Non-academic students

If you are a permanent resident or U.S. citizen
If you are applying for an I-20 to obtain an F-1 student visa
If you are transferring
If you are a B (tourist) visa holder
If you are a J visa holder
If you hold another type of visa

If you are a permanent resident or U.S. citizen

Please submit the following to apply:

Apply online
Application fee (Submit $150 USD or pay online and print confirmation sheet to submit with application)
Copy of green card/proof of status from USCIS (mostly in form of letter)
Proof of high school graduation or university experience/degree

Upon receipt of all application items, your acceptance packet will be mailed to you.

Please note: Admission to the English Language Program is not admission to a degree program at VCU.

If you are applying for an I-20 to obtain an F-1 student visa

Please submit the following to apply:

Apply online
Application fee (Submit $150 USD or pay online and print confirmation sheet to submit with application)
Proof of high school graduation or university attendance
Proof of financial eligibility: i.e., official financial statement, letter from bank or official letter of scholarship. This document must be an original and must be dated within the last six months.*

If being sponsored by a citizen or permanent resident within the U.S., a notarized Affidavit of Support must be submitted along with the official bank statement.

Upon receipt of all application items, your acceptance packet and Form I-20 will be sent to you via UPS. If you provided an Email address on your application, you will receive a UPS shipping notification with the tracking number of your acceptance packet. The Form I-20 is the immigration document presented to local U.S. consulates or embassies when applying for an F-1 visa (student visa). Attached to the Form I-20 will be a letter from International Admissions explaining how to apply for an F-1 visa. If a student decides not to attend the program, the Form I-20 must be returned to the ELP office:

Virginia Commonwealth University
GEO – English Language Program
P.O. Box 843043
Richmond, Virginia 23284-3043

Please note: Students who study in the ELP with F-1 status are required to register as full-time students in the ELP. These students attend 20-28 hours of class per week. Please refer to the VCU Immigration Services section of this website for more details.

If you are transferring

Please submit the following to apply:

Apply online
Application fee (Submit $150 USD or pay online and print confirmation sheet to submit with application)
Proof of high school graduation or university attendance
Proof of financial eligibility: i.e., official financial statement, letter from bank or official letter of scholarship. This document must be an original and must be dated within the last six months. If being sponsored by a citizen or permanent resident within the U.S., a notarized Affidavit of Support must be submitted along with the official bank statement.
Transfer In Clearance Form filled out by current international student adviser

Upon receipt of all application items, your acceptance packet will be mailed to you.

If you are a B (tourist) visa holder

Please submit the following to apply:

Apply online
Application fee (Submit $150 USD or pay online and print confirmation sheet to submit with application)
Proof of high school graduation or university attendance
Copy of visa (the ELP session may not exceed the date visa expires)
B-visa Status Agreement Form

Please note: Only applicants that are absolutely sure they WILL NOT study full time in the future may take classes on a B-visa. If applicants simply want to pursue “incidental study” in the U.S., then they may apply to the ELP. Otherwise, if the intention is to become a full-time student, applicants should first apply for a Change of Status (COS) to F-1. In order to do so, they must submit an ELP application with the same requirements as someone applying for an I-20. These students are not eligible to begin taking ELP classes until the COS decision has been approved.

Upon receipt of all application items, your acceptance packet will be mailed to you.

If you are a J visa holder

Please submit the following to apply:

Apply online
Application fee (Submit $150 USD or pay online and print confirmation sheet to submit with application)
Proof of high school graduation or university attendance
Copy of visa and DS-2019 (the ELP session may not exceed the date visa or DS-2019 expires; if the DS-2019 will expire before the ELP session ends, please provide proof of extension.)

Upon receipt of all application items, your acceptance packet will be mailed to you.

If you hold another type of visa

Please submit the following to apply:

Apply online
Application fee (Submit $150 USD or pay online and print confirmation sheet to submit with application)
Proof of high school graduation or university attendance
Proof of visa status

Upon receipt of all application items, your acceptance packet will be mailed to you.