J-1 Exchange Visitors and their dependents must provide evidence of sufficient funding to cover their living, medical insurance, and personal expenses for the duration of the program. The minimum monthly funding requirement is:

$2,000/month for the exchange visitor, $1,000/month for the accompanying spouse, and $500/month for each accompanying child.

The Exchange Visitor should understand the high cost of living in the U.S., in particular in the Silicon Valley area.

Sources of Funding and Required Documentation

Funding Provided by SJSU

The invitation letter from the host department must include detailed information about the financial support that will be provided (salary, grant, fellowship) including the amount of funding in U.S. dollars and the period during which it will be provided.

Other Funding

The visiting scholar must provide official documentation on organizational letterhead, written in English, and specifying the funding amount in U.S. dollars. Funding documents must be issued within the past 6 months.

Examples of this type of funding include government funding from the exchange visitor’s home country, an international organization, other organizations, employer salary from the exchange visitor’s home country, a foreign university salary, or scholarships and fellowships.

Personal Funds

Exchange visitors using personal funds must provide a personal bank account letter on bank letterhead, written in English, and specifying the account balance in U.S. dollars. Bank documents must be issued within the past 6 months.

If the financial sponsor is a family member, in addition to the sponsor's bank documents the exchange visitor must submit a sponsorship letter written in (or translated to) English, signed and dated by the financial sponsor.