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New F-1 Students from Overseas

Any person wanting to be a full time student in the USA needs to obtain a student visa for the USA. Most students are issued an F-1 visa.

In order to apply for an F-1 visa, a student needs to be officially accepted to a certified U.S. institution and obtain a “form I-20” from the school to take to the F-1 visa interview.

Application Deadlines

To come in the Fall semester
(classes begin in August)		 July 1
To come in the Spring semester
(classes begin in January)		 Dec. 1
To come in the Summer session
(classes begin in June)		 May 1

Students interested in our English for Academic Purposes (EAP) program need to start the program in fall or spring. This is due to course availability and sequencing.

Applications and materials submitted after the listed admissions deadlines may not be processed for the current term as immigration regulations may be negatively impacted. Standard processing is 5 business days from the date submitted.

Required Steps to be admitted to JCCC and receive a form I-20

Within 3 to 5 business days of applying to JCCC, you will receive an email which contains your 8 digit JCCC student I.D. number and provides information on how to log into your MyJCCC account. Once you receive this email, you will be able to proceed with completing the other admissions steps found below and submitting the required documents to the IISS office.

Not all programs are I-20 eligible - check with the IISS office to verify eligibility.

Send a copy of your passport information page to iiss@jccc.edu.

Send a copy of your TOEFL or IELTS score report to iiss@jccc.edu. You must submit an official TOEFL or IELTS score unless you are from one of the following countries:

  • Commonwealth Caribbean (does not include the Dominican Republic, Haiti or the Dutch Isles)
  • English-Speaking Canada
  • United Kingdom
  • Australia
  • South Africa
  • New Zealand
  • Republic of Ireland

If you are not from one of the countries listed above, you are required to have a minimum TOEFL score of 57 or an IELTS score of 5 to be admitted to JCCC. Test scores cannot be older than two years. If English is not your native language, but you’ve been educated (a minimum of three years) and graduated from an English-speaking country listed above, your language proficiency requirement will be waived.

Please be aware that your score will determine if you must take English for Academic Purposes (EAP) classes at JCCC prior to taking classes in your area of study.

Entrance into: TOEFL IELTS
Regular college credit classes iBT 65 or higher 6 or higher
English for Academic Purposes (Level 4)
*one semester		 iBT 61-64 5.5
English for Academic Purposes (Level 3)
*two semesters		 iBT 57-60 5

Email to iiss@jccc.edu a copy of your diploma, certificate or any other official document showing completion of your secondary school education and that you are eligible to advance to higher education in your home country. Documents must be translated to English and attached to the original document.  The documents do not need to be translated by a professional translator. 

Fill out the Certificate of Finances form and submit it online. This form will help you determine the amount of funds you need to show and will direct you to upload the appropriate documents.  You must demonstrate proof that you or your financial sponsor has funds available to cover the cost of one academic year of study and living expenses, which is $24,670.  Provide a bank statement or other official bank letter/document that is less than 6 months old and includes the name of the person funding your education.  Please see the acceptable proof of funds page for further details. Financial documents should be current and up-to-date when interacting with government officials (Depart of State, Customs and Border Protection, etc.) In addition to bank documents, you will also be instructed to upload the Financial Sponsorship Agreement Form (PDF), as well as a Room and Board Sponsorship Form (PDF) if applicable. 

If you are processing a change of level I-20 to become a degree-seeking student (after finishing the EAP program) you will be required to verify updated financial documents.

Federal regulations and Johnson County Community College policy severely limit the types of financial assistance available to international students. College admissions policy requires that international students (those with F-1 and M-1 visas) have enough resources to meet their expenses. Students with these visas are not eligible for federal student aid. Scholarships are not generally available. Off-campus employment is not authorized. For these reasons, all F-1 students must provide proof of having sufficient monetary funds to cover the cost of their educational and living expenses while at JCCC.

Cost of Attendance:

Tuition $5,688
Books/Supplies $1,560 (estimated)
Housing/Meals $9,780  (estimated)
Personal Expenses $6,050  (estimated)
Accident/Illness Insurance $1,592 (estimated)
Total $24,670
*An extra $6,000 is added for estimated expenses if a student starts in the summer semester.


The JCCC Board of Trustees can change the cost per credit hour without notice.

JCCC is in Overland Park, KS, a residential suburb of Kansas City. Like most community colleges, it does not have dormitories or housing on campus. Typically, students arrange their own housing in the community and travel by car to campus as public transportation is limited in Overland Park. For more information about housing go to Housing in the Community.

Dependents:
If you plan to come to the U.S. with an F-2 dependent, you will be required to submit documents for your dependents and add an additional $5,000 (USD) per dependent to your bank documents. F-2 visa holders may study but only part-time (no more than 11 credit hours per semester).

F-1 Student Agreement

Emergency Contact Form

After receiving all required documents, IISS staff will email you with further information about your I-20.

Upon arriving in the U.S., you will need to complete some additional tasks which include:
IISS follows college policy for the Student Code of Conduct and Discipline. Any student found in violation of our code of conduct or discipline may be reported the Deans Office to follow disciplinary procedures. This includes, but is not limited to, the submission of falsified documents for immigration purposes or academic history.