Student visa for 16yr old niece

[S9471 60]

38 minutes ago, Daneandkathy said:

@nelmagriffin thank you so much for all this information, I really appreciate. most people have just said I have no idea and this is too expensive, without helping with any information about how to move forward. I have spoken to the local high school and if she does decide to come for a year, since it is public school there is a negligible cost to it (since it is included in our taxes already, I think $20 for administration). 

Keep in mind that public school costs are different for residents vs. foreign students and it's not up to the school to decide... there are state and federal regulations that determine this. You pay taxes, but the student you are planning on bringing in didn't and neither did their family (in US, that is...) so they would not be able to benefit from the same possibilities you, a resident, has.

Edited May 12, 2022 by S9471

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

42 minutes ago, Daneandkathy said:

without helping with any information about how to move forward. I have spoken to the local high school and if she does decide to come for a year, since it is public school there is a negligible cost to it (since it is included in our taxes already, I think $20 for administration

This is INCORRECT INFORMATION. Your school must presumably not have much experience with students on visas. As per one of the links I posted for you earlier - I am wondering if you read them? - this is true even if who they are staying with is resident in the school District.

 

Foreign students who want to attend public secondary school (high school) must pay the full cost of education. This amount is listed under "tuition" on the student's Form I-20. If the Form I-20 does not include the cost of tuition, the student must have a notarized statement, signed by the designated school official (DSO) who signed the Form I-20, stating the full cost of tuition and that the student paid the tuition in full. The full, unsubsidized per capita (for each student) cost of education is the cost of providing education to each student in the school district where the public school is located. Costs normally range between $3,000 and $10,000. The student secondary school cost reimbursement requirement is mandatory and school systems cannot waive the reimbursement requirement.

 

Foreign students may come to the United States to live with U.S. citizen relatives while attending public school. The child is limited to twelve months of study in secondary school (high school). The child may not study in elementary school. It should be noted however, that the student's status as a resident of the school district and the fact that the U.S. citizen has paid local property/school taxes is irrelevant and does not fulfill the cost reimbursement requirement of Section 214(m) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Therefore, the full tuition costs must be paid to the school or school district.

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/study/student-visa/foreign-students-in-public-schools.html

The school may not check immigration status but your niece will not get a visa and will not be in the US legally if she does not follow the correct procedure. If she doesn’t do this part legally, forget about her getting a visa to study or probably even to visit later on.

 

Edited May 12, 2022 by SusieQQQ

[S9471 60]

37 minutes ago, Daneandkathy said:

I know if we go through an exchange program she can only stay with a host family, but my hope was to become approved as a host family so she can stay with us and possibly continue hosting students from Macedonia. 

Also be aware that host families through exchange program are random-assigned to students... you can't pick and choose unless the program gives you that option.

[Zoeeeeeee 797]

I know this must feel like we're all being super negative - and that it can't be as difficult as we're saying - but the immigration system/process isn't set up to allow people to easily just bring their entire family over...because if it was, everyone would be doing it.

 

Unfortunately, your neices are not immediate family, which essentially means they have no more rights to come to the US above any other random person. And the usual ways that most random people come to the US are via having very special, desirable skills (and getting sponsored for a work visa)...or having lots of money (and being able to afford to study here - or invest here). Or applying for the diversity lottery.

 

There isn't a way to short-cut it or do it on the cheap (which seems to be what you're trying to do) - the system has been very carefully set up to prevent this, or again, everyone would do it. So, whilst it may not be what you want to hear, it's the truth - and if you do try to play the system, whether intentionally or not (ie, register her in your local school for $20 because you've not researched her ineligibility for that), you will have a negative and lasting impact on her long-term ability to visit here (I say visit, because again, a student visa isn't an immigrant visa - you have no direct path to helping her immigrate).

 

Good luck in navigating this situation.

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

8 hours ago, Zoeeeeeee said:

whether intentionally or not (ie, register her in your local school for $20 because you've not researched her ineligibility for that), y

Yes, to be explicit about this:  Either: they go the legal route and get a student visa for her, which per the extracts above requires paying the full cost of attendance and the school cannot waive that; or they do it illegally and bring her in on a B visa and enroll her for “free”, but that will lead to her being unlawfully present (she is not allowed by law to be enrolled in school on a B visa) and even if some if it is before she turns 18, the fact of doing that will both void the B visa, making it unlikely she will get another one, and almost certainly means she will never get a student visa for college. 

[KeeganTaylor 0]

On 5/13/2022 at 12:04 PM, Zoeeeeeee said:

I know this must feel like we're all being super negative - and that it can't be as difficult as we're saying - but the immigration system/process isn't set up to allow people to easily just bring their entire family over...because if it was, everyone would be doing it.

 

Unfortunately, your neices are not immediate family, which essentially means they have no more rights to come to the US above any other random person. And the usual ways that most random people come to the US are via having very special, desirable skills (and getting sponsored for a work visa)...or having lots of money (and being able to afford to study here - or invest here). Or applying for the diversity lottery.

When I was a student, it was very important for me to open a student visa to be able to travel and do internships in other countries. On the site https://edubirdie.com/examples/hiv/ I once read about the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, became interested in this topic and the topic of health care in general, and decided to explore these issues in other countries.

There isn't a way to short-cut it or do it on the cheap (which seems to be what you're trying to do) - the system has been very carefully set up to prevent this, or again, everyone would do it. So, whilst it may not be what you want to hear, it's the truth - and if you do try to play the system, whether intentionally or not (ie, register her in your local school for $20 because you've not researched her ineligibility for that), you will have a negative and lasting impact on her long-term ability to visit here (I say visit, because again, a student visa isn't an immigrant visa - you have no direct path to helping her immigrate).

 

Good luck in navigating this situation.
 

Thanks for the explanation.

Edited June 24, 2022 by KeeganTaylor