# Calculating Funding

**Source**: https://isss.illinois.edu/students/employment/calculating-funding/
**Parent**: https://isss.illinois.edu/students/

Some requests in iSTART ask for students to verify funding sources for their expenses. For some requests, students may also be asked to submit proof of funding.

## Expenses

Expenses on your I-20 or DS-2019 may include the following:

- Tuition and fees
- Living expenses
- Dependent expenses (spouse and children)

## Funding

Funding is usually calculated for one year for F-1 students and for the duration of the program for J-1 students. Information about the required expenses for a student’s program is available in the specific e-form. Students can also contact the [Office of the Registrar](https://registrar.illinois.edu/) for more information about expenses.

### General Guidelines for all funding Documents

- Funding should be liquid
- Proof of funds document should have been issued in the last 6 months
- Proof of funds should be in USD (if this is not possible, ISSS will use a conversion based on the current exchange rate)
- Documents should be in English (if this is not possible, please contact ISSS)

#### Additionally for bank statements:

- Should clearly state account holder’s name
- Should show account number

#### Additionally for letters from departments (assistantships, etc.):

- Should be on unit letterhead and dated
- Should clearly show name and signature of person who signed form
- If appointment is renewable, this should be clearly indicated in the letter. Otherwise, ISSS will only be able to calculate funding for the time period listed in the letter
- Should either have a monthly or yearly stipend/salary listed

  - If monthly, make sure the letter also indicates how many months out of the year the student is paid (i.e. 9,11,12)

### Calculating Funding on OPT

If you need to update the funding on your I-20 while on OPT and will be using “employer funds”, please submit an employment letter (not earnings statement):

- On employer letterhead
- Include dates of employment
- Include annual salary (preferred) or monthly salary

**If uploading multiple sources of funding into the iSTART e-form, please combine documents into *one* PDF document to upload.**