student visa for ukraine citizen

[JP5380 4]

Hello,

This is my first post here. I am a U.S. citizen and have met a nice lady in Ukraine. The ultimate goal of our relationship would the be the K-1 fiance visa so she could live with me in the U.S. Of course, we could apply for this and she could stay in the U.S. for 90 days before getting married. But it seems premature to become engaged at this point. We simply need time together first.

She has mentioned a student visa for the U.S. This would be great, but my concern is how this affects the future goal of a K-1 fiance visa. If I understand correctly, her coming on a student visa with other motives besides just studying could jeopardize a fiance visa in the future. Our thoughts are that she would come here, study English, but at the same time, she could spend time with me and see how compatible we are.

I'm sure this topic has been discussed many times before, so please forgive me. I have also thought about consulting an immigration attorney for advice.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

JP

Edited July 23, 2012 by JP5380

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

She is unlikely to get a student visa for studying English, she'd need to attend a proper university and take full time classes. Could you/ could she afford that? There is nothing wrong with applying for a student visa, then later a K1, unless you plan on her marrying you on the student visa and adjusting her status- ie immigrating on the student visa.

[JP5380 4]

Thanks for the reply Penguin. She would need to study English intensively before enrolling in a degree program in the United States. I have heard that people can come into the U.S., study English (i.e. prepare for TOEFL), and then begin a degree program at a university. I am not certain about this, but my father has been an academic his entire life and worked with many foreign students. He thought this might be the case, but was not 100% certain. As for the cost of such an endeavor, it would be a real stretch. She certainly does not have the funds, but I might be able to cover the expense.

[Boiler 45,486]

I am sure she could start her English studies in her home country and then when appropriate apply for whatever course she wishes to study in the US.

What does she want to study? Some courses are obviously more expensive than others.

[JP5380 4]

Hi Boiler. Thanks for the message. I'm not sure what she would like to study. Maybe economics since this is her undergraduate degree in Ukraine. The student visa idea was just mentioned last week when I was visiting her. So, to be honest, I'm not sure what her ideal program of study would be.

I did a little searching on the internet and found lots of English language schools here in the U.S. Apparently, they can make a person eligible for a student visa. For example: http://www.els.edu/en

It seems like a legitimate possibility to me. But I really don't know...