The spouse and/or unmarried minor (under 21) children of an F-1 student may accompany the student to the United States or follow at a later date. The dependent family members will be admitted in F-2 status.

To qualify for eligibility, the spouse or unmarried minor child must establish to the satisfaction of the consular officer and the immigration officer at the port of entry that:

1. They are the spouse (marriage license) or child (birth certificate) of the F-1 principal
2. They have sufficient funds to cover his/her expenses, or that other arrangements have been made to provide for such expenses once in the United States.
3. They intend to leave the United States upon the termination of the status of the principal F-1 student

Each dependent will be issued their own visa documents, but the status of the dependents is always based upon the status of the principal F-1 student. The process of visa acquisition and port of entry procedures is similar for both principals and dependents. F-2 dependents may not accept employment nor engage in full-time (post-secondary) study.

Additional estimated expenses for family members accompanying a student to the United States are $7,000 USD for a spouse and $5,000 USD for each child.

NEW STUDENTS WITH DEPENDENTS

If you are planning to have your spouse and / or children accompany you to the United States, please communicate this to the Office of International Student Services before your own immigration documents are issued.  You will be able to submit copies of each dependent’s passport as well as financial documents including the dependent expenses with your Initial Form I-20 request.

CURRENT STUDENTS ADDING DEPENDENTS

If you would like your spouse and/or children to join you in the United States AFTER you have already arrived, you will need to submit the Add Dependent E-Form via iStart.  The Add Dependent E-Form will allow you to upload a copy of each dependent’s passport and proof of funding to cover your dependents.

Financial Information