BenGrant

OK, here's the situation:

The wife is in Europe (home country in Asia) expecting to finish her Ph D in Sep 09. Husband in US on F1 visa pursuing MBA.

Wife was planning on applying for a F2 visa to join her husband once done with her Ph D. She has recently been invited to attend a US conference in July. Can she apply for the F2 visa now and attend the conference (and also visit the hubby for perhaps a week or so while in US) on the F2 and return to finish her Ph D and re-enter on the F2 (that is hopefully multiple entry) ? Or is it advisable to apply for a B2 visa to attend the conference (and visit the hubby) and then return and apply for an F2 in Sep?

Thanks

crg

I'd say get the F2. If the border guards find out she has an F1 spouse they may think she's attempting to misuse the B2. She may be able to apply for both and save a trip to the consulate. They may want to visit the US when the husband is done with school.

BenGrant

Sorry, I don't quite follow when you say she may be able to apply for both.
In any one trip to the embassy she can only request one type of visa, correct?

When the husband is done with school, she can't really "visit" the US on F2, right?

crg

Correct. She can't visit on the F2 if the spouse is no longer an F-1.

I'm not sure if it would take one appointment or two appointments to get both visas. It would take two applications.

BenGrant

So sounds like one can make two concurrent non-immigrant visa applications (B2 and F2) at the same time ? That would be very convenient!

ian-mstm

Yes... you can! Many folks have multiple visa applications ongoing simultaneously... and usually go with whichever one gets approved first.

Ian

BenGrant

OK, I just wanted to post our original thoughts/concerns we had on each type of visas earlier (if she were to apply any of the two only):

F2 - The consulate might question why she was applying for an F2 so early (1st week of June) if her PhD doesn't complete until September. That would be a 3 month gap. Our thought was: Would it count against her that she is wanting travel to the US on F2 (which sounds like a rather long-term visa compared to B2, although they both are non-immigrant visa) 3 months before finishing her current business that is her PhD..?

B2 - If she were to want a B2 visa for the conference in July, would the fact that her husband is in the US and she intends to visit him in her B2 trip count against her in her B2 visa application itself or is this understandable and expected ?

Will appreciate any insights on these concerns !

BenGrant

anyone have any thoughts to my two questions above? Thanks.

Orangepants

I can only comment on the B2 part of your question. My partner is in the US on a H1B in Charlotte and I work for a bank in London with HQ in Charlotte and have a B1/B2. I visit every two months for business for about two/three weeks each time and I always say I am visiting/staying with my partner whilst on business - never had a problem with that part of it.

BenGrant

thanks for your input orangepants.

Does anyone know whether it is OK to visit the US on F2 for ocassional short trips (say anywhere from 2-3 weeks to 2-3 months), or must the intent of the F2 be to reside in the US with the F1 all the time whilst the F1 is a student?

crg

It's OK. An F-2 allows someone to cohabitate with an F-1. It does not require that they spend a certain amount of their time in the US with the F-1.

BenGrant

Thanks crg14624. Does anyone have any thoughts on the below regarding the F2, (if she does decide to apply for the F2)?

Basically, we're wondering whether the consulate might question why she is applying for an F2 so early (1st week of June) if her PhD doesn't complete until September. That would be a 3 month gap. Would it count against her that she is wanting travel to the US on a F2 three months before finishing her current business that is her PhD..? (the reason we are concerned about this is probably because we are under the impression that F2 would be thought of a somewhat long term visa compared to a short trip on B2)

BenGrant

Also, if she were to apply for F2, would the fact that she has a US citizen brother and a US citizen sister living the US count against her ? or would the fact that she has an F1 spouse studying in the US outweigh this for F2 ?

BenGrant

Anyone want to comment on the above?

crg

Your questions are difficult to answer because the process is so subjective. Decisions on visas are based on the totality of circumstances and made by individual consular officers. We can't get inside their heads to determine the weight they will assign to different factors.