Minilove1

In all fairness, the company we are going to, has engineered all of our move, therefore our notifications have been sparse as opposed to theirs. We were aware that we had 'presumably' got through the lottery as the application required further information & processing. The nature of the business requires more clarification than a 'normal' move to business it seems. As the attorney is essentially working for the business we are going to, communication has been sparse (as they invariably must cover themselves) but we have been kept informed by the company.
I am expecting official documentation in the next few weeks to arrange to go to the US consulate in London for interviews etc.

Minilove1

This is exactly right fbf2006!

Jerseygirl

Thank you for clarifying Minilove.

Steve_

H-1B is not a "lottery" per se, it's first-come, first-served. Anyway assuming her husband got his I-129 approved, I think the best idea is for the daughter to stay in the UK until the GCSEs are finished. You can do the international baccalaureate, but it's not really practical to switch over halfway through the GCSEs.

fbf2006

Well yes technically it's first come, first served. But since most of the applications come on the first day that they are due and the applications are more than the maximum allowed, they all go through a lottery. So to those that have to go through it, it's essentially a lottery.

petitefrancaise

The IB Diploma follows on from the GCSE's. The IB diploma is loosely based on the british curriculum so it's an easy transition.

Pre-IB courses are offered in the USA as prep for the IB diploma but each school district sets the curriculum for the Pre-IB classes.
So, for the OP's daughter, if she joined halfway through the year, then you'd have no guarantee at all that the GCSE course would match the Pre-IB one.

I think we have all agreed that waiting until the GCSE's are done is the best way forward for her.

The daughter with an H4 visa will qualify for in-state University tuition rates provided the residency requirements are met. Financial aid may be the tricky part though and she won't be allowed to work. She should also qualify for domestic UK university rates.

If the family get greencards, then it is unlikely that she will get domestic UK rates and if she wishes to remain in the USA then it may be better if she gets a US degree.

steveq

We checked for our son: the rules say that you have to have been a UK legal permanent resident for the last three years.

lizzyq

From our recent experience and research into university tuition:

Regarding the in-state tuition rates I think this depends on the university/college as I know that Penn State University only treats holders of an I-551 (physical green card or stamp in passport) for US resident fees, all other non-immigrant visa holders are treated as international students. With a non-immigrant visa with an expiry date it is possible to get domestic UK university tuition as my elder son did that, though some hoops would still need to be jumped through to achieve it.

My younger son should have his GC by the time he applies to universities so he will get US resident (in or out of state depending on where he applies) here in the USA, but would be treated as an international student in the UK.

Jerseygirl

True but we have had members whose children have been away from the UK on their parent's temp visa. They have been able to get UK resident fees as their stay was not deemed permanent. Once they have a GC they are perm US residents.

petitefrancaise

the wording is actually "ordinarily" resident. This means that you may be living elsewhere temporarily so your permanent residence is actually the UK.

If you are living in the US on a temporary visa, such as L1/L2 or H1b then your ordinary residence is the UK. That has been established many times over and from lots of different countries.

From what I've read, most H4 visa holders manage to get in-state tuition but can't work and don't qualify for financial aid/scholarships. Switching to F1 allows the student to work in some circumstances but runs the risk of having to pay international fees.

lizzyq

H4 visa holders are SOL at Penn State then
Penn State Admissions Information for International Students - Undergraduate Admissions

I'm glad not all universities are so inflexible.

petitefrancaise

goodness, not even an L2 would be in-state there.