In order to for Albizu University to issue the documents you need to apply for your F-1 visa, you must prove that you are able to pay for the cost of schooling and living expenses while in the United States. The cost of tuition and fees is easily obtained from the Tuition and Fees Table on this site, but it can be difficult to determine how much you will need to cover your living expenses, particularly if you are bringing any dependents with you to the United States.
The Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank in the United States, understands that people—particularly people living on a low or moderate income—need to have a sense of what their living expenses might be. To meet this need, the EPI has created a Family Budget Calculator to measure the income an individual or family requires in order to have a modest yet adequate standard of living.
Click here to access the EPI’s Family Budget Calculator. Enter “Miami/Miami Beach/Kendall, FL” in the blue box to access the calculator for the greater Miami area and use the dropdown menus to the right of the box to select the number of adults and children in your family. The calculator will then display the monthly and annual costs of living in the metro Miami area.
To see exactly how the EPI determined the amounts for each category, move your mouse to the immediate right of a category name (such as “Housing”) and a small information button will appear. Click the button for more information on what the category includes and where the EPI obtained the cost for that category.
Note that, as an international student, you’ll be unlikely to owe any U.S. taxes, so you can subtract that amount from the total provided. You might also wish to reduce or increase the amounts in other categories. For example, the “Transportation” category assumes that you will own and operate a car. If you intend to get around by walking or using public transportation, your costs will be much lower. On the other hand, the “Food” category assumes that you will buy ingredients in a grocery store and prepare meals at home. If you plan to eat many of your meals in restaurants or frequently purchase takeout meals, your food costs will be higher.
