Requirements
United States visa regulations require all F and J visa holders to provide proof of adequate funds to meet tuition and living expenses for the student’s first year of study in their proposed program.
Financials are required in any issuance of an initial I-20 or DS-2019 (change of level, change of status, re-entry after LOA, transfer). Post-arrival, updated financials are also required for any program extensions, adding new dependents and/or reinstatement.
A Form I-20 (F-1) or DS-2019 (J-1) cannot be issued until an acceptable Proof of Funds and Financial Affidavit of Responsibility (FAR) Form have been received and verified by the Office of Global Services.
Policy
- All documents must be dated within the last six months!
- All documents must be in English, or include a certified English translation along with the original foreign document.
- If a document is not in United States dollars, the Office of Global Services will convert to U.S. dollars, using the date that the student submitted their request.
Minimum amount required for the Form I-20 or DS-2019:
- Tuition and fees (new & continuing students only): See current tuition rates and fees
- Living Expenses: $16,800/year or $1,400/month
- Dependent Expenses: $5000/year or $417/month, for each dependent
- Total:
- New international students - You can view the total amount in the I-20 Request Form on your Applicant Status page.
- Continuing international students - You can calculate the total amount by adding together the tuition, fees and expenses for the remaining number of credits and months left in your program.
Document Guidelines
Proof of Funds
Acceptable Documents:
- Bank Statement (Monthly, Transactional, or similar)
- Checking Account
- Savings Account
- Business Account (with additional documentation of business registration/company sponsorship)
- Bank Letter (signed)
- Illinois Tech Award/Scholarship Letter
- Loan Letter
- Government Sponsorship covering expenses
- SACM (Saudi Arabia)
- Certificates of Deposit, Fixed Deposits, Fixed Term Certificate of Deposits, Time Deposits, and Term Deposits
Investment Portfolio & Stocks (clearly indicates how much is in liquid funds/funds can be readily withdrawn) - Bonds (Maturity date or Value date must be before the first day of the semester)
Unacceptable Documents:
- Salary Verification Letter
- Pay Stub
- Proof of Income
- Tax Return Forms
- Real Estate or Property holdings
- Insurance Policies (healthcare, retirement, etc.)
- No Screenshots allowed. We will only accept the official "PDF" file of the financial document.
Please note, the above lists are not exhaustive. If you have a financial document not listed above, the OGS team will review for consideration and grant a decision whether it is acceptable or not.
Financial Affidavit of Responsibility (FAR) Form
To access the Financial Affidavit of Responsibility, please click the link below:
- Financial Affidavit of Responsibility Form - You are required to download this form, read it and complete the certification section(s).
- If you do not have a sponsor, then the Sponsor Certification section may be left blank.
- If you do have any sponsors (i.e. using financial documents in someone else's name), then each sponsor must be listed and sign within the Sponsor Certification section of the FAR form.