Financial Statement
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) mandates that F-1 Visa students “must have the financial resources to live and study in the United States. This includes being able to cover the cost of tuition, books, living expenses and travel.” In other words, you must provide acceptable types of financial statements/documents to present as evidence of your financial ability. Please refer to the DHS website about the Financial Ability for the details.
Minimum Requirement by Poly Languages Institute
We estimate that the minimum cost to live and study at our school is $2500 per month. If you have dependents (F-2s), you need to show your ability to pay for their living expenses as well. Our minimum estimated living cost for each dependent is $1000. For example, if you have a spouse and two children, your estimated living expense is additional $3500 per month.
If you are in the process of obtaining an F-1 visa, you should provide financial statements to cover at least 6 months of studies. In other words, $15,000 for the student, and $6000 for each dependent plus additional expenses such as traveling and so forth. However, if you already have the F-1 visa, you may present only the statement to cover 2 months. As a transfer student, you already have an F-1 visa. Therefore, you may attend only two terms (two months) and provide a financial statement for that period.
In order for you to receive a Form I-20, you must show your ability to cover the minimum estimate for you to live and study at our school. Some of the acceptable documents to meet the financial requirements are as follows:
- Your personal bank statement.
- Family/sponsor bank statements with the Financial Support Guarantee
- Documentation from a sponsor
- Financial aid letters.
- Scholarship letters.
- Letter from your employer with the Financial Support Guarantee
*If the bank statement belongs to the student’s sponsor who is not a U.S. Citizen or a Permanent resident, the Financial Support Guarantee must be completed. If the bank statement belongs to the sponsor who is a U.S. Citizen or a Permanent Resident, a Form I-134, Affidavit of Support, must be completed.