Frequently Asked Questions

You can nominate 1-5 students. There’s a field where you can rank your nominated students based on level of need, with 1 being the highest level of need.

No, students who are not on campus in the U.S. during the relevant time period will not be eligible for an Emergency Student Fund award.

Yes, as long as students are physically in the U.S., they are eligible for the award.

Yes, previous award winners are eligible.

 If each campus is registered as an IIENetwork Member, then yes, each campus can submit a unique nomination form.

Generally the results will be announced within 2 weeks of the deadline.

The IIE ESF team will email students who are selected, copying their nominator. For students who aren’t selected, we will only inform the nominator.

Yes, but please make sure your nominations correspond with the correct call. Use different browsers or incognito versions of the same browser to avoid any technical issues.

When you open the nomination form in Slate, the name of the round will be on the top right, as shown in the screenshot below (ESF-2021 Afghanistan)

You can use these funds for living expenses such as housing and food, medical expenses, insurance payments, and academic expenses.

No, the ESF award is not a loan and IIE does not expect you to repay the award unless you fail to meet the terms and conditions of the grant.

Yes, all grantees must be physically present in the United States to receive an Emergency Student Fund award. You must notify IIE immediately should you plan to return to your home country before the agreement ends.

Yes, in order to receive your ESF grant you need a U.S. bank account. If you don’t have a bank account, please open an account immediately. IIE will not make payments to a party other than the ESF grant recipient.

For a list of Zelle network banks, please click here.

Yes, you can register a non-Zelle network bank in order to receive the grant. If you use a bank that is not in the Zelle network, you will need to complete an alternate registration process. For more information on how to do this, please click here.

Your ESF grant is considered taxable income in the United States. IIE withholds the required federal taxes when issuing your payment so you won’t have to pay any taxes later. IIE will provide you with a Form 1042 for your 2020 tax filing in early 2021. While you don’t need a SSN or ITIN to receive the award, you must have an SSN or ITIN to file your taxes. You are required by law to file your taxes in the U.S. Please note that IIE does not offer tax advice or guidance and will not respond to questions on how and when to file taxes.

No, you are not required to submit receipts on how you spent your ESF grant. However, you will be required to submit a narrative report, outlining how the grant was spent and what impact the grant had on your overall situation both personally and academically.

The ESF grant is not renewable. All ESF grants are one-time emergency grants only.