangladesh Bank rate dated 12 Nov 2026). Even at one of the cheapest universities, the I-20 needs USD 38,891 shown for year one for you and your spouse, about 48.5 lakh BDT.
Real first-year spending for two is about USD 45,000 (about 56 lakh BDT): tuition 20,516, student insurance 2,661, books and fees 1,080, living for two about 20,000 (estimate) and visa and SEVIS fees 720. Flights (about 2,400, estimate) and health insurance for your spouse are extra.
Cash needed before or at arrival is about USD 18,000: first-semester tuition about 10,260, half-year insurance about 1,330, visa and SEVIS fees 720, two flights about 2,400 (estimate) and two months of living about 3,300 (estimate). Your spouse cannot work and you are capped at 20 hours a week on campus, so no legal income closes the gap.
Over the degree you would need a sponsor or loan of USD 50,000 or more. Add USD 500 if the Visa Integrity Fee is collected.
- Realistic earnings
Your spouse: zero (F-2 cannot work). You: on-campus jobs only, 20 hours a week in term. The federal minimum wage is USD 7.25 an hour (US Department of Labor). Campus jobs typically pay USD 8 to 15 an hour (estimate), so about USD 600 to 1,100 a month before tax. These jobs are competitive and not guaranteed.
That covers at best a third of a couple's living costs and none of the tuition. A graduate assistantship (stipend plus waiver) is the one real fix, but they are rare for coursework business master's degrees.
Applying
checked 14 Nov 2026 · source- Visa
- F-1 (student) + F-2 (dependent spouse)
- Lands
- August 2027 (estimate) An estimate, not a promise.
August 2027 (Fall 2027 intake). January 2027 is possible only in theory, through a school with a late deadline, and everything would have to go right inside 8 weeks.
- Next intakes
- Spring 2027 (classes start about 11 Jan 2027)Deadline: Most international graduate deadlines have passed. A few small public universities are still open: University of South Dakota MAcc, MBA and MS Business Analytics have a deadline of 5 Dec 2026, an arrival deadline of 10 Jan 2027 and classes from 11 Jan 2027.Still open: Only a handful. Technically open but not realistic: admission, I-20, the Dhaka interview wait and vetting cannot reliably finish in 8 weeks.
- Summer 2027 (May or June start)Deadline: Not confirmed. Few taught business master's degrees start in summer (University of South Dakota lists no summer international deadline).Still open: Limited; check program by program
- Fall 2027 (classes start about 23 Aug 2027), the main intakeDeadline: Priority and funding deadlines are typically Dec 2026 to Feb 2027. Many regional public universities accept international applications into summer 2027 (University of South Dakota MAcc, MBA and MS Business Analytics: 1 Aug 2027, arrival by 20 Aug, classes 23 Aug). Apply by Feb to Mar 2027 to leave time for the visa.Still open: Yes, fully open
- Typical length
- 24 months
- Where to apply from Bangladesh
US Embassy Dhaka; no travel abroad is needed. The embassy tells nonimmigrant applicants to book in their country of residence or nationality. It tells F applicants to set all social media accounts to public for vetting.
Steps: get I-20s for both of you, pay the SEVIS I-901 fee (USD 350, student only), file a DS-160 each, pay the MRV visa fee (USD 185 each, not confirmed), and book through the ustraveldocs / usvisascheduling system. First-time F-1 and F-2 applicants attend an in-person interview and give fingerprints at the embassy.
Bangladeshis are reported to pay no reciprocity fee and to get 60-month multiple-entry visas (not confirmed).
Visa and passport risk
checked 14 Nov 2026 · source- Risk for a Bangladesh passport
- High
- Why
ICEF Monitor (15 Apr 2026) reports that Bangladeshi F-1 applicants were refused 73% of the time in 2025. The figure comes from a Shorelight report using State Department data from a public-information request; it does not say whether the year is fiscal or calendar. The overall F-1 refusal rate was 35%.
The US Embassy Dhaka page says Bangladeshi nationals must post a bond of up to USD 20,000 for B1/B2 visas (not F-1 or F-2), which signals an overstay-risk classification. The page also carries a notice on Proclamation 10998 (39 countries, effective 1 Jan 2026).
It does not state that Bangladesh is subject to it, and student visas are still being issued. The embassy page still carries an immigrant-visa processing notice (the 75-country pause; court status not confirmed). This matters for later family or employment immigrant visas, not for F-1.
A B1/B2 refusal rate of 61.45% in FY2025 comes from a secondary source and is not confirmed. A married applicant bringing a spouse who cannot work, with limited funds, is a weak profile under the 214(b) test.
- Visa processing time
Next available F/M/J interview in Dhaka: about 1.5 months, according to the State Department Global Visa Wait Times page dated 21 Oct 2026 (not confirmed). After the interview, your passport usually comes back within days, but administrative processing and social-media vetting can add weeks.
A visa can be issued up to 365 days before the program starts. You can enter no earlier than 30 days before the start (State Department rule, not confirmed).
- checked 14 Nov 2026 · source
- Hassle
- 9 out of 10 10 is the most hassle. This site's rating, not a checked fact.
After the degree and PR
checked 14 Nov 2026 · source- Work after the degree
Post-completion OPT: up to 12 months of work in your field of study. A further 24-month STEM OPT extension applies only if the degree has a STEM CIP code. Many MS Business Analytics, MIS and Data Science degrees do; plain Management, Finance and MBA degrees usually do not. Both lengths are from USCIS.
Your spouse stays on F-2 with no work rights during OPT. Next comes H-1B: an annual lottery weighted by wage (used for FY2027; 211,600 registrations, secondary source).
On the USD 100,000 H-1B payment, USCIS says a Massachusetts federal court vacated the implementing guidance on 8 Jun 2026 and the First Circuit denied a stay on 24 Jul 2026. DHS is complying but "still plans to collect" if the order is lifted.
DHS has also proposed a USD 103,265 fee on cap-subject petitions (Aug 2026, not final, secondary source). A major threat: proposed OPT fees of USD 70,000 (initial) and USD 30,000 (later, including STEM) per student. The proposed rule is dated 8 Oct 2026 and comments closed on 9 Nov 2026. It is not in effect (two secondary sources).
- no single source · see all sources
- PR route
There is no direct route from study to permanent residence and no points system. The road: F-1 master's (1.5 to 2 years), then OPT or STEM OPT, then winning the H-1B lottery with a sponsoring employer. The employer then files a PERM labour certification (roughly 1.5 to 2 years, not confirmed) and an I-140 in EB-2 (master's) or EB-3.
You wait for your priority date, then file the I-485 for the green card. Bangladesh falls under "All Chargeability Areas". The November 2026 Visa Bulletin final action dates are 1 Apr 2025 (EB-2) and 15 Jun 2024 (EB-3), according to Ogletree's summary, which means roughly 1.5 to 2.5 years of queue.
Every step depends on an employer willing to sponsor you. Self-petition routes (EB-2 NIW, EB-1A) need an exceptional record. Your spouse gets the green card as a derivative and can work only then, or on an H-4 EAD after an approved I-140. A realistic total is 7 to 9 years; 6 is the best case.
- Language for PR
None for the green card. Naturalisation requires English and civics tests (USCIS, page dated 16 Mar 2026).
Recent rule changes
checked 14 Nov 2026 · source- 2025 and 2026
1) Social-media vetting: F applicants must set accounts to public (US Embassy Dhaka).
2) Proclamation 10998 (effective 1 Jan 2026) suspends or limits visas for 39 countries; Bangladesh is not named as subject to it.
3) B1/B2 visa bond of up to USD 20,000 for Bangladeshi nationals (US Embassy Dhaka; not for students).
4) A 75-country immigrant-visa pause including Bangladesh from Jan 2026; the court outcome is not confirmed and the embassy still shows the notice.
5) Fixed-term admission rule replacing duration of status (maximum 4 years, 30-day grace): final rule 17 Jul 2026, postponed nationwide by a Massachusetts federal court on 14 Sep 2026, appealed by the government on 30 Sep 2026 (two secondary sources).
6) Proposed OPT fees of USD 70,000 and 30,000 (proposed rule 8 Oct 2026, comments closed 9 Nov 2026, not in effect).
7) H-1B lottery weighted by wage, used for FY2027. The USD 100,000 payment was vacated on 8 Jun 2026 and a stay was denied on 24 Jul 2026 (USCIS). The proclamation was extended to 21 Sep 2027 and a second court blocked it on 30 Sep 2026 (secondary source). A proposed USD 103,265 fee is not final.
8) New 9-11 Response and Biometric Entry-Exit Fee final rule for H-1B and L-1 petitions by H-1B-heavy employers, effective 9 Sep 2026 (USCIS).
9) USD 250 Visa Integrity Fee enacted July 2025; secondary sources say collection is rolling out unevenly; not confirmed for Dhaka.
10) You must apply in your country of residence or nationality.
11) F-1 refusal rates are at a decade high (35% overall in 2025).
- Corrected in this check
- Funds a couple must show, excluding tuition: USD 18,375. This is Pittsburg State's 34,891 minus 20,516 tuition plus 4,000 for a spouse, and it includes the books (1,000) and orientation and SEVIS-compliance (80) lines.
- First-year total for a couple: about USD 45,000. Tuition 20,516, insurance 2,661, books and fees 1,080, living for two 20,000 and visa and SEVIS fees 720 come to 44,977; flights and spouse insurance are extra. In BDT this is about 56 lakh; the I-20 amount is about 48.5 lakh.
- BDT figures use the Bangladesh Bank rate of 124.75 BDT per USD.
- Summer 2027 intake: the University of South Dakota page lists no summer international deadline, so the deadline is not confirmed.
- Fall 2027 at University of South Dakota: arrival deadline 20 Aug 2027; the 1 Aug 2027 deadline applies to MAcc, MBA and MS Business Analytics.
- H-1B USD 100,000 payment: stated from USCIS's own page (guidance vacated 8 Jun 2026, stay denied 24 Jul 2026, DHS still intends to collect if the order is reversed).
- A 2026 change included: the 9-11 Response and Biometric Entry-Exit Fee final rule for H-1B and L-1, effective 9 Sep 2026.
- The court status of the 75-country immigrant-visa pause is not confirmed.
- The US Embassy Dhaka page does not say the B1/B2 bond is permanent.
- Visa wait time, MRV fee and reciprocity terms are not confirmed.
- Federal minimum wage: USD 7.25 an hour.
- Permanent residence timeline: 6 years is the best case; 7 to 9 years is realistic.
Not verified
unverified- State Department pages (fee schedule, wait times, student visa page, reciprocity, Visa Bulletin)
- MRV fee of USD 185 for F visas, and whether the USD 250 Visa Integrity Fee is being collected in Dhaka (if so, add USD 500 for the couple)
- Dhaka F/M/J interview wait of 1.5 months (figure dated 21 Oct 2026)
- State Department rule on visa issue up to 365 days before the program start and entry no earlier than 30 days before
- F-2 exemption from the I-901 SEVIS fee (standard rule)
- Reciprocity terms for Bangladesh (no issuance fee, 60 months, multiple entry)
- Court status of the 75-country immigrant-visa pause for Bangladesh
- OPT fee proposal details and current status (two secondary sources dated Oct 2026), and whether a final rule has been issued since 9 Nov 2026
- Outcome of the appeal on the fixed-term admission rule; status of the proposed USD 103,265 H-1B fee; Northern District of California ruling of 30 Sep 2026 (secondary source only)
- The 73% Bangladeshi F-1 refusal figure is from Shorelight through ICEF Monitor, not a State Department table; fiscal-year basis not stated
- Bangladesh B1/B2 refusal rate of 61.45% in FY2025 (secondary source)
- Exact sponsor, loan and bank-statement-age rules for the I-20 (school by school)
- Living cost for a couple (USD 20,000 a year), flight cost and on-campus wage range are estimates
- PERM processing time (1.5 to 2 years)
- UIC and Iowa State dependant add-ons and the USD 30,000 to 60,000 flagship tuition range
Confidence in this page: Medium.
Programmes
0 in the programme listSources
19 official pagesF-2 dependants may not work, no SSN, less than full course of study; DSO issues an I-20 for each dependant
studyinthestates.dhs.gov/students/get-started/bringing-dependents-to-the-united-statesF-1 on-campus work max 20 h/week in session; off-campus only after one full academic year with authorisation
studyinthestates.dhs.gov/students/work/working-in-the-united-statesEmbassy Dhaka notices: B1/B2 bond up to USD 20,000 for Bangladeshi nationals; apply in country of residence/nationality; F applicants set social media to public
bd.usembassy.gov/visas/SEVIS I-901 fee USD 350 for F applicants
www.ice.gov/sevis/i901Bangladesh F-1 refusal 73% and overall 35% in 2025 (Shorelight, State Dept data)
monitor.icef.com/2026/04/visa-rejections-climb-in-the-us-for-international-students-from-key-markets-including-india/Pittsburg State 2026-27 international graduate: tuition 20,516, insurance 2,661, books 1,000, living 10,634, orientation 80, total 34,891; spouse at least 4,000/yr
www.pittstate.edu/admission/tuition-and-costs.htmlUMKC 2026-27 graduate I-20 cost 51,231 (26,597 tuition/fees); F-2 spouse add-on 6,250
www.umkc.edu/international-students/future-students/affordability-and-funding.phpUSD Spring 2027 deadline 5 Dec, arrival 10 Jan, classes 11 Jan; Fall 2027 deadline 1 Aug, arrival 20 Aug, classes 23 Aug
www.usd.edu/Admissions-and-Aid/International-Admissions/Applying-for-International-Graduate-AdmissionOPT 12 months; STEM extension 24 months
www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/students-and-exchange-visitors/optional-practical-training-opt-for-f-1-studentsH-1B USD 100,000 payment: guidance vacated 8 Jun 2026, stay denied 24 Jul 2026, DHS complying; 9-11 biometric fee final rule effective 9 Sep 2026
www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/h-1b-specialty-occupationsWeighted H-1B lottery, 211,600 FY2027 registrations, proposed USD 103,265 fee, fixed-admission rule postponed 14 Sep 2026, OPT fee NPRM 8 Oct 2026, Visa Integrity Fee uneven rollout
concordvisa.com/guides/international-graduates-us-visa-strategy-guideOPT fee proposal USD 70,000/30,000 not in force; Visa Integrity Fee in law, uneven collection; duration-of-status rule blocked
www.winnyglobal.co/blog/major-changes-in-us-immigration-2026November 2026 Visa Bulletin: EB-2 rest of world 1 Apr 2025, EB-3 15 Jun 2024
ogletree.com/insights-resources/blog-posts/november-2026-visa-bulletin-final-action-dates-advance-filing-dates-hold/Naturalisation: 5 years as permanent resident, 30 months physical presence, English and civics
www.uscis.gov/citizenship/learn-about-citizenship/citizenship-and-naturalization/i-am-a-lawful-permanent-resident-of-5-yearsUSD/BDT 124.75
www.bb.org.bd/en/index.php/econdata/exchangerateFederal minimum wage USD 7.25/h
www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/minimum-wageMRV fee USD 185 for F visas; no Visa Integrity Fee listed
travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/fees/fees-visa-services.htmlDhaka F/M/J wait 1.5 months
travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/global-visa-wait-times.htmlOPT fee NPRM
www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/10/08/2026-20660/optional-practical-training-fees