{"id":2445,"date":"2026-04-24T14:07:46","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T18:07:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/isso\/?page_id=2445"},"modified":"2026-07-17T17:16:44","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T21:16:44","slug":"required-financial-documentation","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/isso\/international-students\/required-financial-documentation\/","title":{"rendered":"Required Financial Documentation"},"content":{"rendered":"<nav class=\"toc-wrapper\" id=\"toc\" aria-label=\"Page Section Navigation\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"toc-heading toc-nav-toggle\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Toggle Page Contents Navigation\" aria-expanded=\"true\">Page Contents<\/span><\/nav>\n<p>To issue an I-20 or DS-2019, Boston University must verify sufficient funding for tuition, fees, and living expenses as required by U.S. government regulation. New students must submit financial documentation covering the first academic year (or full program if under one year).<\/p>\n<p>BU publishes annual expense estimates used to review financial documentation. Your immigration document will reflect estimated costs, not your actual billed amount.<\/p>\n<h2>Funding Requirements by Student Type<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Undergraduate<\/strong>: See <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/admissions\/apply\/international\/\">Undergraduate Admissions<\/a> for requirements. For program extensions or return from a leave of absence, see the <a href=\"\/isso\/international-students\/required-financial-documentation\/undergraduate-estimate-of-expenses\/\">Estimate of Expenses<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Graduate<\/strong>: See the Estimate of Expenses for <a href=\"\/isso\/international-students\/required-financial-documentation\/graduate-estimate-of-expenses-charles-river-campus\/\">Charles River<\/a> and <a href=\"\/isso\/international-students\/required-financial-documentation\/estimate-of-graduate-expenses-medical-campus\/\">Medical Campus<\/a> programs.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Summer Term<\/strong>: Contact Summer Term at sumintl@bu.edu or visit their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/summer\/registration\/\">How to Register<\/a> page.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Non Degree:\u00a0<\/strong>Please contact your program<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>All financial documents must:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Show the minimum required amount in U.S. dollars<\/li>\n<li>Be dated within one year of your intended enrollment date<\/li>\n<li>Be written in English or provide an official translation<\/li>\n<li>Reflect readily available funds (checking or savings accounts). Stocks, salary documents, property holdings, and similar assets are not accepted.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>BU accepts scanned copies; however, we recommend obtaining originals for your visa interview and U.S. port of entry.<\/p>\n<h2>Acceptable Funding Sources &amp; Requirements<\/h2>\n<div class=\"bu_collapsible_container \" aria-live=\"polite\" data-customize-animation=\"false\"><h3 class=\"bu_collapsible\" aria-expanded=\"false\"tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">Funded by Family Member<\/h3><div class=\"bu_collapsible_section\" style=\"display: none;\"><\/p>\n<p>The prospective student must submit:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>A <a href=\"\/isso\/files\/2025\/07\/Sponsor-Cert-Form.pdf\">Sponsorship Certification Form<\/a> or letter of sponsorship confirming the sponsor&#8217;s willingness and ability to cover academic fees and living expenses for the full duration of study at BU, including the sponsor&#8217;s relationship to the applicant.<\/li>\n<li>An official bank letter or statement confirming available funds meeting the minimum estimated expenses listed on the Estimate of Expenses.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"bu_collapsible_container \" aria-live=\"polite\" data-customize-animation=\"false\"><h3 class=\"bu_collapsible\" aria-expanded=\"false\"tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">Funded by Company, Government, Organization, etc.<\/h3><div class=\"bu_collapsible_section\" style=\"display: none;\"><\/p>\n<p>The sponsor must submit a letter of sponsorship on official letterhead which states:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>The funding is valid specifically for Boston University.<\/li>\n<li>Total sponsorship amount or exactly which expenses will be covered (i.e., academic fees, living expenses, health insurance, financial support for family members, travel, etc.).<\/li>\n<li>The length of the financial support.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"bu_collapsible_container \" aria-live=\"polite\" data-customize-animation=\"false\"><h3 class=\"bu_collapsible\" aria-expanded=\"false\"tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">Funded by Bank Loan<\/h3><div class=\"bu_collapsible_section\" style=\"display: none;\"><\/p>\n<p>The prospective student must submit an official letter of certification from the lending institution indicating the specific amount for which they have been approved\/guaranteed.<\/p>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"bu_collapsible_container \" aria-live=\"polite\" data-customize-animation=\"false\"><h3 class=\"bu_collapsible\" aria-expanded=\"false\"tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">Funded by Self<\/h3><div class=\"bu_collapsible_section\" style=\"display: none;\"><\/p>\n<p>The prospective student must submit official documentation (a bank letter, bank statement or a credit reference from a bank) indicating the specific amount to support minimum estimate of expenses.<\/p>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"bu_collapsible_container \" aria-live=\"polite\" data-customize-animation=\"false\"><h3 class=\"bu_collapsible\" aria-expanded=\"false\"tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">Funded by Multiple Funding Sources<\/h3><div class=\"bu_collapsible_section\" style=\"display: none;\"><\/p>\n<p>The sources will be prioritized based on the following hierarchy:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Boston University funding (scholarship or stipend)<\/li>\n<li>Home government sponsorship<\/li>\n<li>Student Loan<\/li>\n<li>Personal Funds<\/li>\n<li>Family Funds<\/li>\n<li>Private Sponsor<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>If there is a significant change of your funding sources (25% or more), you can submit additional funding documentation to ISSO for review and request an updated I-20.<\/p>\n<p>While BU is only required to verify one year of financial support, consular officers may ask about funding for subsequent years. Be prepared to explain your full funding plan and bring supplemental financial documentation to your visa interview if possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To issue an I-20 or DS-2019, Boston University must verify sufficient funding for tuition, fees, and living expenses as required by U.S. government regulation. New students must submit financial documentation covering the first academic year (or full program if under one year). BU publishes annual expense estimates used to review financial documentation. Your immigration document [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10133,"featured_media":0,"parent":1537,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/isso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2445"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/isso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/isso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/isso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10133"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/isso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2445"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/isso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2445\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3650,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/isso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2445\/revisions\/3650"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/isso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1537"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/isso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}