RESOURCES

F-1 and J-1 Students Bringing Dependents to the U.S.

Students in F-1 or J-1 status may request documentation from Old Dominion University which will allow the spouse and/or dependent children to join them in F-2 or J-2 status. There are a variety of Immigration laws and University policies which guide the issuance of this form. You may download the request form here.

The request for the visa document takes seven business days to be processed as long as there are no holds. If you have insurance or registration holds (e.g. parking fine, Accounts Receivables), the form cannot be issued. Therefore, please be sure to have all holds taken care of before submitting the request. If you are a new student, your visa document will not be issued until two months after the beginning of the semester.

Before your requested document can be issued, you must meet with an ISSS advisor.

Financial Support
You must show that you have sufficient financial support to cover the expenses of the dependents for the entire period you will be in the United States. As an I-20 or DS-2019 for dependents is issued for the same length of time as it is for the principal student or scholar, we must insure that all necessary expenses can be paid for during this entire time period. Please refer to the chart below to determine how much funding we will need to see in order to continue processing your I-20 request.  Your financial documentation should be less than six months old and a more recent bank statement may be required. If you have a sponsor, s/he must sign an affidavit that s/he agrees to guarantee the costs for the dependents as well.  

Dependents	Living Expenses	Insurance for All (including student)	Total Funding Needed for Undergraduates	Total Funding Needed for Graduate without Assistantship	Total Funding Needed for Graduate with Assistantship & In-State Tuition	Total Funding Needed for Graduate with Assistantship & Tuition Waiver
Spouse	$2,300	$2,400	$33,100	$29,000	$20,200	$14,100
Spouse & 1 child	$4,400	$3,420	$36,220	$32,120	$23,320	$17,220
Spouse & 2 children	$6,200	$3,420	$36,420	$34,220	$25,420	$19,320
Spouse & 3 children	$8,600	$3,420	$40,420	$36,320	$27,520	$21,420
Spouse & 4 children	$10,700	$3,420	$42,520	$38,420	$29,620	$23,520
1 child & no spouse	$2,100	$1,620	$32,120	$28,020	$19,220	$13,120
2 children & no spouse	$4,200	$1,620	$34,220	$30,120	$21,320	$15,220
3 children & no spouse	$6,300	$1,620	$36,320	$32,220	$23,420	$17,320
4 children & no spouse	$8,400	$1,620	$38,420	$34,320	$25,520	$19,420

Health Insurance
All dependents must have continuous health insurance coverage. Failure to purchase coverage meeting the requirements (same as those for students) will result in your being in violation of University and, in some cases, federal regulations. Please contact ISSS to obtain more information about health insurance for your family.

Employment
F-2 visa holders may not work under any circumstances. J-2 dependents may apply for work permission from Immigration; however, any income from this employment may not be used as a source of support for the J-1. ISSS can help with the initial employment request.

Attending School
Should an F-2 decide to become a student, s/he will have to switch to F-1 status. ISSS will help with this application. Conversely, J-2s may be degree-seeking students. For dependents who would like to improve their English, ISSS and the Applied Linguistics program offer a free class for spouses (and adult family members). ISSS will announce information on class times and locations in ISSS News and on the listservs. Some local churches also have free English classes; again, these will be announced.

Current Records
Within one week of their arrival, your dependents must bring their passports, I-94 cards and the visa document they used to enter the country to the ISSS office. We need to make photocopies of these items in order to maintain current records of their status. In addition, any time any of these documents is updated (e.g. passport extended, new visa obtained), you need to bring them by for copying.