Turning Student visa into permanent residence?

[astone 0]

Hi all,

I am a US citizen and my girlfriend is Canadian. We want to marry and move to the US, where I have a job lined up and she is going to go to school. We have looked at the various fiancee/spousal visas, but I was wondering if she could come in faster through a Student Visa.

We are living in Canada currently, and I know that in Canada, you can apply for a student visa with a dual intent to stay permanently. I was wondering if there is a similar option in the states. Our case is legitimate, she wants to get her degree from an American school, and we want to get married. I know that if she is in the country legally, we can marry and go through the paperwork here without her going back.

Do you guys think this is a viable alternative for her?

[Boiler 45,493]

Yes

[CC90 90]

American student visas do not allow immigrant intent.

[canadian_wife 1,822]

If you already know you want to get married, then why not get married and get a Cr-1 spousal visa? Fees for green card holders are substantially less than those for an F-1 international student

But to answer your question - F-1 visas are not dual intent in the US. Using a non-immigrant visa to come to the US and stay is visa fraud.

however, to obtain her visa (like I did) for school, she'll have to show that she intends to return to Canada...if obviously this isn't the case, she won't be granted a student visa. If she does not intend to return to Canada, she will not be issued a non-immigrant visa

Good luck

[Little_My 464]

Plus, if she has not yet applied for school, the whole process for a student visa wouldn't be that much faster than, for example, CR-1. TO get and F1 visa, she would first have to find a study program she'd like to attend, apply for the program, get in, then submit the I-20 paperwork including financial statements that show she can afford it, then obtain the visa from the embassy there. My process, from applying to my program here in the US to actually moving here and starting school, took about 8 months. I applied in December 2008, and started in my master's program in August 2009. CR-1, from what I know, takes about 9 months.

If you have decided already that you want to marry, it would save you a lot of money and efforts to not try to go the F1 route and go for the GC instead. Once she has her GC, she is free to come here and study, work, travel, do whatever she wants. Also, if she came here with the CR-1 and you guys lived here for 6 months - 1 year, she might qualify for resident tuition rates which would make studying much much cheaper for her - assuming you would settle in the same state where she would be going to school in.

[Boiler 45,493]

Student Visa should be a LOT quicker.

[Little_My 464]

Yes, the actual visa process itself from obtaining the I-20 most definitely is - what I said was, that assuming this person has not yet applied and been accepted to a school here in the US, the entire process starting from the school application to actually arriving in the US is going to take months as well, and in my case took 8 monts. Application period for fall semester was in December - with F1, you can enter US 30 days before your program starts.Apply in December, arrive in August - that is 8 months. Not really that much faster than CR-1.

[LizaG 0]

I have just applied for school in July. Is it hopeless then?

[Little_My 464]

No, not at all. Once you get the acceptance notification, the school will issue you an I-20. I'd think this would happen some time between january and march. When you have the I-20 and all necessary docs for the visa interview, you contact the closest US embassy in Sweden and schedule a visa interview. The time line from applying to school to coming to the US depends on the respective university's application schedule and how fast they process the I-20. I applied in December and school started in September, hence the 8 months in between. If you applied now and your school starts in July, your time in between will obviously be shorter.

[Boiler 45,493]

To be fair I would be hard pushed to remember a totally legit F1 refusal.

[LizaG 0]

Thank you!

[Noah Lot 391]

Hi all,

I am a US citizen and my girlfriend is Canadian. We want to marry and move to the US, where I have a job lined up and she is going to go to school. We have looked at the various fiancee/spousal visas, but I was wondering if she could come in faster through a Student Visa.

We are living in Canada currently, and I know that in Canada, you can apply for a student visa with a dual intent to stay permanently. I was wondering if there is a similar option in the states. Our case is legitimate, she wants to get her degree from an American school, and we want to get married. I know that if she is in the country legally, we can marry and go through the paperwork here without her going back.

Do you guys think this is a viable alternative for her?

Why do I suspect a looming 'change of mind' shortly after she recovers her luggage??????????? Though this post will likely be erased because it contains the truth, you and I both know that this student visa is nothing more than an attempt to circumvent the K1 processing period...right, 'Family Friend?'

[Dakine10 5,452]

Why do I suspect a looming 'change of mind' shortly after she recovers her luggage???????????

Because you were once conditioned to view any one trying to enter the USA as having immigrant intent. Despite giving good advice at times, you have lost the ability to be objective.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

The K-1's purpose is to get married to the petitioning fiance within a 90-day time period. Some couples choose this route out of desperation because they have no way to obtain a B2, for example. The F-1 is a much better path, as the beneficiary comes to the U.S. to go to school, and is not under pressure to make any decisions in regard to marriage or even living together. She can take her time and live her life, like a "normal" person. If she eventually decides to get married and then adjusts status, she has to go through the same process as a K-1, perhaps more difficult even, as she would surely have an interview, whereas many K-1s do not.

[Noah Lot 391]

Because you were once conditioned to view any one trying to enter the USA as having immigrant intent. Despite giving good advice at times, you have lost the ability to be objective.

How obvious must it be for you to see through this charade? There is NO chance that the OP will return to his/her country of residence after studies are finished....the OP even made the statement...'so she won't have to go back....'///hello??? anyone home??? How much more obvious must a situation be before you recognize it for what it is?

Edited December 7, 2011 by Noah Lot