Middlebury Institute DS-2019 Application Instructions

Middlebury Institute DS-2019 Application Instructions 

Exchange students, who are non-U.S. citizens/non-U.S. permanent residents, must apply for a J-1 visa (non-degree student category) prior to entering the U.S. (Note: Citizens of Canada and Bermuda need a DS-2019 form issued by Middlebury, but not a visa). For Middlebury to issue your DS-2019 document, you must complete the DS-2019 Application.  These are instructions for completing the DS-2019 Application; the application itself is on the main New and Returning Students Forms and Resources page.

Once you begin the DS-2019 application, you must complete it. You cannot save it and come back. Therefore, make sure you have the following documents ready before starting the application form. 

Passport Identification Page  

This should clearly show the biographical page of your passport including your name, photo, date of birth, passport number, and passport expiration date. 

English Language Proficiency (ELP) Documentation

Exchange Visitor sponsors, including Middlebury, are required to verify English language proficiency before they can issue DS-2019s. You may have submitted a TOEFL or IELTS or other English Language test score with your Middlebury Institute application. You can provide a copy of that same document with the DS-2019 Application. For more information on why we must have this, please go to http://www.middlebury.edu/international/isss/visas/j-1/languageschoolselp.

Exchange students coming through a Middlebury College exchange: You likely had an English Language Proficiency oral interview with a Middlebury employee. In this case, please write “N/A” for the test date information.  In the upload field, please upload a word document that says, “Had oral interview with [insert name of person].”

Financial Documentation:  

U.S. immigration law requires official certification that you have the necessary financial resources to pay for your tuition, room, board, books, travel, and personal expenses for the entirety of your program in the U.S. 

Cost Overview 

To help you determine what financial documentation you need to provide, please refer to the cost chart sent to you in the visa launch email you received from ISSS.  If you have questions about these costs, please email isss@middlebury.edu. 

Financial documentation might include the following documents (or a combination of the documents):

• Exchange Program Financial Agreement 

If you are attending the Institute through an exchange program, you might have received a Financial Support Letter or other document that outlines the exchange agreement’s financial responsibilities between your home institution and Middlebury.  If you have not yet received any documentation yet, but understand or know which costs are covered through your exchange program agreement, you can subtract those costs from the total amount. The remainder is the amount you need to provide financial evidence for.  You will need to upload your Financial Support Letter or confirmation of the costs covered by the agreement with your DS-2019 application.

• Scholarship

If you received a tuition scholarship from Middlebury Institute or an external scholarship, subtract this amount of scholarship/grant from your full program cost to determine the amount you must show.  You will need to submit proof of your scholarship as part of your financial documentation.  Acceptable proof includes:

• A screenshot of your Middlebury financial aid award from your Applicant Dashboard,
• A Middlebury scholarship letter that includes your name and confirmation of the financial aid amount, or
• A signed letter on official letterhead from the organization providing the financial aid or scholarship that includes your name and the funding amount that will be provided.

• Bank Statement or Letter 

This is personal financial documentation to cover all costs of the program not covered by the terms of your exchange student agreement with Middlebury (and scholarships, if applicable). The person whose name is on the bank statement or letter must also submit a Financial Sponsorship Letter (see below). To determine how much you will need to show in personal financial documentation, see the cost chart in the email you received from Middlebury ISSS. Pay particular attention to the categories of books/supplies, insurance costs, and personal expenses. 

The bank statement or letter must: 

• Be written in English or have a certified word-for-word English translation attached
• Be dated no more than 6 months from the start of your program
• Be have official bank information/letterhead printed on the document
• Include the account holder’s name
• Indicate the type of account. Funds need to be immediately available, such as in a checking or savings account. Investments or restricted assets cannot be used to show financial support. (Certificates of Deposit need to mature and be available on or before the program start date.)
• Indicate the balance in the account(s)
• Indicate the currency of funds, preferably in U.S. dollars (USD, US $)
• Be signed by a bank official and/or stamped with the bank seal, if available

Signed Financial Sponsor Letter 

The account holder (i.e. the person/people in whose name the bank funds are held) must submit a letter that: 

• Declares that they, as your financial sponsor, intend to cover the program costs with the funds shown in the bank letter;
• Explains the relationship between the sponsor and you (parent, relative, spouse, friend, self, etc.);
• Includes the full name of the student (i.e., your full name);
• Includes a statement that the individual is willing to sponsor you for the duration of the program for a specified amount of money;
• Includes the date, the account holder’s name, and their original signature; and
• Is written in English, or has an English translation attached. 

If you are providing your own funds for your program, you must submit a letter using yourself as the financial sponsor (a self-sponsor letter).

Note: You do not need to submit a financial sponsor letter associated with official financial aid awards/scholarships or for loans that you are receiving, it is only needed in connection with personal banking financial documentation. 

Keep copies of all financial aid and related documents submitted to Middlebury with this application. The U.S. Embassy or Consulate may ask you to present this documentation when you apply for your visa and, in some cases, you may be asked to show them to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security when you enter the U.S. 

Sample Financial Sponsor Letter

Health Insurance:

You are required to have health insurance during your entire stay in the U.S. while in J-1 Exchange Visitor visa status. The insurance plan must meet the guidelines outlined in J-1 Insurance Information. 

To learn more, please review the insurance section located on the U.S. Department of State’s website at http://j1visa.state.gov/participants/how-to-apply/eligibility-and-fees/.

Middlebury Institute does not offer a student health insurance plan. We do provide resources to help you find a plan that will work best for you. For more information, visit: https://www.middlebury.edu/institute/student-life/health-wellness/insurance.

It is your responsibility to confirm with the health insurance provider that your selected plan meets the J-1 insurance criteria. 

After you submit the DS-2019 Application 

ISSS will work as promptly as we can to issue the DS-2019. We will not be able to honor requests to expedite, given our high-volume workload at this time of year. It is important that you submit your complete DS-2019 application as early as possible.   

Once the DS-2019 has been issued, ISSS will send your DS-2019 to your @middlebury.edu email address.  This email will include information on how to pay your I-901 SEVIS fee and how to schedule a visa appointment at a U.S. embassy or consulate. 

Prior to receiving the DS-2019, we recommend that you check the website of the nearest U.S. embassy/consulate to learn more about the visa application process, including the process for making an appointment. For visa application guidance and wait times for obtaining a nonimmigrant student visa in your country, visit https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/wait-times.html  

Upon receiving your Form DS-2019 from Middlebury, you should apply for a visa as soon as possible*. Applying for a visa can take one month or more, depending on the country. Additionally, if you are subject to administrative processing, the process could be delayed several weeks.  

*You may enter the United States in J-1 visa status no more than 30 days before your program start date, regardless of when you receive the DS-2019 or J-1 visa. Plan your travel accordingly. 

Questions: 

If you have any questions about this process, please contact International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) at isss@middlebury.edu