More visa issues

I'm still not done with the visa, I still got to take the 50mm x 50mm photo and pay the USD 100 SEVIS fee.

Money money money. Grrr.

Anyway, because my sponsor is my dear brother, some question arose when I was in the preparations for the visa.

Here's an excerpt of the part I was wondering about.

There are no fixed rules for what kind of financial documents you need—you can submit anything that you think will help show that you have enough funds for your studies. Some examples include:

* Scholarships: Evidence from the school or organization providing the scholarship of any scholarship funds you are to receive, and any limitations or obligations related to those funds.
* Bank Documents: Passbooks or statements showing your current assets and recent transactions for at least the past several months. Letters from your bank or your sponsor's bank are also acceptable, but the letters should cite the accounts maintained, current balances and average monthly balances over the past year. A letter simply stating that the bank believes the sponsor is capable of supporting the applicant will not be useful for visa-application purposes.
* Sponsorship by Parents: If your parents are your sponsors, they should write a letter stating that they will provide support for your studies in the United States; they should also provide evidence of their assets and income, including current bank statements, and income tax assessment notices for the last two years (Inland Revenue Authority Form 4020 for Singapore residents).
* Sponsors Other Than Your Parents: Since parental sponsorship is by far the most common situation, if you are being sponsored by someone other than your parents, you may want to consider provide something more substantial than just a letter. Some applicants choose to have their sponsors complete notarized affidavits of support. If you do this, the affidavit should state specifically the relationship between the sponsor and the student and the kind of financial evidence used to demonstrate support. In addition, the sponsor should provide the same evidence of assets and income as a sponsoring parent.
* Loans: If you will be depending on loans to fund your U.S. education, you should be prepared to explain how you will repay the loans after you have left the United States and begun working.

So I'm not sure which category of sponsorship my brother lies in. My bro is part of my family and I don't really think he needs any kind of more substantial documents.

Therefore I sent an email to the embassy to enquire.

To whom it may concern

This is a question about the financial documents in applying for F-1 visa. My brother is my financial sponsor, so does he fall under 'Sponsors Other Than Your Parents'? If so, what documents will be substantial?

Thank you.

Regards
Erina Lim

And this is the reply I got.

Student Visas: Evidence of Financial Resources

All student visa applicants must demonstrate that they have financial resources sufficient for their studies. For F-1 applicants, this means you or your sponsors have sufficient funds immediately available to meet all expenses of the first year of study, as well as a sufficient income to provide funds for subsequent years of study. M-1 applicants must prove they have sufficient funds immediately available to cover the entire course of study, not just the first year.

There are no fixed rules for what kind of financial documents you need—you can submit anything that you think will help show that you have enough funds for your studies. Some examples include:

Scholarships: Evidence from the school or organization providing the scholarship of any scholarship funds you are to receive, and any limitations or obligations related to those funds.

Bank Documents: Passbooks or statements showing your current assets and recent transactions for at least the past several months. Letters from your bank or your sponsor's bank are also acceptable, but the letters should cite the accounts maintained, current balances and average monthly balances over the past year. A letter simply stating that the bank believes the sponsor is capable of supporting the applicant will not be useful for visa-application purposes.

Sponsorship by Parents: If your parents are your sponsors, they should write a letter stating that they will provide support for your studies in the United States; they should also provide evidence of their assets and income, including current bank statements, and income tax assessment notices for the last two years (Inland Revenue Authority Form 4020 for Singapore residents).

Sponsors Other Than Your Parents: Since parental sponsorship is by far the most common situation, if you are being sponsored by someone other than your parents, you may want to consider provide something more substantial than just a letter. Some applicants choose to have their sponsors complete notarized affidavits of support. If you do this, the affidavit should state specifically the relationship between the sponsor and the student and the kind of financial evidence used to demonstrate support. In addition, the sponsor should provide the same evidence of assets and income as a sponsoring parent.

Loans: If you will be depending on loans to fund your U.S. education, you should be prepared to explain how you will repay the loans after you have left the United States and begun working.
Regards,

Consular Section
US Embassy Singapore
Tel: +65-64769100
Fax: +65-64769232
http://singapore.usembassy.gov

They must be thinking I can't read. Forget it.