Archibald_Leach

Hi Folks

I was granted my conditional green card last autumn, and now live in WA state.

I have a teenage daughter back in the UK nearing the end of her school education and she wishes to study at the Parelli College in Colorado (It's a particular method of horsemanship).

I've searched the forum but havent really found the answers to a couple of questions.

Am I correct in assuming she will need an F1 visa to study over here?,

Are there any advantages to having her dad being a green card holder, somehow i doubt this as the place she wishes to study isn't in WA state.

Anyone done this? pitfalls, advice, costs, keeping her away from over-amorous stable boys? any info most welcome, though as I'm sending her the link to this thread please keep it something you wouldnt mind your own daughters reading!

Archie

dreamercon

Are you married to a US citizen? How old was your daughter when you got married? How old is your daughter now? Who has/had custody over her?

Archibald_Leach

Yes I'm married to a US Citizen.

Daughter was 15 when I got married, she is 16 now, 17 in sept.

As her mother and I were never married there was no divorce and no fight for custody, she has always lived with her mother who has done a first class job.

I am the father on the birth certificate, there is not a problem from her mothers point of view as far as my daughter coming to the USA to study.

Daughter has been horse mad since I took her for her first lessons when she was 5 or 6, and has owned her own for probably 5 years and has been training a friends horse for the past 2, so i'm fairly confident it isnt just the common teen girls horsey thing, she's been dedicated for long enough to show it isnt a fad, and she has attended the Parelli exhibition shows at the NEC back in the UK.

Thanks for your quick reply, hope this is enough further info for some more replys, I'm off out to watch a game of rounders, sorry I mean softball but will catch up later

Archie

Rete

As long as she was listed as your daughter on all your prior immigration forms and you can prove that a parental relationship has existed, then your wife can petition for her I-130 at the appropriate address and your daughter will be able to interview at the US Consulate for her immediate relative visa. It is that simple. It is easier this way then going the F1 route, at least IMHO. If her schooling takes 5 years, she will even have the option at that time to become a USC if she so choses.

The only issue is that no matter which way she gets her, she will probably have to pay a higher tutition at least until she establishes state residency.

PR status will afford her the right to work while attending school in any type job while an F1 means she can only work in the school itself.

crg

Just as an FYI, the Parelli Natural Horsemanship University does participate in the SEVIS program so an F-1 or M-1 is possible if you decide to go that route.

http://www.ice.gov/sevis/map/co.htm

BTW, Having an LPR parent is a hinderance, and not a help when seeking an F-1 visa.

Archibald_Leach

Thanks for the information, seems as if the LPR route is the simplest, I wasn't aware it was an option. Yes she was included on my immigration forms in the relatives sections.

Is there an age limit for this process? or does the fact she was 16 when I received LPR status mean we could apply when she's 19,20,21.....25?

I see your point about an F1 being harder in as much as why would she apply for a visitor benefit when she has a parent living here....


Thanks again

Archie

md95065

It all depends what she wants do do.

An F1 is actually very easy to get provided that she can show that she intends to return to the UK at the conclusion of her studies and that she, or her sponsor, has sufficient funds to support her while she is over here. That having been said, the disadvantages of an F1 are that she would only be allowed to work on-campus and it would not in and of itself provide a path to permanent residence if she decided that she wanted to stay in the US.

Rete

As long as you guys married before her 18th birthday that gives your wife the opportunity to petition for her as a stepchild. The process takes approx 8 -10 months so if she is going to be going to college within the next two yrs I would definitely start the process now.

Her age when you became a LPR has nothing to do with it. It is her age when you married your USC Spouse. If you are going to become a USC yourself, then you can apply for her IR-1 visa when you naturalize. But if you want to have her here before then your wife has to petition and I am not sure, but believe, the petition should be filed before her 18th birthday.

crg

IR-1? I'm pretty sure it would be an IR-2 unless they're living in West Virginia....

The OP should also keep in mind that someone with a green card nornally *must* reside in the US. So if she's only coming for school and departing, the green card may not be ideal.

Rete

Right you are 2 not 1

Nothing in immigration is ideal. The PR status/green card will at least allow her to attend school here since she might not be able to get an F1 due to Dad's residency. It allows her to work off campus if she wishes which the F1 will not allow. It allows her to remain in the US if she finds that she likes it here and wants to work here. It also allows her after 5 years to apply for naturalization which would then give her the right to leave and return to the US at her own whim or wherever employment takes her without worry about abandonment of status, etc. One downside is filing of US taxes but then if she wanted to retain PR status she would have to do that regardless if she first applied for a re-entry visa before leaving the US with the option to return within two years.

From my viewpoint, the plus column of the equation outweighs the F1 column.

meauxna

If she went with the PR plan, the step parent marriage has to happen before age 18, and she must immigrate before she turns 21, correct?

Rete

Yes, we've established that the marriage took place before her 18th birthday. She is only 16 or 17 now.