Some U.S. colleges require a financial sponsor's affidavit or sponsorship form to be notarized, while others use signed financial certification without a general notary requirement. The institution's current international-student instructions control.
Published and reviewed by iRemoteNotary
Last reviewed September 7, 2026
Sometimes. U.S. schools enrolling F-1 or other qualifying international students must verify financial support under applicable immigration and school requirements, but there is no single college sponsorship form or universal notarization rule. Each institution decides what financial documents and sponsor certifications it requires.
Jefferson Community and Technical College requires sponsors to submit a notarized or otherwise authenticated Affidavit of Sponsorship. Montgomery College requires the signature of a financial sponsor residing outside the United States to be notarized, while saying the student does not notarize the student's own signature. Other institutions use different certification procedures. Follow the current instructions from the school issuing or updating the student's immigration document.
International students are commonly required to show that sufficient funds are available to cover tuition, fees, living costs, and other estimated expenses before a school issues immigration documentation such as Form I-20.
When someone other than the student is providing the money, the school may ask the sponsor to complete an affidavit of financial support, affidavit of sponsorship, sponsor certification, financial-support declaration, or similarly named form.
The word "affidavit" does not create one nationwide notarization rule. Some universities require notarization. Some require a signature and bank evidence without a notarial certificate. Others distinguish between sponsors inside and outside the United States.
Common evidence may include:
Schools authorized to enroll F-1 and M-1 students have responsibilities connected to the student's financial ability to pursue the program.
Federal SEVP regulations refer to documentary evidence of financial support associated with the amount shown on the student's Form I-20. The school determines how the student documents that support within its process.
Notarization is only one possible requirement within that larger financial-documentation process.
No universal rule should be stated that way.
Federal immigration and SEVP requirements establish the need for adequate financial evidence in applicable cases. The school, however, supplies the institutional process and often the specific sponsor form.
That means the federal or immigration issue is whether the student must demonstrate required financial support. The institutional issue is which forms and evidence the college or university will accept for its I-20 or related process. The notarization issue is whether the school's specific instructions require a sponsor's signature to be notarized or otherwise authenticated.
Do not treat a notary as the authority that determines whether the student has sufficient financial resources for admission or Form I-20 issuance.
Form I-134, Declaration of Financial Support, is a federal U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services form. USCIS states that Form I-134 is used to agree to provide financial support to a beneficiary of certain immigration benefits for the duration of their temporary stay in the United States.
USCIS states that Form I-134 must be signed using the signer’s full name under penalty of perjury under U.S. law. For that reason, USCIS states that the signer does not need to sign Form I-134 in front of a notary or have the signature notarized after signing.
A college, university, exchange program, scholarship provider, or other institution may use a different sponsor certification, affidavit of financial support, affidavit of sponsorship, or similarly named school form. Those institution-specific forms may have their own signature, witness, or notarization instructions.
Do not treat Form I-134 and a school financial-support affidavit as interchangeable. Do not recommend notarizing Form I-134 as a USCIS requirement. If a school’s own current form requires notarization, follow that school’s instructions for that school form.
Read how sworn affidavits may be notarized online when a form actually requires a notarial act.
Current official college instructions provide useful examples of how different these requirements can be.
| Institution | Current approach | What it demonstrates |
|---|---|---|
| Jefferson Community and Technical College | Its financial-documentation instructions require sponsored students to submit a notarized Affidavit of Sponsorship. Each sponsor must notarize or otherwise authenticate the affidavit and provide supporting financial documentation. | Some colleges expressly require sponsor notarization. |
| Montgomery College | Its current instructions state that a financial sponsor residing outside the United States must use its Non-U.S. Resident Affidavit of Financial Support and the sponsor's signature must be notarized. The same page says students using their own funds do not need to notarize their own signature. | Requirements can vary even within the same institution depending on who is signing. |
| UMass Dartmouth | Its international-student Affidavit of Support page says the form must be accompanied by official bank statements and notarized signatures. | Some universities directly incorporate notarization into sponsor certification. |
| American University | Its current Certification of Finances process permits specified official digital signatures or a scanned wet signature and does not state a general notary requirement for the CFIS signature itself. It separately notes notarized English translations when applicable. | Not every university financial-support certification uses notarization. |
| The Ohio State University | Its Affidavit of Financial Support form contains sponsor signature fields and supporting bank-document requirements without a notarial certificate in the current published form. | An "Affidavit of Financial Support" title does not by itself prove notarization is required. |
These examples should never be generalized into rules for every institution. The student's own college or university instructions control.
Depending on the institution, a sponsor may be:
A financial sponsor is the person or organization promising some or all of the financial support used in the school's documentation.
Some institutions permit multiple sponsors. If multiple sponsors are used, the school may require a separate affidavit or financial evidence for each sponsor. Do not combine sponsor names, bank statements, or signature blocks unless the institution's form permits it.
An overseas sponsor can create additional signing and identity questions.
The school may accept a U.S. remote online notarization, accept a local foreign notarization, require consular or other authentication, prescribe a particular form, require an original or specific document format, or impose different rules based on sponsor location.
Montgomery College, for example, has a specific affidavit for financial sponsors residing outside the United States and requires that sponsor's signature to be notarized. That does not mean another university uses the same process.
Before scheduling a RON session, determine exactly what the student's school will accept.
Learn about international online notary services for overseas sponsors.
Potentially, when the passport is supported by the identity-verification technology and the proposed online-notary workflow is otherwise appropriate.
For supported iRemoteNotary international sessions, identity verification is built around supported government-issued identification, credential analysis, and biometric identity verification.
An international sponsor is not required to have a U.S. Social Security number, U.S. credit history, a U.S. driver's license, or to pass U.S.-based KBA. A supported foreign passport may be usable.
Learn when a foreign passport may be used for online notarization of a U.S. document.
Read whether international signers need a U.S. Social Security number for online notarization.
This distinction should be explicit. The online notary verifies the signer and performs the requested notarial act.
The notary does not determine whether the bank statement is authentic, whether funds are sufficiently liquid, whether the amount satisfies the school's estimate, whether the sponsor can actually provide support, whether the student qualifies for Form I-20, or whether the visa will be issued.
The university's international office or other responsible school official evaluates the financial documentation. The notarial act is not financial verification.
Download the current financial-support or sponsorship document directly from the college or university.
Determine whether the student, sponsor, multiple sponsors, or an institutional representative has a required signature.
Do not infer the requirement solely from the word "affidavit."
Prepare the bank letters, statements, income evidence, scholarship records, or other documentation separately required by the school.
If the form says the sponsor must sign before a notary or under oath, wait for the notary session.
Ask the college or university whether it accepts remote online notarization and the resulting electronic format.
For an overseas sponsor using the supported international workflow, complete credential analysis and biometric verification.
The commissioned online notary performs the requested act under the law governing the notary's commission.
The school may require the affidavit, bank evidence, translations, supporting sponsor records, and other documentation through a specific portal or process.
Common problems include:
Investigate another method when:
The school's international-student office should resolve institutional financial-document questions.
Send the unsigned school form, sponsor location, and the institution's instructions so the requested notarization can be reviewed before scheduling.
No. Requirements vary by college, university, sponsor type, and form. Some schools explicitly require notarized sponsor signatures, while others use signed financial-certification forms without a general notary requirement. Follow the institution issuing the student's financial-document instructions.
Federal rules require applicable students to demonstrate financial support, but schools establish their own documentation processes. Notarization requirements can therefore come from the institution's specific sponsor form rather than one universal federal sponsorship form.
No. Form I-134 is a USCIS Declaration of Financial Support. USCIS states that it is signed under penalty of perjury and does not need to be notarized. A college or university may use a different sponsor affidavit or financial-certification form with its own signature or notarization instructions. Follow the current instructions for the exact form being submitted.
Potentially, if the institution accepts remote online notarization and the sponsor can complete the supported international identity-verification process. Confirm the school's document-format requirements before signing.
Potentially. A supported foreign passport may be used when the identity-verification technology can successfully analyze the credential and complete the required biometric verification.
No. The notary performs the requested notarial act and verifies the signer under applicable procedures. The school evaluates bank records, financial sufficiency, sponsorship evidence, and its requirements for issuing immigration documentation.
Not when the form instructs the sponsor to sign before a notary or contains an oath or jurat requiring the signing to occur as part of the notarial procedure. Review the school's form first.
Yes. The institution may still reject an outdated form, insufficient financial evidence, incorrect sponsor information, an unacceptable document format, missing translations, or a notarization method it does not accept.
The following primary sources support the legal and procedural information in this guide. Requirements can change, so confirm current rules with the receiving organization before relying on a notarized document.
I-134, Declaration of Financial Support(opens in a new tab)
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Accessed September 7, 2026
SEVP Governing Regulations for Students and Schools(opens in a new tab)
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — Student and Exchange Visitor Program
Accessed August 15, 2026
Financial Documentation Requirements for F-1 Visa Students(opens in a new tab)
Jefferson Community and Technical College
Accessed August 15, 2026
Evidence of Financial Support(opens in a new tab)
Montgomery College International Student Office
Accessed August 15, 2026
Affidavit of Support(opens in a new tab)
UMass Dartmouth International Student & Scholar Center
Accessed August 15, 2026
Financial Documents for Issuance of I-20 or DS-2019(opens in a new tab)
American University International Student & Scholar Services
Accessed August 15, 2026
Affidavit of Financial Support(opens in a new tab)
The Ohio State University Office of International Affairs
Accessed August 15, 2026
Send the unsigned university form, sponsor location, and the school's current instructions so iRemoteNotary can review the proposed notarial workflow.