FORM I-20 INFORMATION

WHAT IS THE FORM I-20?
A Form I-20 is government form on which Philadelphia University certifies to the U.S. government that you are eligible for F-1 Student Status. It certifies that you have met our admission requirements, have been accepted for a full course of study and have proven to us that you have enough money to study and live in the United States without working illegally or suffering from poverty.

WHY DO YOU NEED THE FORM I-20?
You need a Form I-20 to obtain an F-1 student visa or status, or to keep lawful F-1 status when transferring or changing schools within the U.S.

GETTING YOUR FORM I-20:
Sometimes, we may have to ask you to give us more evidence of your financial ability, perhaps more than once. The U.S. government requires that we be absolutely sure, to the best of our ability, that you have enough financial support to cover the full cost of your program. Too little money causes pain and distress for students. We insist students and their families look closely at the cost of living and studying in the U.S. and make careful plans to insure that the student’s needs are met.

IN ORDER TO RECEIVE AN I-20:
Please follow these instructions carefully.

1. U.S. law requires that you prove that you can support your minimum annual costs for every year of your program of study. You must provide documents that will convince the government that you have cash to cover your first year in the U.S. and sufficient and dependable financial resources to cover every additional year.
2. Do not expect that you will be able to work to help meet your minimum annual costs. The Immigration Service strictly controls off-campus employment and opportunities on-campus are extremely limited.
3. All documents you provide must be in English and less than six months old. Send us photocopies or faxes, not the originals. You will need the originals of all documents you have sent us to give to the American Embassy when we send you your I-20.
4. You may support yourself with your own personal funds that come only from your own savings and investments. They are not funds that are given to you by another person. Unless you have enough cash to support yourself for your entire program of study, you will need a sponsor with an income sufficient to support you.
5. Proof of your personal funding is indicated by bank statements in your name only, which state the date the account was opened, current balances in US dollars, average deposits and average balances.
6. Statements must specify balances unless it is stated to be a minimum of six figures in U.S. dollars. If your statement shows that your funds are fixed, meaning that they do not produce substantial income, your balance will be divided by the number of years in your program of study to determine the amount you will have available for each year.
7. Please note academic international scholarships do not cover all expenses. You must provide documentation for minimum annual expenses.
8. You may support yourself with funds from other sponsors such as, parents, relatives, or organizations. You may have as many sponsors as you need. It is highly recommended that at least part of your support come from your home country for the purposes of visa issuance.
9. A sponsor should promise only as much money as he or she is able to give you. Some sponsors believe that the more money they promise, the easier it will be to get your I-20. The most common reason for the rejection of financial documents is that we do not believe the sponsor can afford to give as much as promised. A sponsor should promise only what he or she intends to give and only as much as can be afforded.
10. Each sponsor providing cash support must give us all the following documents to prove financial responsibility. If all these documents are not received, your sponsor’s support will not be considered.

Statement of Support Form. This form may be photocopied for each sponsor. All questions must be answered. This statement must be signed by the sponsor in the presence of a notary public, the notary public must sign, and the official seal of the notary public must be on the statement. There are notaries public at all US embassies and consulates. In the US, most lawyers and accountants are notaries. There are notaries in all countries, though the names for them may be different. They are officials licensed by the national or regional government to take sworn statements for courts of law or to witness contracts and property deeds.

Proof of Income. This must be on the employer’s letterhead, on income tax returns or receipts or estimated by a bank or private accountant when the sponsor is a self-employed businessperson. The income of the company is not the income of the owner of the business and will not be accepted as proof of income. You must provide an official statement of the salary paid to the owner or sponsor.

Bank Statement. This bank statement must be in the name of the sponsor only. It must state the date the account was opened, current account balance in U.S. dollars, average deposits and average balances. We cannot accept statements that do not specify balances unless it is stated to be a minimum of six figures in U.S. dollars.