Artículo en español aquí: https://learnenglishinnewyorkcity.blogspot.com/2022/08/visa-de-estudiante-f-1-el-sustento.html 

F-1 student visa: the financial support to learn English in the U.S.

When international students apply for an F-1 student visa to learn English in the U.S., they should show enough funds to support they will be able to cover their study and living expenses. Let's review the reasons, how financial support may be supported, and the documents usually asked by English programs.

If you plan to learn English in the U.S., one of the requirements is to show enough proof of funds in order to obtain the I-20 for your F-1 student visa. Some schools may ask different documents to have enough evidence of funds and different minimum amounts. This will depend on how long you plan to stay learning English, the cost of the program, living costs depending on the city where you are going, and other items we will detail here.

Application documents

English schools start the process with common documents to issue the I-20 (initial form issued to apply for an F-1 student visa) such as application form, passport, application fee, document processing fee, and financial support documents: bank statement or certified bank letter, statement of financial support, affidavit of support, among other financial documents. Be prepared to have these documents translated in English if the school requires it. Some schools may even require to translate these documents through specialized translation companies/web sites. Financial support is required in this first step as a proof that you have the means to stay during the program (living expenses such as transportation, housing, meals, insurance) and also cover the academic costs (application fee, document processing fee, student activity fees, IT or technology fee, tuition fee, among other costs). This is a way to validate that you will not need financial aid while in the program, that you do not need to work because of financial hardship, or that you do not need to look for off-campus jobs.

Financial documents

Let's review the financial documents that schools may ask (some schools may ask one or all these documents).

• Bank statement or certified bank letter: The bank statement is the document that shows how much the sponsor will have available from his/her bank account to cover all the expenses. Bank statements should usually be from savings or checking bank accounts (liquid funds) and not from credit card statements, brokerage, stock or equity funds, real state and/or any non-liquid assets (investment funds, for example). Some schools may accept bank statements in the student's local currency. Bank accounts in U.S. dollars from banks outside the U.S. are also accepted. Some schools may ask for a (certified) translation in English and the document should not be more than three months old. Bank statements do not have to be necessarily under the student's name and can be more than one bank statement and from different sponsors. Screenshots from bank apps are usually not accepted since those are not official documents. If the school explains that they need a document that needs to show liquid funds (savings or checking account), that means that they need to see that those funds are able to be withdrawn at any moment to pay for the program and your living expenses, without interests like a credit card, for example.
• Statement of financial support/Affidavit of support: This is usually a form made by the school where the student completes the information from the bank account (account holder's name, address, workplace, account balance, etc.) and that details the information on how the financial funds will be spent.
• Other documents: Some schools may ask for more documents to validate the financial funds such as sponsor's paystubs, room & board financial support (this is the sponsor who will provide free housing and meals), scholarship letter stating how much it will cover, insurance payment and coverage, among others.
• Fees: Be prepared to pay at least the application fee. Some schools may waive this fee and some schools may charge a small or large amount. This is usually paid in this first application stage. Other schools may charge other fees such as a document processing fee, which is usually used to cover the school international area costs to process the documents and issue the I-20. After the pandemic, the I-20 form does not have to be mailed to the student, so schools can now just email it, and students do not have to pay for I-20 mailing costs anymore.

How much should I have on my bank account?

This is a typical question students have. This will depend on how long you will stay. The more time you stay, the more money you will need to show. Your I-20 expiration will depend on how much proof of funds you show. This amount will consider your study and living expenses. This will vary from school to school depending on the program cost and location. Your school should be able to tell you the exact amount to be shown.

Do I have to spend all the money I showed on my bank account?

Not necessarily. The amount requested by the schools is an estimated gross amount, which means it's a rough calculation on how much you will spend on tuition fee, insurance, housing, meals, food, and personal expenses. Even though you do need to pay the fixed tuition fee, your housing expenses may be a monthly rent, or you may save some money on transportation if the school provides a bus or special discount metro pass!

I will stay at my uncle's house. Do I need to show less money?

Yes!!! Staying with a friend or relative who will offer free housing and free meals means he or she is your room & board (R&B) sponsor; hence, you will need to show less money on your bank statement. Some schools may ask your R&B sponsor to fill out a special form or even show financial support documents (bank statement, paystubs, house property documents) and/or even a letter stating they will offer free R&B.

After all these financial support documents are submitted and payments made, the second stage would be issuing an I-20 for you. Some schools may take 10-14 business days to issue this form and email it to you. Once you receive it, you are ready for the visa process. It is recommendable you bring the same financial documents to your visa appointment.

Good luck!

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