PREPARING YOUR FINANCES FOR FALL 2012
Banking in the U.S.
Requirements to open a bank account vary with different institutions, but generally you are required to have a local address and identification (passport, student ID, etc) in order to open a bank account in the U.S. Some banks may require a Tax ID or Social Security number either before you open an account or within a certain period of time. We maintain a list of local banks which allow opening accounts without a social or ITIN.
Social Security versus Tax ID #s (ITIN)
For a Social Security Number, you must already have a job lined up and have been in the U.S. 10 business days before the Social Security Administration can clear you for the Social Security Number. We anticipate having a representative from Social Security on-campus during the Activity Fairs and one visit in September to help with this. If you don’t have a job, you can get a denial letter from the Social Security personnel to get the Tax ID Number (ITIN). If you do have an on-campus job, you must bring the following with you on the date the Social Security representative comes:
• All your original immigration documentation (Passport, Visa, I-94 card, and I-20 or DS-2019)
• Photocopies of your biographical page from the passport, visa, both side of your I-94 card (this is the little white card that you get when traveling into the U.S.), and a copy of your I-20 or DS-2019.
o Verification letter from employer endorsed by a Designated School official from the IRSS office. This form can be downloaded from our website at www.uab.edu/international under ISSS Forms entitled “Student On-Campus Employment Verification Form”. Page one of this form must be completed by your on-campus employer and page 2 by the ISSS office prior to the Activity Fairs.
Bringing Tuition, Fees and Living Expenses
If you are bringing your tuition money, make a bank draft in U.S. currency payable to “UAB” or “The University of Alabama at Birmingham”. You can also wire your fees via Peer Transfer, use a credit card, or pay with traveler’s checks.
For tuition, 50% of your tuition and fees is due 10 days before classes starts (August 6th for those who register before that date). Those who register within 9 days of school will need to pay 50% the day they register (you can find more exact information at www.uab.edu/whentopay ). Additionally, you will be billed for the 1st half of your insurance in the Fall and the remainder to be billed in the Spring term ($1704 for the annual cost of insurance—in 2 bi-annual payments of $852 – Student starting in Spring are charged $852 + 282 for Summer). The remainder of your fees will be due on August 23rd. It is highly recommended you bring sufficient tuition/fees for the first semester. You can look at your I-20 for estimated costs based upon a minimum number of hours (12 credits for undergraduate/9 for graduate). If you plan to take more than the minimum number of hours, then you should anticipate the increases based on the cost per credit hour depending upon your program (you should refer to the website for your program to determine the cost per credit hour). To help you prepare for future terms, there are options for a monthly pre-payment plan. Information links are available on the www.uab.edu/whentopay website.
For those students living off-campus, for initial living expenses we recommend at least $3,000 because you will have to pay for rent, books, food, basic house supplies, etcetera when you are getting your living arrangements settled. If you are living on-campus, your meal plan and housing rent will have to be paid all at once with your 1st tuition payment.
We highly recommend that you bring any living expenses or spending money in small denominations of traveler’s checks so you can easily use them until the time you can open a bank account. This is also good for your safety.
If you are receiving an assistantship or scholarship, you will still need the living expenses because it takes several weeks to process your paperwork for payroll through the University after you have received your Social Security Number.
Any questions, email international@uab.edu.
Wiring Your Money/Peer Transfer
We are pleased to inform you of our recent partnership with peerTransfer Corporation to offer you an innovative way to make international tuition payments. Developed with you – the international student – in mind, peerTransfer offers a simple, secure and cost-effective method for transferring and processing payments in international currencies.
By offering favorable conversion rates unmatched by larger financial institutions, peerTransfer enables you to save a significant amount of money on your payments to us. And, because peerTransfer captures all of your student information at the time of payment, you are given peace-of-mind that your payment can be quickly and accurately credited to your account. The student dashboard will allow you to track where your payment is in the transfer process. Additionally, peerTransfer will send you a confirmation email as soon as the payment has been deposited into our bank account.
We encourage you to use peerTransfer for your next payment to us. We are confident you will find the process to be simple and the student dashboard a valuable tool. You can find them by visiting uab.peertransfer.com.
Click or go to: uab.peertransfer.com to begin the payment process.
• To get started, select the country from which your funds will be coming from and the payment amount (in US dollars) you wish to make to your student bill.
• In most cases, the US dollar amount will be converted into your home currency at preferential exchange rates, which will translate into savings for you.
• After providing some basic information, you will visit your bank (via phone, online or in person) to send funds from your local bank to peerTransfer.
• peerTransfer will then convert the funds to U.S. dollars and forward the US dollar amount to University of Alabama at Birmingham where it will be directly credited to your student billing account.
• Through the peerTransfer student dashboard you will be able to track where your payment is in the transfer process.
• You will receive an email confirmation when your payment is deposited into (Insert School)’s bank account.
• No matter your time zone, you will have a dedicated multilingual customer support team available to you -reachable 24/7 via live chat, Skype, email and phone to answer any of your questions.
We are pleased to offer you this exciting new option to help lower your total payment and simplify the process for you.
If you prefer to wire your tuition/fees/living expenses (for those living on-campus) you should use the following instructions:
Bank: ACH Information
Regions Bank
P.O. Box 11007
Birmingham, AL 35222
Routing#: 062000019, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Account#: 00-0065463
PLEASE REFERENCE THAT THE MONEY IS FOR STUDENT TUITION & FEES AND INCLUDE STUDENT’S NAME, ID #, AND THAT INTERNATIONAL SCHOLAR & STUDENT SERVICES NEEDS TO BE CONTACTED.
SWIFT Code: UPNBUS44 (International Transfers only)
Please place an identifier in the reference field to identify who the money belongs to.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham
STUDENTS ON GOVERNMENT, ORGANIZATIONAL, OR FOUNDATION FUNDING
If you are funded by the U.S. government, your home government, home institution, or other foundational support, you must make sure you have a bursars/financial aid agreement turned into UAB at last 30 days prior to school in order for proper billing to occur. If this information has not been turned into the Student Accounting office, then you may be subject to late fees.
