Some questions about likelihood of visa approval

[plshelpastudent 0]

Hi,

My wife (permanent resident) and I (U.S. citizen) are trying to help her sister (Mexican national) obtain a student visa to study in English as a second language in the U.S.  Her sister recently finished a degree in Industrial Engineering but the college she studied at requires her to pass a TOEFL exam before conferring the title for her degree.  She would like to come to the U.S. to study English as the ESL options where she lives are limited and poor in quality.

 

1. Are student visas even given for this type of study? Most info I find is for students looking for undergraduate degrees.
2. She does not own a home (lives with her parents) and does not have a bank account with noteworthy savings.  My wife and I could provide the necessary financial support and could provide tax returns and bank statements for an Affidavit of support, but does this negatively affect her chances of approval since we are family members living in the U.S.?
3. She applied for a tourist visa well over a year ago and (after many pandemic related delays) when finally given an interview this August (2021) was denied with the reason being she had family members living in the U.S.  We want to avoid the appearance of visa shopping.  Will this affect the chance of approval? If so, is there a recommended amount of time to wait to apply for a different visa type?
4. What are the overall chances of her approval?  Will having studied a degree help or hurt her chances?

[Boiler 45,411]

1. You can get a student visa to study English

2. Yes

3. Yes, and well no without a major change in her circumstances

4. Trying to think what TOEFL has to do with Industrial Engineering and if it is a requirement of her course why it was not studied as part of that course.

[Coco8 1,042]

 

She does not know ANY English? The "study English as a second language" type programs are not going to help her pass the TOEFL. Those programs are general conversation courses and such and they don't help for TOEFL. They are also focused on information every day situations, and TOEFL requires formal English and mostly academic English.

 

I took the TOELF to apply for graduate school. Part is having the right level of English, because the readings are like college level readings on any topic (from Biology to History). Then, you have to practice the test itself. And also, a lot of writing, but specifically the writing they require and there are a lot of rules on vocabulary, expressions, etc. You have to write arguments and practice potential questions from the exam.

 

So, to pass TOEFL she needs an English teacher in Mexico, not those programs in the US. I'm surprised she'd need to pass TOEFL if the university didn't provide English courses or preparation.

 

Moreover, if she was already denied visitor visa, it's extremely likely she will be denied an F1 or J1 to study English as a second language. Particularly when it's not going to help her with TOEFL>

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Redro 4,611]

48 minutes ago, plshelpastudent said:

Hi,

My wife (permanent resident) and I (U.S. citizen) are trying to help her sister (Mexican national) obtain a student visa to study in English as a second language in the U.S.  Her sister recently finished a degree in Industrial Engineering but the college she studied at requires her to pass a TOEFL exam before conferring the title for her degree.  She would like to come to the U.S. to study English as the ESL options where she lives are limited and poor in quality.

 

1. Are student visas even given for this type of study? Most info I find is for students looking for undergraduate degrees.
2. She does not own a home (lives with her parents) and does not have a bank account with noteworthy savings.  My wife and I could provide the necessary financial support and could provide tax returns and bank statements for an Affidavit of support, but does this negatively affect her chances of approval since we are family members living in the U.S.?
3. She applied for a tourist visa well over a year ago and (after many pandemic related delays) when finally given an interview this August (2021) was denied with the reason being she had family members living in the U.S.  We want to avoid the appearance of visa shopping.  Will this affect the chance of approval? If so, is there a recommended amount of time to wait to apply for a different visa type?
4. What are the overall chances of her approval?  Will having studied a degree help or hurt her chances?

Sounds like she is visa shopping. 

If she needs to pass a TOEFL exam she can buy prep books. 

And if TOEFL is a requirement of her degree she should have been taking classes at her school. 

She'll be asked about that during her F1 interview if she applies for a visa.

ETA: TOEFL has free prep materials on their website.

https://www.ets.org/toefl/test-takers/ibt/prepare/courses/

 

Edited December 29, 2021 by Kor2USA

[Chancy 6,241]

17 hours ago, plshelpastudent said:

She applied for a tourist visa well over a year ago and (after many pandemic related delays) when finally given an interview this August (2021) was denied with the reason being she had family members living in the U.S.

 

Your SIL may certainly apply for a student visa, but it will likely be a waste of time and money.  She will likely be denied for the same reason that she was denied a tourist visa.  By US law, the presumption of immigrant intent also applies to those seeking student visas, and your SIL was not able to overcome that presumption.