How Long Does It Take To Get My First Post-9/11 GI Bill Housing Allowance?
I was wondering about the process of the Post-9/11 GI Bill monthly housing. It seems that I have not received anything in the past two months. I thought the housing allowance was monthly. I understand the school payment takes about 8-12 weeks after it is certified. — Curtis W.
Yes Curtis, the VA pays you a monthly housing allowance along with your book stipend. Both will be sent directly to you as a check or deposited into your bank account, depending on how you set up your payment with the VA.
Ever since the VA released the Post-9/11 GI Bill on August 1 last year, they have been swamped with claims waiting to be processed. Until recently, the average time to process a claim was 10-20 weeks (closer to the 20-week mark rather than 10-week). While they have made significant progress, they are still running at least 10 weeks behind, so I would give your claim some additional time–at least another couple of weeks.
As you probably know, the VA calculates your Post-9/11 GI Bill housing allowance at the E-5 with dependents rate using the zip code of your school. Because of the zip code, the rate varies considerably throughout the nation.
You didn’t say in your question whether you were taking classes online or on campus. If you are taking only online classes, or are less than a half-time student, you do not get a housing allowance.
For your book stipend, you receive $41.67 per credit hour up to a maximum of $1,000 per academic year which equates to 12 credits per term.
-
-
-
-
Stumble!
