One more F1 Visa Question

[Eternal Optimist]

Hello Everyone,

I am an international student (from India) and have been accepted to a 2 years Master's degree in the U.S. I have also been offered a Teaching Assistantship position which offers full tuition waver and a stipend of $10, 045 for the first year. I have shown proof of funds for the remaining amount of $4057. I have also received my I 20.

My assistantship letter states that, ' Pending available funds, your assistantship is renewable for the 2nd year, provided you remain in good standing and receive positive feedback from writing faculty'

My question is do I need to show proof of funds for the 2nd year in order to get the F1 Visa?

I have read from several websites and forums that I need to prove that funds will likely be available for the 2nd year as well.

In case my assistantship is not renewed for the 2nd year ( which I don't think will happen or at least shouldn't happen), my parents are willing to sponsor me. But it would be very difficult to show proof of $36, 000 in savings account or as fixed deposit immediately as proof of funds for the 2nd year. 1 year is a sufficient time for my family to sell properties or get a loan.

I am worried about this issue because, I have read about Visas getting rejected if a student is unable to provide satisfactory answers to questions about proof of funds for the 2nd year.

Please share your suggestions and experiences.


Thank you

Edited April 28, 2014 by fuzzylogician
Topic moved here from 'The Bank.' --fuzzy

[Eternal Optimist]

Fuzzylogician thanks for moving the topic here. Since I had posted in 'The Bank' twice earlier regarding similar questions, I thought that would be the right place.

[fuzzylogician]

Visa questions are usually better answered here because more relevant people will notice them. Of course some of the same people read multiple forums so you might still get good answers elsewhere . 

[Eternal Optimist]

Thank you once again

[TakeruK]

The official requirement to qualify for F-1 visa and status is funding for just the first year. But both status (which you receive upon entry) and the visa is at the discretion of the officer processing your paperwork. I am on J-1 (and did not require a visa because I am Canadian) so I can't tell you how likely you are going to be asked about the 2nd year of funding. But even if I could, there's no way to know exactly what the officer processing your paperwork will think about the 2nd year of funding on your letter!

 

For a J-1 visa/status, we have to show proof of funding for the entire duration of program. My funding also has the "funding will be continued pending available funds and good progress" requirement. However, my DS-2019 shows the funding as if I was going to get all of the money. Maybe you can ask your school's international office about potentially needing to show funding for 2 years?

 

I can't really think of anything you can really do if for some reason, you have to show 2 years of funding and you don't have the funding. If they deny you for this reason, would you be able to come back with more proof of funding?

[Eternal Optimist]

Yes, I will be able to re apply for Visa with proof of more funding. But if I knew for sure whether or not the 2nd year funding proof is a requirement, I could arrange for the funds and then apply. Somehow, I am uncomfortable with the idea of getting rejected the first time.

But as you had mentioned, I think there is no way of knowing what the Visa officer would expect. I have heard a lot of people saying that it depends on individual cases. So I think I will have to apply and see. I have written to the university regarding this question. Hopefully, I get a positive response. Thank you for sharing your experience.

[fuzzylogician]

FWIW I applied for an F-1 visa and from what I remember my funding information was only about the first year. I wasn't asked about that at all. I do think it might depend on individual cases and whether or not your case raises suspicion that you might not be funded beyond your first year. However, the 'funding conditional upon good standing' clause is pretty standard in funding letters so I think you don't need to worry about that. That said, I totally understand why you do worry. Maybe your school's international students office can give you more information. 

[Eternal Optimist]

Fuzzy, Thanks a lot! I am quite relieved to hear your answer. This is exactly what I was looking for, to hear from someone who had applied for F1 visa. My school replied immediately and said that its highly unlikely that the officer would demand proof for 2nd year funding. The officer might however ask me about a back-up plan.

If its purely based on individual cases, I have nothing to worry about. I was just worried that it might be an absolute requirement.

I am glad that I do not have to put my Visa application process on hold to arrange for funds.

[Saman]

Fuzzy, Thanks a lot! I am quite relieved to hear your answer. This is exactly what I was looking for, to hear from someone who had applied for F1 visa. My school replied immediately and said that its highly unlikely that the officer would demand proof for 2nd year funding. The officer might however ask me about a back-up plan.

If its purely based on individual cases, I have nothing to worry about. I was just worried that it might be an absolute requirement.

I am glad that I do not have to put my Visa application process on hold to arrange for funds.

 

Hi,

 

As far as I know, for 2nd year you might need to provide some back up plan, i.e. stocks or bonds, to fund your studies in case you don't receive any funding from the university since these assistantships are solely based on your previous year performance in the academics. I would strongly advise you to visit nearest USIEF office, they provide free guidance on visa applications and much more. You can visit this link for more info.-   http://www.usief.org.in/

 

Hope this helps  

[Eternal Optimist]

Saman,

Would property deeds be enough?

[Saman]

Saman,

Would property deeds be enough?

 

Yeah that would work if I am not mistaken. Since property is a commodity which can be translated in liquid money it should work but not 100% sure, still I would advise you to have a word with concerned people I recommended in earlier post.  

[unfortunate]

Is it normal that the Graduate student office asked me to fill financial affidavit, where I have to show sufficient funds for 4  years, only then they can issue me the I-20? I got a bit annoyed because I assumed they will automatically send me one as I get an assistantship...

[TakeruK]

Is it normal that the Graduate student office asked me to fill financial affidavit, where I have to show sufficient funds for 4  years, only then they can issue me the I-20? I got a bit annoyed because I assumed they will automatically send me one as I get an assistantship...

Yes, I received this at some schools (even before I accepted their offer!). Basically, in this case, if you are fully funded by your department, you should just complete the form as requested (my form lists the total $$ needed, and then a breakdown of how I intend to show this funding, and one of the ways is to attach a letter from the department confirming the funding). 

 

But no matter what, the International Office needs to know you have full funding before they can issue the I-20. At big schools, there is less communication between departments (in my opinion) so they might have you do (more) paperwork to send the info from one department to another. At my school, my department sent the funding info to the grad school which sent the info to the International Office for me, so when the International Office got my file, they knew a lot of the funding information already. They just asked me to fill in a form with some basic biographical information that they needed for the DS-2019 (equivalent to I-20), such as name, place of birth, any dependents, etc. But my school only gets about 200 new graduate students per year across the entire campus (and about 80 new international graduate students) so I can imagine how this level of convenience is not sustainable at much larger schools. 

 

 

Basically, I don't think schools start working on processing your I-20/other immigration paperwork until you accept their offer. Once you do, you basically need to work with this other entity on campus to get your international student status paperwork completed. I would direct all questions about this process to the International Office directly, since the people in the department you are applying to might not know the best/correct answer!

Edited May 1, 2014 by TakeruK

[psych21]

I am on F-1 and only needed to show proof of funds for the first year. No one even asked about the second.

[Eternal Optimist]

I hope my interview goes the same way too

[Eternal Optimist]

Hey y'all!

My visa interview went smoothly. Its approved. Just wanted to share the happy nees with everyone here!

[TakeruK]

Hooray! Always happy to read updates with good news