Welcome New Students
We hope to make the process of obtaining a visa document as stressless as possible.
The first step in obtaining a visa document is to determine whether you wish to obtain F-1 status or J-1 status. The vast majority of students at U.Va. choose F-1 status since J-1 status is only available to certain students and often comes with a two-year home residency requirement. A chart that provides some basic information on each classification may be found here.
Once you have made a decision on the visa status you prefer, you should complete the appropriate Form I-20/Form DS-2019 Request Packet:
Graduate Student Form I-20/Form DS-2019 Request Packet
Undergraduate Student Form I-20/Form DS-2019 Request Packet
Summer Session Student Form I-20/Form DS-2019 Request Packet (for Summer Session students only)
Contained in this packet is our Financial Guarantee Form (FGF), which you will use to demonstrate that you have sufficient financial support to attend U.Va. This packet is only for those students intending to be in either F-1 or J-1 status. Do not submit this form if you do not require visa documents from UVa.
PLEASE SEND YOUR REQUEST PACKET TO YOUR ADMISSION OFFICE.
Importantly, all incoming students should forward their visa document request materials to their admission office unless specifically instructed to send the materials directly to the International Studies Office. For a list of admission offices addresses, please click here.
In addition to the FGF, we will need to review original documents which confirm that the funding outlined in the FGF exists for your first year of study and will be available for all subsequent years of study.
Many graduate students will receive funding from their department. Please indicate the amount of funding you will receive on the FGF, as well as a copy of the award letter from the department.
The FGF itself contains the Affidavit of Support. This form is often completed by a family member sponsor to confirm that he or she will support the incoming student. Importantly, every Affidavit of Support must be accompanied by evidence that the sponsor has the capability to provide all of the promised funds.
If a bank statement or bank letter is available from the sponsor to demonstrate that all promised funds for all years of study are already available, that will be sufficient. If a bank statement of this size is not available we will need to see confirmation that the sponsor will earn income in the coming years sufficient to provide the promised support. To demonstrate this, a letter from the sponsor's employer that confirms employment and income in addition to evidence of assets will be required.
Please provide a copy of your passport identity page, as visa documents, when issued, must correspond precisely to your legal name as it is entered on your passport.