Bringing my Husband's daughter to study

[SalishSea 17,837]

4 hours ago, NJCube said:

Wow,  thanks so much for all the responses.  I have to take it all in and research what has been suggested.  One thing, it seems like a general consensus to apply for an I-130, Petition for Alien Relative is the way to go.  However, we applied for one for his older daughter, who is not interested in coming here to study,  back on June 1 and still have not heard anything.   Seems like a long process to be able to get it all done in time for her to come this year.  

Correct, she would not be coming this school year.  

[ProbeGT 47]

16 hours ago, SusieQQQ said:

I’m not convinced of the wisdom of the last of year of high school here anyway...but yes it almost certainly won’t be done by this September  ... but if you file now, it should certainly be ready in time for college, which is when it is most crucial for reasons of both admission and finances.

Spain has special rules regarding dual citizenship (restrictions, etc).  Many people misinterpret "immigration" and getting LPR status as actually getting a new citizenship.  I'd hope it wasn't as simple as that, but you'd be surprised how many people think this.

[Juliet57 304]

She'll benefit more if you bring her as a minor daugther of a LPR  than her being on a student visa. Don't hurry into bringing her by September, think long run. 

good luck! 

[NJCube 4]

22 hours ago, aaron2020 said:

How old is the older daughter?  Is she over 21 years old?  Did her LPR dad file the I-130 or did you, the USC stepparent?  How old was she when you married her dad?

The older daughter was 1 month shy of turning 21 when I received receipt confirmation of the I-130.  Her LPR dad filed the I-130.  Looking back now, I don't know if that was a mistake.  From the information I gathered at the time, the processing times were the same regardless who applied.   His daughter was 16 when we got married.  

 

Should I apply for the younger daughter instead of her LPR dad?

[aaron2020 11,651]

54 minutes ago, NJCube said:

The older daughter was 1 month shy of turning 21 when I received receipt confirmation of the I-130.  Her LPR dad filed the I-130.  Looking back now, I don't know if that was a mistake.  From the information I gathered at the time, the processing times were the same regardless who applied.   His daughter was 16 when we got married.  

 

Should I apply for the younger daughter instead of her LPR dad?

In regards to the older daughter, you guys messed up.  Since you married dad when she was 16, you could have filed for her.  If you had filed for her before she turned 21, it would have been an Immediate Relative case (IR2) where there's no limits on visas.  She would have been in the US in 12-18 months.  The Trump ban would not have affected her.  Because her dad filed for her, it became an F2a case and the Trump ban affects her.

Yes, you should absolutely file an I-130 for your 17 years stepdaughter instead of her LPR dad.  As the USC stepparent, it would be an IR2 case and it will be 12-18 months for her to get an immigrant visa.  If her LPR father files for her, it would be an F2a case.  Whenever possible, it's always better for the USC stepparent to file rather than the biological LPR parent because it will be quicker and have a higher priority.

Edited February 4, 2021 by aaron2020

[NJCube 4]

Hi Everyone,

 

Thanks again for all the responses.

 

Based on what some of you have said, we've decided that it's probably best if my stepdaughter finished high school in Spain and we start the process for her to come for college.  

 

We had a video conference meeting with her, her mom, and a rep from a service that helps facilitate the process for international students to obtain sports and academic scholarships to attend universities in the US.   They also handle the process of the F1 visa, help them with all the preliminary things like SATs and find an appropriate college.  

 

I asked them if it would be better to go the I-130 route.  They said, either one is fine.  Since the 130 process will take longer, he suggested we go ahead and apply for it, while they do the F1 process.   

 

Im a bit concerned and don't know if a. doing both the 130 and F1 might cause issues in the future, and b. Should I just try to take the process up myself and leave them out of it.   Since this is new to me, the thought that they can coordinate everything from their end, is enticing but since the end goal is not only for her to attend college here, but to stay here I don't know.  

 

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

4 minutes ago, NJCube said:

Hi Everyone,

 

Thanks again for all the responses.

 

Based on what some of you have said, we've decided that it's probably best if my stepdaughter finished high school in Spain and we start the process for her to come for college.  

 

We had a video conference meeting with her, her mom, and a rep from a service that helps facilitate the process for international students to obtain sports and academic scholarships to attend universities in the US.   They also handle the process of the F1 visa, help them with all the preliminary things like SATs and find an appropriate college.  

 

I asked them if it would be better to go the I-130 route.  They said, either one is fine.  Since the 130 process will take longer, he suggested we go ahead and apply for it, while they do the F1 process.   

 

Im a bit concerned and don't know if a. doing both the 130 and F1 might cause issues in the future, and b. Should I just try to take the process up myself and leave them out of it.   Since this is new to me, the thought that they can coordinate everything from their end, is enticing but since the end goal is not only for her to attend college here, but to stay here I don't know.  

 

An F1 requires non immigrant intent be demonstrated so there is a (very) high chance of denial if an i130 is in the works. I’d suggest you file the i130 now. You can always delay completion if it happens to get approved  too far in advance of her finishing high school there.  Let this organization help her with SAT,  finding scholarships (and make sure they understand the implications that she will have domestic student status which is makes her eligible for things F1 students are not) etc , and you deal with the immigration aspect. 
 

 

Edited February 9, 2021 by SusieQQQ

[aaron2020 11,651]

With an Immediate Relative case, it's highly unlikely that she will qualify for an F1 student visa.  The F1 student visa requires her to show that she has a home in Spain that she intends to return to after finishing her course of study.  That's going to be impossible with an IR case.

I highly doubt that the rep is experienced with IR cases and immigration to the US.  

File the I-130 ASAP.  You can always slow it down if needed.  You definitely can't speed it up if you file late.  

Edited February 9, 2021 by aaron2020

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

You might also want to look at these links from the US embassy website in Spain:

 

https://es.usembassy.gov/education-culture/study-usa/

 

“If you’re interested in studying at a university in the United States, contact the EducationUSA https://fulbright.es/estudios-en-eeuu/ advising center in Spain, which provides accurate, unbiased, and free information.  And here https://es.usembassy.gov/education-culture/u-s-college-admission-tests/ you will find other useful information, including about U.S. college admission tests.”

 

 

 

[aaron2020 11,651]

File the i-130.   It will take 12-18 months for an immigrant visa.  Once she graduates, take a gap year and immigrate to the US.  Once she gets her LPR status, file the FAFSA.  Then attend school.

 

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

25 minutes ago, aaron2020 said:

File the i-130.   It will take 12-18 months for an immigrant visa.  Once she graduates, take a gap year and immigrate to the US.  Once she gets her LPR status, file the FAFSA.  Then attend school.

 

Why would she need a gap year? If they file now chances are fairly good she'll have her visa to start school in Fall 2022. Unless i misunderstood i thought she was doing the equivalent of senior year starting fall this year.

[aaron2020 11,651]

30 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

Why would she need a gap year? If they file now chances are fairly good she'll have her visa to start school in Fall 2022. Unless i misunderstood i thought she was doing the equivalent of senior year starting fall this year.

Take a gap year if necessary.  

Going directly from her senior year to a US college as an LPR without a gap will be hard.  She would need to apply for US colleges while a senior in Spain.  She would apply as an international student and not as an LPR.  It would be much simpler to immigrate and then apply to colleges as an LPR.  It's a practicality issue.  The FAFSA will make a difference.  

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

20 minutes ago, aaron2020 said:

Take a gap year if necessary.  

Going directly from her senior year to a US college as an LPR without a gap will be hard.  She would need to apply for US colleges while a senior in Spain.  She would apply as an international student and not as an LPR.  It would be much simpler to immigrate and then apply to colleges as an LPR.  It's a practicality issue.  The FAFSA will make a difference.  

Hm, more the status as of application imo as domestics get more favorable admission rates. 

 

Even if you file FAFSA late you still get funding (though may find there are example no more work study positions to be allocated etc). CSS is required for private colleges and that deadline is more strict (submit with application), but, parents can file that regardless of her status. She also has this organization looking for funding for her. I know of others who have changed status during the application process or even soon after starting college, not a train smash. (Also, I don’t see why going straight from senior year overseas to college in the US will be particularly hard, international students do that all the time, and being an LPR will make it easier for her.) 

[NJCube 4]

So, it appears as if there is no benefit for her to come on an F1 visa.  For whatever reason, I thought she would benefit from being an international student, but it seems to be the opposite.

 

I got an invoice from the service that we had the interview with yesterday.  They are charging apprx $4,500 for their services.   I think that is crazy and don't know if there is any benefit to contracting them.  After all their services are based around the F1 visa.   As I mentioned before, I was thinking of just applying for the I-130 concurrently but again, i'm not sure their services are worth it.

 

I feel a bit overwhelmed about doing it all myself because this would not only include applying for her residency, which I've done before but searching for the right college, applying for scholarships for her track and field, getting all the preliminary stuff done, like having her prepare for and take the SAT and TOEFL.  Normally here the high school helps with that stuff.    I don't want to mess something up and end up paying a lot more for her college than if this service, that has experience with this stuff, handles it.  

 

Also, if she becomes a resident, when applying for FAFSA, is only her father's income taken into account (and maybe her mom's that is in spain)? Since we are married, it's not household income?

 

Thanks again.  

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

So, I’m going to say that the start is to find out which colleges she has a reasonable chance of aiming at, both academically and sportswise. And where she is likely to get funding, bear in mind some colleges (like the ivies) will recruit for athletes but all aid is need based (though they can be very generous with that), for other colleges they will specifically give athletic, merit etc scholarships.  I’m going to send you a link via PM which will have info/somewhere you can ask questions from parents experienced in athletic recruiting and funding. Hopefully that will help you at least start figure out what is practical and where is practical to look for her.

 

I’m not sure about the reporting for FAFSA in terms of which parents income needs to be listed (we are married parents so no complications on that front). I know for CSS for private schools both parents income needs to be reported even if one is overseas. Bear in mind that private schools can be very generous - a number of them meet full need - and for a number of students it ends up cheaper at a private than a public because of this, separately from athletic scholarship considerations.