I am requesting a US J-1 visa as a exchange visitor for the time of 1 year. I have a fellowship in my home country that will pay me for the time I will be in the US. As part of the application, I am being asked for financial documents that proves I will have enough money to live in the US during my stay. They describe the documents requirements as
Home Government Funds and *Other Organization Funds. Certificate or letter (signed and on letterhead) from funding organization required
- Date of issue
- Document must be no more than three months old.
- Scholar’s name
- Amount of funding
- Amount need not be listed in U.S. dollars, but type of currency must be clear.
- Duration of funding, or confirmation that funding will be provided throughout scholar’s stay at the University of Illinois
- If specific validity dates are listed in letter, program dates must fall within that time frame, or additional funding documentation will be required
The problem is: They give me a document which contains all the above information, but it is not signed (but it is on letterhead). And they are not being cooperative in giving me a signed document. To make matters worse, I am running out of time, since the start of the fellowship is by the end of next January.
Giving the issue, I am thinking about workarounds. My wife (who will be travelling with me in a J-2 visa) will be keeping her job in our home country as she works remotely. Her salary is bigger than the minimum they request for "personal sponsors". She also has a letter from her company (in English) stating her annual salary.
The question: since she will be travelling with me, would such letter be acceptable as a proof that we have the necessary money to live in the US? I am afraid of looking as she wants to illegally "work in the US" - which would not be the case, since the company she is working for would be in our home country. Of course, I would also include a notarized letter signed by her stating that she is regularly employed in our home country, that her work is remote and that she would be responsible for financing our stay.