South Florida Bible College & Theological Seminary, International Students

South Florida Bible College welcomes students from all countries of the world.

Our application deadlines for international students are as follows:

June 1 – Fall Term
Sept. 1 – Winter Term
Dec. 1 – Spring Term
April 1 – Summer Term

A deposit of $US4000 is required. This deposit is not due with the application. It is due after you receive your I-20, at the time you register for your first classes. This deposit must be paid in $US, drawn on a U. S. bank or by international money order. You will not be allowed to attend classes until the $US4000 deposit is paid.

Forms you will need to apply to South Florida Bible College are these: Application Form, Certification of Financial Responsibility, SEVIS Form, I-901 Form, and, in some cases, I-539 Form. To obtain these forms, contact our International Student Services Coordinator by phone: 800-432-1926 or 954-426-8652; or by fax: 954-480-9755; or by email: international@sfbc.edu. The forms can be mailed or emailed to you. Our catalog, which is available on this website, also contains an Application Form, which you can download.

How To Apply If You Are Already in the United States
In compliance with U. S. Immigration law, if you are already in the United States on a Tourist Visa (B-1) and wish to attend South Florida Bible College, please return all the items listed below to the International Student Services Coordinator. We must receive all items on or before the application deadlines listed above.

Completed Application Form.
$US310 for the application/registration/international student fees, non-refundable, this total includes a $US 200 processing fee, made payable to South Florida Bible College, paid in $US, drawn on a U. S. bank or by international money order. We cannot process your application until we receive the $US310.
Completed SEVIS Form.
Certification of Financial Responsibility, signed by both your sponsor and the applicant (you).
Official letter from your sponsor’s bank (showing how much money is in the account).
Official letter from your bank in the U. S. (showing that you have an account in the U. S. where funds can be received).
Personal letter from your sponsor, guaranteeing financial support for one year in the amount of $US18,340. (If you are bringing additional family members, add $US4500 for your spouse, and $US3500 for each child). If you are coming alone and are going to live with a relative, you need to have only $US13,340, but you must have a letter from the relative guaranteeing your living expenses.
Completed I-901 Form which gives authority to pay the I-901 Fee of $US100 by VISA, Master, or American Express Card.
Xerox copy of your passport pages with your picture and date of expiration.
Xerox copy of you I-94.

After receiving all of the above items, the International Student Services Coordinator (ISSC) will prepare an I-20 Form for you, which you will need to come here to sign. Using the credit card information you authorized on the I-901 Form, the ISSC will also pay your I-901 Fee on line, and print out an I-901 Receipt.

Then you have two choices:

You can take the I-20 and the I-901 Receipt to the American Embassy in your home country.
You can contact an immigration attorney here in the U. S. and have him send your papers to U. S. Immigration. The address the attorney should use is USCIS TSC, PO Box 851182, Mesquite, TX 75185-1182. For Fedex use this street address: USCIS TSC, 4141 St. Augustine Road, Dallas, TX 75227. If you choose to use an immigration attorney, you will also need to fill out an I-539 Form and buy a money order in the amount of $US 300, payable to INS. The immigration attorney will charge you a fee for his work. We do not know how much the fee is, nor if he will be able to expedite your documents in a timely way. We do not recommend any immigration attorneys. You will need to find an immigration attorney on your own. The documents INS needs are these: $US 300 money order, I-539, I-901 Receipt, I-20, passport pages with your picture, Certification of Financial Responsibility, sponsor letter, and letter from sponsor’s bank.

When U.S. Immigration receives your documents, they will send you a Notice of Receipt. This does not mean that you can attend school. It just means that they have received all your documents. To attend school, you must wait until you receive a Notice of Action, which will approve or disapprove your attendance. If approved, they will also send you your I-20, stamped in red ink.

Note that you may not work during your first year, and must take a full load of classes. For undergraduate students, those pursuing an AA or BA degree, a full load is four classes in the fall, winter, and spring terms. For the graduate students those pursuing an MA or Ph.D., a full load is three classes in the fall, winter, and spring terms. Attendance in the summer is not required if you have taken a full load in the fall, winter, and spring terms. If you are starting with the summer term as your first term, you need take only two classes.

How To Apply If You Are In Your Home Country
In compliance with U. S. Immigration law, if you are in your home country and wish to attend South Florida Bible College, please return all the items listed below to the International Student Services Coordinator. We must receive all items on or before the application deadlines listed above.

Completed Application Form.
$US310 for the application/registration/international student fees, non-refundable, this total includes a $US 200 processing fee, made payable to South Florida Bible College, paid in $US, drawn on a U. S. bank or by international money order. We cannot process your application until we receive the $US310.
Completed SEVIS Form.
Certification of Financial Responsibility, signed by both your sponsor and the applicant (you).
Official letter from your sponsor’s bank (showing how much money is in the account).
Official letter from your bank in the US (showing that you have an account in the US where funds can be received).
Personal letter from your sponsor, guaranteeing financial support for one year in the amount of $US18,340. (If you are bringing additional family members, add $US4500 for your spouse, and $US3500 for each child). If you are coming alone and are going to live with a relative, you need to have only $US13,340, but you must have a letter from the relative guaranteeing your living expenses.

Then the International Student Services Coordinator will prepare an I-20 Form for you and mail it to you. The International Student Services Coordinator will also enclose an I-901 Form and instructions for how to complete the form and pay the I-901 fee of $US100. After you receive a receipt of payment for the I-901 Fee, you will take the receipt and the I-20 to the American Embassy in your home country. Do not go to the Embassy until you have the I-901 receipt. You must take both the I-20 and the I-901 receipt with you.

A faster way to pay the I-901 Fee is that if you know anyone in the U. S. who has an American Express, Visa, or Master Card, that person can pay the fee for you. That person would fill out the I-901 form and give it to the International Student Services Coordinator, who would then pay the fee on line and print an I-901 receipt. The International Student Services Coordination would mail you the I-901 Receipt, together with the I-20. Doing it this way would save you about one month in time.

Note that you may not work during your first year, and must take a full load of classes. For undergraduate students, those pursuing an AA or BA degree, a full load is four classes in the fall, winter, and spring terms. For the graduate students those pursuing an MA or Ph.D., a full load is three classes in the fall, winter, and spring terms. Attendance is in the summer is not required if you have taken a full load in the fall, winter, and spring terms. If you starting with the summer term as your first term, you need take only two classes.

Students Who Wish To Transfer In from Another School in the U. S.
In compliance with U. S. Immigration law, an international student who wishes to transfer to South Florida Bible College from another school in the U. S. has 60 days to complete the transfer after his last semester ends at the other school. In addition to filling out an Application Form, he will also need to complete a Transfer Verification Report, and, if his financial information is more than six months old, he will need to prepare new financials, that is, a new Certificate of Financial Responsibility and all the accompanying documents it specifies. The $4000 deposit is not required, nor is the student required to pay a new I-901 fee.