jeffreyhy

I agree. CIS, IRS, state motor vehicle departments, state college and university systems, county junior college systems, and individual private colleges, universities, and junior colleges all have their own definitions of 'resident' for their own needs and purposes.

Those definitions may have some common elements, they will also have differences.

Regards, JEff

Michelmas

This is absolutely correct. As has been stated, they're in the business to make money, more if you have to pay "out of state" tuition. When my wife moved from Indiana to Michigan to live with me, even though she was the UKC and had lived in MI for 3 months, she still DIDN'T qualify for in state tuition. I think we managed to negotiate a 6 month period as residency.

Gingerert

Hi Chris and Mystasia,

I'm in Wisconsin (c'mon you Cheese Heads!) and I have a couple of local British friends here too. One of them is here on a B2 visa and as she can't work she's taken to doing the occasional class at the local technical college. We're not talking degree-level stuff here - cookery, sewing, book-binding, etc - but as far as I'm aware she just paid a flat fee.

If you find yourself in a position where the college is making you pay extortionate fees as you're not technically a resident, but you're only doing the classes to pass the time before you EAD comes up, then think about doing some silly classes at the local tech instead.

Feel free to PM me if you want more info. Where abouts in WI are you headed?

Chris_UK2WI

Hey...

I'm going to be in Madison... I got a number for the lady who deals with international students at MATC and I'm giving her a call tomorrow so hopefully I should be able to find out more... although I'm guessing she usually deals with people on student visas so I'm not sure if she will even know about my situation with being on a K1...

mystasia

He's been looking at doing a Madison Area Technical College degree in Respiratory Therapy, though apparantly he has to be a "resident" to get on the wait list. But we were hoping he'd be able to do some of the general class for the program such as Speech, Written Communication, Psychology .... just general classes that you dont need to be in a program to take. The cost isnt too terrible at MATC for non residents, it would be about $150-200 more per class, but I think it would be worth him being able to start school right away vs waiting...

I just hope he'd be able to enroll for the fall semester given he'll be on the K1 till July, then sending in to adjust status after that.

Gingerert where are you in Wisconsin?

Noorah101

He's fine to attend school on the K-1, before he applies to adjust status. There shouldn't be an issue there.

Rene

Gingerert

Ah, Madison! I LOVE Madison. My OH went to UWM there while we were dating long-distance so I got to spend a lot of time there visiting. We still have friends there, which is fabulous.

Hmm... I suppose it depends on MATC's criteria, but if they're anything like the schools around here, they will let you do the odd class for a flat fee with or without residency.

And I think you're both right about people not having any clue what a K-1 visa is. Hell, half the people in this state don't even know where the UK is.

And I'm a UKC married to a USC in Racine.

ian-mstm

Well, it's been a while... but yes, I went to university after arriving on a K-1 visa. I entered the US in April 1998, got married in May, applied to adjust status in June, and was in school in late August. I was enrolled in a Masters program and I'll note here - just for the humorous irony - that I got my green card just one month (April 2001) before I got my degree (May 2001).

Now... the part that probably interests you: I applied to several schools both in state and out of state. The in state school (UK, by staggering coincidence) wanted me to pay international student fees until such time as I either had my GC or had lived in state for one year. The out of state school (a smaller, more "down home" school) let me pay "metro fees" since the county I lived in bordered the state line. So, I ended up paying a bit more than in state fees, but not nearly as much as international student fees. Anyway... it worked out well for me. Good luck to you both.

Ian