If you are not on a valid visa for study in the U.S., you will need an initial I-20. FIU creates this document for you to take to the U.S. Embassy/Consulate in your home country. We are required by the Department of Homeland Security/U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to carefully review the financial ability of each student prior to issuing this document. Therefore, it is important that you are aware of the cost of attending FIU and that you have sufficient funds to support yourself.
Issuing your I-20
To obtain your I-20 you must submit supporting financial documents. When your application is referred to the department for review, you will gain access to the DCF Activity Guide which allows you to submit your financial support information.
To submit your financial documents, you will need to access your myFIU student portal at https://my.fiu.edu. If you have never logged into https://my.fiu.edu, please log into the website with your Panther ID number and use the default password. The default password is your date of birth in DDMonYYYY format (April 20, 1995 is 20Apr1995). Once you log in, the system will prompt you to change your password. You can return to the log in screen to lookup your username. If you are having trouble accessing your myFIU student portal, please go to https://fiu.service-now.com. You can browse help topics or connect with IT specialists to help you resolve your issue.
Upon logging into your myFIU account, select the Admissions Tile and then the DCF Activity Guide tile.
For FIU’s Chapman Graduate School of Business to issue an I-20 you must supply the following documents:
- Declaration and Certification of Finance Guide – Please complete all information requested on the form in your myFIU account. You can access this under the Admissions Tile and then selecting the DCF Activity Guide tile. The form must reflect, at a minimum, the total cost of the program (tuition, books, and medical insurance). When completing Sponsor information, be sure to fill the information in only one time per Sponsor.
- Official bank letter – This must have signature and seals from the bank official. You may also submit a current copy of the bank statement, or a letter printed on the official bank letterhead, containing the following information:
- State the name of the account holder (applicant or sponsor)
- Be signed and/or stamped by an authorized member of the bank
- Show sufficient funds to cover tuition and living expenses
- Bank letters are accepted from the following types of accounts: savings, checking, current, or money market accounts. Any other account available would need to specify if the account is liquid, or if the funds are available for withdrawal at any time.
- A template for the bank letter can be found here. If using this template, this must be signed by the student.
- Sponsor letter – If the bank letter or account is not in the student’s name (e.g., family member, employer, etc.), the sponsor will need to sign the Affidavit of Support or submit a signed letter stating that they will be financially responsible for all expenses while the student is pursuing a degree at FIU.
- A template for the sponsor letter can be found here. If using this template, this must be signed by the student.
- Copy of passport – A valid passport is required to verify all names are spelled correctly on the I-20, and that there are no errors on the birth date. This is required for the applicant and all dependents (if applicable). This must be valid for 6 months after the start of the program.
- F1 transfer form – If you are currently in the U.S. on a valid I-20 and are transferring your visa to FIU, we require all the documents listed above plus the F-1 Transfer Form. This form must be completed by your international student advisor and include an appropriate SEVIS release date. Without this date and your international student advisor’s approval of your transfer, the F-1 Transfer Form remains incomplete.
After finances are approved, we will issue your I-20 form. This is what you will use to schedule your visa appointment.
Receiving your I-20
Admission letters and I-20 documents are sent via email. The received PDF versions of these documents are considered official. No physical copy of these documents will be sent, you will need to print these documents for your visa appointment. These will come in separate communications from the University central offices, not your program.
I-20 emails will come with a subject line: Your FIU I20 Documents. Please be sure to check your spam and junk folders.
If you have not received this within three weeks of submitting all financial documents, please follow up with cobglobal@fiu.edu.