New, transfer and change-of-status international students attending Wake Tech have to complete an International Admissions Application and submit it by the appropriate deadline. Once the International Students Office receives all required documentation, a decision will be made concerning your enrollment at the college.

Processing may take up to 14 days. Students will receive an email with the status of their application after it is processed. They also may check the status in their application portal.

If an application is incomplete, a student will receive an email with instructions on uploading and submitting the required documents through his or her application portal by the application deadline. If the application remains incomplete after the deadline, the student will receive an email with instructions on how to apply for the next available semester, if he or she is still interested.

Following the submission of a completed application, a student will be issued an I-20 for an eligible associate degree or the English as a Foreign Language program. Upon receiving the I-20, the student needs to make a visa appointment for a non-immigrant F-1 visa with the U.S. embassy or consulate in his or her home country or submit a change-of-status application to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Any student wishing to defer an I-20 to the next available semester must email [email protected] to request a deferral. The student will receive an email with instructions on how to apply to defer the I-20. The Application to Defer requires that updated financial documentation and the application fee be submitted by the application deadline. 

F-1 application deadlines 

NOTE: Wake Tech does not have a deadline for change-of-status applicants – individuals currently in the United States who want to change their immigration status to full-time student only. With an I-20, the applicant must apply to USCIS for a change from his or her current status to F-1 student status.

Required documents

Save the following items to upload and submit with a Wake Tech application:

• Passport document – Provide a copy of the student's passport photo page with the expiration date. Any student who does not have a passport should submit a copy of his or her birth certificate with a certified translation.
   
• Immigration documents – A change-of-status applicant must provide a copy of his or her entry visa, passport entry stamp, I-94 and I-797 approval notice, if applicable. A transfer applicant must provide a copy of all previous I-20s, latest I-94, latest passport entry stamp, entry visa, I-797 approval notice, if applicable, and employment authorization card, if applicable.
   
• Financial documents – An Affidavit of Support form and a letter from a sponsor's bank giving specific current account balance information or a letter from the student's bank. Please limit bank documentation to no more than 10 pages. The minimum current balance is $29,350 for an individual student. For dependents, add $5,000 for a spouse and $2,000 per child. The bank letter must be in English or accompanied by a certified translation.
   
• Educational documents – Provide complete official academic records from secondary (equivalent to high school education in the U.S.) and/or post-secondary schools with certified translations. The academic records should include transcripts with courses taken, grades received, grading scales, completion certificates for secondary education, examination results from the Examination Council and/or degrees awarded.
   
• International (F-1) Student Medical form – This form must be signed by a practicing physician. A TB test within the last 12 months is required. If the TB test is positive, a chest X-ray result within the last 12 months also is required. The TB test and chest X-ray results must include dates.
   

• Dependent documents – If a dependent is included in a student's international admissions application to receive a dependent I-20, submit the following documentation:

  • A copy of a marriage certificate and spouse's passport for a spouse dependent
  • A copy of birth certificate(s) and passport(s) for child dependent(s)

  Any documentation not in English has to be accompanied by a certified translation. The complete name, birth date, country of birth and country of citizenship of each dependent must be recorded on the International Admissions Application and Affidavit of Support form.
   

The student will be required to pay a $40 non-refundable application fee via credit card to submit an application.