ADMISSION FAQ

1. Pay the $100 application fee.
2. Complete the financial statement form, or have the person sponsoring you complete the form. Send this form to us by fax, email attachment, or mail.
3. Read the top portion of our financial statement form. Send a copy of a bank statement that shows funds for the first year. If you have a sponsor, we need a copy of his or her bank statement showing proof of funds.
4. Fax, email, or mail a copy of the biographic page of your passport.
5. Pay the full tuition for your session.
6. We will contact you by email when we have processed your application. You will be given access to the admission tracking site, where you can see the documents we have received. You will be able to see the status of your I-20.

The Admission Tracking Site (ATS) is a web site that is linked with our records. When you submit your application, you will be sent an email that gives you a User ID number (a nine digit number that begins with 809) and a PIN number (a four digit number that is your password). You can access this site to see what documents we have received and what we need you to send. Whenever we receive documents or payments from you, we update the site, so it is much easier to look online than to call or email SAL.

An I-20 is an official government document that certifies the student is eligible to be an F-1 non-immigrant at SAL. We create an I-20 when a student pays the application fees and tuition and submits all the necessary documents. We then send it to you so that you can apply for an F-1 visa in your own country. You will need to sign the bottom. You can ONLY use the I-20 issued by SAL to enter the United States if you intend to study with us.

Once your file is complete and we have received all documents, we will then send you a tuition payment email. After we have received payment, it can take our office anywhere from 3-5 days to issue an I-20. The I-20 will then be mailed to you. You can choose either regular mail, which can take up to 2 weeks; or you may select DHL express service.

DHL express mail to major cities usually takes 2-3 business days. However, delivery to some cities may take 3-4 business days.

Please read the DHL information.

You will pay when you get here. Do not mail or wire transfer money for DHL to our office. If you request a tuition refund at a later date, we will deduct the DHL cost from your tuition payment.

Not necessarily. If you are in the US already with a different type of visa, you may not need an F-1 visa. Also, if you want to come for one of our short term (3 week) programs, you may do that on a tourist visa. Please contact us if you think that you don’t need an F-1 visa.

• Apply to SAL and provide all documents and fees. We will then issue your I-20 and mail it to you.
• For the visa process, you will need to make an appointment at the US embassy/consulate in your country. Please see the Visa Hints page to know exactly what you need to do.

Please see the Visa Hints page for information on the visa process.

1. Submit SAL’s online application. Indicate that you have an I-20 and put the SEVIS ID number in the box.
2. Pay the $100 application fee.
3. Submit all documents
   • Complete the financial statement form, or have the person sponsoring you complete the form. Send this form to us by fax, email attachment, or mail.
   • Send a copy of a bank statement that shows funds for the first year of your study. If you have a sponsor, we need a copy of his or her bank statement showing proof of funds.
   • Fax, email, or mail a copy of the biographic page of your passport.
   • Pay the full tuition for your session.
4. Print out a copy of our transfer form. Fill out the top section and give the form to your current school to complete the rest. They will send it to us.
5. Send a copy of your current I-20 and I-94 to our office.
6. We will then issue you a new I-20.
7. You will be given an appointment to come to the office and pick up your transfer I-20.
8. You will need to either show proof of acceptable health insurance or purchase the insurance that we offer in our office. Our health insurance requirements can be found here.

Yes. Your sponsor, or the person financially responsible, needs to fill out and sign the financial support form and submit it with proof of funds. The proof of funds must be in English and should not be older than 6 months from the start date of school.

Yes. The U.S. Homeland Security requires schools to collect proof of funds for the first year even if the student is not planning to study for a full year.  You must take the proof of funds to the U.S. Embassy where you will apply for an F-1 visa.

The recent U.S. government law requires all F-1 students and their dependents to apply for an F-1 visa in their country of citizenship or permanent residency. 

The recent U.S. Immigration law authorizes an F-1 visa student and their F-2 dependents to apply for an F-1 visa only 90 days prior to the start date of school and not earlier. Also, the same law permits F-1 students and their dependents to enter the U.S. NOT EARLIER than 30 days prior to the start date of school.

You must make an appointment with the U.S. Embassy in your place of residence and take your I-20, passport, and proof of financial support to apply for an F-1 visa. December, January, July and August are very busy months for the U.S. Embassies worldwide. Please make an appointment in advance. It is important to note that schools in the U.S. cannot guarantee that the U.S. Embassy will issue an F-1 visa for the purpose of study in the U.S.

The recent U.S. immigration policy requires all F-1 applicants to pay the $100 SEVIS fee. You must ask the U.S. Embassy how to pay this fee to them. Our office is unable to pay this fee on behalf of the students. You will need a SEVIS ID number and school code in order to pay this fee. Once we issue an I-20, your SEVIS ID number will automatically appear on the Admission Tracking Site.

If your F-1 visa is denied, please inform us in writing immediately. You will then be required to send us the original I-20. Once we receive the I-20, we can begin the full tuition refund process. Please note that for refunds there is a 10% financial processing fee (FPF), however this FPF is waived for students who are denied an F-1 visa. Please see our Tuition Refund Policy for more information.

1. Submit SAL’s online application.
2. Pay the $100 application fee.
3. Submit a copy of the biographic page of your passport and a copy of I-94.
4. We will then send you the tuition payment email.

New students must complete the dependent information which is part of their SAL online application.

Continuing Students (continuing students are those who are currently attending our school) must fax (408-924-2669) the following information to our office:

1. Student's first and middle name
2. Last name of each dependent
3. First and middle name of each dependent
4. Date of birth M/D/Y
5. Gender
6. Relationship to the student (child/spouse).
7. Country of birth of dependent
8. Country of citizenship of dependent

Dependent Documents:

All new and continuing students must fax the following documents in order for us to issue a dependent I-20:

1. Copy of biographic page of passport for EACH dependent
2. Additional proof of funds of at least $14,000 for EACH dependent
3. Completed and signed Financial Statement Form

An I-94 is the form that you complete when you arrive in the US. It shows your port of entry, the date of arrival, your name and country. It also has your admission number: which is your tracking number with U.S. Immigration. This form is usually stapled to your passport; it is very important that you do not lose it as you will need it when you leave the U.S. We will photocopy it for your file when you arrive in our office.