Yes. It is the grantee’s responsibility to contact the lending institution, confirm that they accept loan deferment requests, and obtain the correct deferment forms. Grantees may then submit the forms to IIE for certification of their grantee status and grant dates after completing the required borrower information on the form.

Fulbright grants usually fall under the Graduate Fellowship Deferment category; however, the grantee must confirm with the lender that their loans are eligible for this type of deferment request.

IIE is only able to sign Graduate Fellowship Deferment Request forms.  IIE cannot certify In-School Deferment Request or Parent PLUS Borrower Deferment Request forms.

Most lending institutions will not accept loan deferment request forms in advance of the grant period. In addition, some lenders will not accept a deferment request form before the end of the grace period. Grantees are responsible for confirming with their lenders when the appropriate time to submit the deferment request is.

Once grant dates are confirmed and your grant document has been signed and submitted to the IIE Participant Portal, the loan deferment forms can be submitted to IIE.

Deferment forms will only be signed by IIE beginning two weeks prior to the start of the Fulbright grant period once all pre-departure documents collected through the IIE Participant Portal have been approved.

It is your responsibility to submit the completed form to your loan servicer after it is signed by IIE. Approval of deferment requests are at the discretion of your loan servicer.

Please upload your loan deferment to the IIE Participant Portal using the document category “Loan Deferment.”

Once IIE has signed your loan deferment form, they will return it to you via the IIE Participant Portal. It is your responsibility to submit the completed form to your loan servicer after it is signed by IIE. Approval of deferment requests are at the discretion of your loan servicer.