F-1 students may invite their spouse and\/or unmarried children under the age of 21 to join them in the United States under F-2 dependent status. This page provides an overview of the eligibility criteria, status limitations, and instructions for requesting an I-20 for your dependents.<\/p>\n
You may request F-2 status for:<\/p>\n
Parents, siblings, extended family, and fianc\u00e9s do not qualify for F-2 status. They must enter the U.S. under another visa category (e.g., B-2 visitor visa).<\/p>\n
F-2 dependents are subject to strict limitations set by U.S. immigration law:<\/p>\n
Employment:<\/strong><\/p>\n Study:<\/strong><\/p>\n In order to issue an I-20 for each F-2 dependent, F-1 students must provide proof of additional financial support of at least $5,000 per dependent, per year.<\/p>\n Acceptable documents include (Financial documents cannot be more than 3 months old):<\/p>\n Log in to the International Student Portal<\/p>\n Navigate to the Student Request Center and click on \"F-2\u00a0Dependent\u00a0I-20 Request\"<\/p>\n Complete the Request Form<\/p>\n Submit the Application<\/p>\n Once approved, you will be notified to download the I-20 from the portal. The I-20 can then be used to apply for an F-2 visa at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad<\/a> or to apply for a Change of Status in the U.S.<\/p>\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n <\/div>\n If your spouse or child is currently in the U.S. under another nonimmigrant status and wishes to change to F-2 without leaving the country, they must submit an application to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).<\/p>\n Submit a request for an F-2 I-20 through the International Student Portal<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n Prepare and submit a Change of Status application Online to USCIS.<\/p>\n Include required documentation:<\/p>\n Filing fee (see USCIS website for current fee<\/a>).<\/p>\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n Submit your application before the current status expires.<\/p>\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n <\/div>\n Important:<\/strong> The change of status process can take several months. Dependents must maintain their current legal status while the application is pending.<\/p>\n Not all non-immigrant visa holders are eligible to change to F-2 status. Before proceeding, please review the following information about statuses that do and do not allow change of status in the U.S. You are not eligible for a change of status if:<\/p>\n No. Employment is not permitted for F-2 dependents under any circumstance<\/p>\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n No. F-2 spouses may only take part-time or recreational courses. To study full-time, they must apply to change to F-1 status.<\/p>\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n You must show at least $5,000 per year for each dependent.<\/p>\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n Yes. You can request an F-2 I-20 at any point during your F-1 program by submitting the request through the International Student Portal.<\/p>\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n No. Children must change their status before their 21st birthday to remain in the U.S. legally.<\/p>\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n <\/div>\n If you have questions about F-2 dependents or the application process, please contact:<\/p>\n Center for Global Learning (CGL) F-1 students may invite their spouse and\/or unmarried children under the age of 21 to join them in the United States under F-2 dependent status. This page provides an overview of the eligibility criteria, status limitations, and instructions for requesting an I-20 for your dependents. Who Qualifies as an F-2 Dependent? You may request F-2 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1293,"featured_media":0,"parent":258,"menu_order":10,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1229","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/global-learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1229","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/global-learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/global-learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/global-learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1293"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/global-learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1229"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/global-learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1229\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1242,"href":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/global-learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1229\/revisions\/1242"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/global-learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/global-learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nFunding Requirements<\/h3>\n
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\nProcessing Time<\/h3>\n
\n
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\nHow to Request an I-20 for an F-2 Dependent<\/h3>\n
\n
\n
\n
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\nApplying for a Change of Status to F-2<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\nNot Eligible to Change Status to F-2<\/h3>\n
\n
\nFrequently Asked Questions (FAQs)<\/h3>\n
\nContact Us<\/h3>\n
\nAddress:\u00a0<\/em>2641 John F. Kennedy Boulevard, Lee House
\nJersey City, NJ 07306
\nPhone:\u00a0<\/em>201-761-7190 Email:\u00a0<\/em>iss@saintperters.edu<\/a>
\nAppointment Links:\u00a0\u00a0https:\/\/bit.ly\/CGLappt<\/a>\u00a0 OR\u00a0\u00a0https:\/\/bit.ly\/CGLappt2<\/a>
\nHours of Operation<\/strong>
\nMonday \u2013 Friday: 9am \u2013 5pm
\n*The CGL is closed on weekends and most national holidays.*<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"