Student Registration and Immigration Procedures

Payment Schedule

Applicants must submit a non-refundable $100 Application Fee when applying to the program. Applications will not be reviewed until this fee has been received. View tuition and fees.

When the application has been reviewed, accepted applicants will be issued an official ELAP Letter of Acceptance (LOA). When University Programs receives confirmation of enrollment by the student and the $500 Program Deposit, an official I-20 form will be issued to the applicant. With the LOA, applicants will be able to submit a request for a student visa from the U.S. embassy or consulate in their area. The $500 Program Deposit is only refundable under certain conditions including “Denial of Student Visa”. There are no refunds or transference of tuition or fees after the Program Start Date unless a student visa is denied.

If an applicant fails to make any payments, University Programs will consider the student withdrawn from the program and will inform the U.S. Department of Homeland Security of this withdrawal.

Rejected Applicants

Applicants who are not accepted into the ELAP program will be notified in writing. The $100 Application Fee is non-refundable.

Denial of Student Visa

In cases where the U.S. embassy or consulate has denied the applicant a Student (F-1) Visa, USF will refund the Program Fees if the following two conditions are met:
USF is notified at least 15 days before the Program Start Date that the student has been denied a Student Visa;

AND

USF receives the following documents within 15 days after the student visa is denied (1) the original written documentation from the U.S. embassy or consulate verifying that the Student Visa has been denied and (2) the original Letter of Acceptance (LOA).

Deferral

Applicants may request a deferral to another Program Start Date by submitting a deferral request in writing to USF up to and including 15 days prior to the applicant’s scheduled start date; otherwise, the applicant will be responsible for paying the housing placement fee and the first term housing fee of the initially admitted quarter. USF will then issue a new Letter of Acceptance and Form I-20 for admission for a later start date. Deferral will be offered only once to each applicant. Applicants who defer to a later program with higher Tuition and Fees will be required to pay the corresponding Tuition and Fees.

Refund Policy

Please Note: Student paying tuition means the student agrees to the refund policy as outlined below:

A. APPLICATION FEES

  • A non-refundable Application Fee of USD $100 will apply to all enrollment applications made to USF.

B. TUITION AND FEES FOR STUDENTS WHO HAVE APPLIED TO USF

  • All Refund requests must be made in writing by the international student.
  • In cases where the U.S. embassy or consulate has denied the applicant a Student (F-1) Visa, USF will refund 100%* of tuition fees except administration fees, if the following two conditions are met:
    • ELAP is notified at least 15 days before the Program Start Date that the student has been denied a Student Visa;
    • ELAP receives within 15 days after the Student Visa is denied (1) the original written documentation from the U.S. embassy or consulate verifying that the Student Visa has been denied and (2) the original Letter of Acceptance (LOA) issued by USF.

REFUNDS MAY TAKE UP TO 4-6 WEEKS TO PROCESS.

Any other requests for tuition refunds other than the failure to obtain a Student Visa by the U.S.A. Embassy will not be considered.