Apply for a Student I-20/DS-2019

The I-20 is the document F-1 students need from The New School in order to apply for the F-1 student visa; the DS-2019 is the document J-1 students need in order to apply for the J-1 student visa. You also need to present your I-20 or DS-2019 at the U.S. border along with your F-1 or J-1 visa and other supporting documents in order to enter the United States as an F-1 or J-1 student.

Submit your application at least three or four months before your intended start date, to leave extra time in case of visa delays. If you do not apply at least three or four months before your intended start date, you may face difficulty in arriving for the first day of classes if you are outside of the United States.

In your offer of admission, you will find a link to iGlobal, The New School's portal for online service requests for international students. Once you reach this site, you will be asked to enter your New School Net ID and your password. Please follow the detailed instructions provided in the I-20 or DS-2019 application.

If you will be coming to The New School for a degree program or as a visiting or exchange student, please complete the application form titled I-20 or DS-2019 Application.

Schedule your visa appointment after you receive your original I-20 or DS-2019 and after you pay the I-901 fee. More information about the visa appointment can be found on the U.S. Department of State's website.

iGlobal is The New School's portal through which international students can request services online. Students can also log in to iGlobal at any time to track the progress of their I-20 or DS-2019 application. For more information on iGlobal, please see the SEVIS and iGlobal section.

You can save your I-20 or DS-2019 application as a draft and return to it at any time. If you need to pause to get necessary documents, you do not need to start a new I-20 or DS-2019 application.

A completed application is one including iGlobal e-forms 1 through 7, with all supporting documents uploaded. At the bottom of each iGlobal e-form in the I-20 or DS-2019 application there is a Submit button. Please note that when you click Submit, you are submitting that e-form, not the entire application.

If you are currently in the United States as an F-1 or J-1 student and have been maintaining your immigration status, you may be able to transfer your SEVIS record to The New School. If you transfer your SEVIS record, you will keep the same SEVIS ID number.

To transfer your SEVIS record:

• You will need to tell us that you are a current student at another U.S. institution while filling out your I-20 or DS-2019 application.
• You will be asked to enter the information of a designated school official (DSO) at your current institution. The DSO will receive an email asking them to confirm your student details.
• The DSO must set a date on which your SEVIS record will be sent to The New School. Please work with the DSO to choose the date that works best for you.

Please be advised that we cannot issue your I-20 or DS-2019 until the DSO has completed their portion and The New School has received your SEVIS record.

If you wish to bring a spouse and/or children under the age of 21 with you, please complete the dependent e-form in the iGlobal application. You will need to provide ISSS with basic information about your dependents as well as a scan of the biographical page of their passports and proof of their relationship to you. This could be a marriage certificate for a spouse or a birth certificate for a child.

Only a spouse and/or children under the age of 21 can accompany you as dependents. Parents, grandparents, and other relatives are not eligible to come to the United States with you as F-2 or J-2 dependents. 

When your I-20 or DS-2019 is issued, you will receive versions of these documents, with which your dependents can apply for their own visas. Dependents of F-1 students apply for an F-2 dependent visa. F-2 dependents will be on F-2 immigration status. Dependents of J-1 students apply for a J-2 dependent visa. J-2 dependents will be on J-2 immigration status.

After you have submitted your entire I-20 or DS-2019 application and ISSS has received all the necessary documents and confirmations from your financial sponsors or DSOs at your current institution, we will begin processing your I-20 or DS-2019 application. The processing time for each application is 7 to 10 business days.

Once your application is processed and approved, ISSS will email you instructions for downloading your new I-20 or DS-2019 from iGlobal. You will be required to print, sign, and date your document. You may then use it for your visa interview and entry into the United States.

Please be aware that you cannot move on to the "Next Steps" section of the application until your I-20 or DS-2019 has been issued.

When you log in to iGlobal, you will be able to see your SEVIS ID number in the SEVIS Status Information section. Please keep in mind that if you have not been issued an I-20 or DS-2019 yet, you will not have a SEVIS ID number.

After you receive an email from the ISSS office stating that your I-20 or DS-2019 has been issued, please pay the SEVIS/I-901 fee. You must pay this fee before going to your visa appointment.

All students applying for an I-20 and an F-1 visa or a DS-2019 and a J-1 visa must provide documentation of financial support, in accordance with U.S. government regulations. Financial documents must be no older than six months and must show enough funds for the first year of study.

Acceptable documents include:

• An official bank letter
• An official bank statement
• A scholarship award letter
• Documentation showing loan approval

Unacceptable documents include but are not limited to:

• Tax returns
• Investment documents
• Property documents
• Mortgage documents
• Retirement account documents
• Stock documents
• Bond documents
• Employment letters

This requirement is a federal regulation of the U.S. government. These documents must demonstrate your ability to study full-time and support yourself financially. You will also be required to provide a copy of the same financial documents to the U.S. embassy during your visa interview.

You will be asked to upload financial documents to your new I-20/DS-2019 Application in iGlobal when applying for your initial I-20 or DS-2019.

Your financial documents must show the estimated average expenses for one academic year of your program. You can click here to find the estimated expenses for your academic program. You will need to show the stated amount in liquid funds for your program.

If you will bring dependents, you must provide additional funding of $9,000 for the first dependent and $4,500 for any additional dependents. 

Please be aware that if you do not submit acceptable documents showing the minimum amount of funding for the estimated expenses for your program, your application will be put on hold and an ISSS applications team member will contact you to request documentation for additional funding.

A financial sponsor is a friend or family member who will be paying for all or part of your education. You will need to upload your sponsor's financial documentation and provide his or her email address in the Financial Documentation stage of your I-20 or DS-2019 application. Your sponsor will then receive an email with detailed instructions for confirming the specifics of their support for you during your education.

If you have multiple financial sponsors, you may add more than one financial sponsor to the Financial Documentation stage of your application. You will need to complete one financial documentation form for each sponsor. After submitting your first form, you may return to the main page of your application, where you can see all the stages of your application. Below section five, titled Financial Documentation, a plus sign will appear with the words "Add 5. Financial Documentation." Click the plus sign to add financial sponsors.

You can look at the main page of your application and check the status of the Financial Documentation stage of your application. If your sponsor has not completed his or her part of the Financial Documentation stage, the word “Incomplete” will appear below the “Financial Documentation” heading.

The emails sent to financial sponsors provide detailed instructions for logging in to iGlobal and confirming the specifics of their sponsorship on your application.

The ISSS office provides average estimated expenses for each program at The New School. The amounts listed in the Estimated Expenses handouts are used to determine eligibility for an I-20 or DS-2019 and do not reflect the exact cost of your program. For detailed information on tuition and fees for your program, please refer to the Tuition, Fees & Billing website. ISSS cannot provide guidance on tuition and fees.

The ISSS office strongly recommends that all new students review the tuition and fees for their particular programs to ensure that they understand their financial responsibility for the duration of their studies at The New School.

You may use a scholarship or loan as financial documentation for your I-20 or DS-2019 application. The amount of your scholarship or loan can be deducted from the total amount of funding that you are required to show. You must submit documentation showing that your scholarship or loan has been approved. This documentation must clearly show your name, the date, and the amount.

If you are not able to provide the required documentation for your loan or scholarship at the time of application, it cannot be counted toward the required financial documentation.