Unique Situation
 

Dear All, first post but feel free to pull me into line.

I am looking to move to the US under a sponsor program. Most of which will be done by the company, however wanted to ask some general questions before entering this process.

I am a British Citizen and Australian Resident living in Australia, my partner and two childrens (10yo) are Australian Citizens.

Can anyone see an issue with the above.

Other Questions are around topics such as education -

Can they attend public school in the US the same way we allow them to attend ours? I read conflicting advice that we can do 12 months and have to pay for it to a simple no.

Health Insurance - generally healthy, one of my kids has mild cerebral palsy but only physical. What are the general costs and can we take it out?

Kind of unrelated, looking at Dallas so any tips around this would be good, good area's, bad area's etc.

Thanks for your help

Chris

Re: Unique Situation
 

Yes - you and your partner must be married. If the children are not yours, your partner will need written permission from the children's other parent (or a court order to that effect) to remove them from Aussie jurisdiction.


These are not immigration-related questions and should be posted in the general USA forum.

Ian

Re: Unique Situation
 

Hi Chris, Welcome to BE.

What is a "sponsor program"? Which visa would you be getting?

Rene

Re: Unique Situation
 

Welcome to BE and good luck!

To add to what Ian has said, there's a couple of current health related threads that should get you started on the insurance questions.

Have a search too about Dallas, as it has come up a bit so would make a good starting point.

Schools, you rent/buy a house, kids go to the school tied to the address, unless you want to send them to private school. The whole thing about not being able to go to the public schools is probably related to the B1/2 tourist visa.

Re: Unique Situation
 

Presume by sponsor program you mean a company is going to sponsor you for the work visa.

Yes, your children will be able to attend school in the US

Your company should be providing you with a comprehensive health insurance scheme; they will pay part of the premiums, you will pay the rest. If they are not providing you with health insurance then this is a major red flag with regards what type of company they are. For a family of 4 you are probably looking at $500+ per month for company scheme?

Re: Unique Situation
 

What is unique?

Re: Unique Situation
 

That rather understates the matter - his children will be required to attend school (unless there is an adequate home-school plan in place). Not only is there is no charge, there is no mechanism to collect a fee for a child to attend a public (state) school in the US. Plenty of children in the country illegally attend public schools and their status is unknown, undetected, and irrelevant for the purpose of attending school.

I agree, I see nothing remarkable. So far as the US goes, it makes no difference if you are from the UK, Australia, or Mongolia. There are a few special rules for Iranians and North Koreans.

Re: Unique Situation
 

Provided they are grade 1 and up. Pre-K/K, is a different story.

Re: Unique Situation
 

Maybe that depends on the state, because "k" is included in NC and VA, but in any case I don't think someone would be asking about "school" for 3-4 four year old.

Re: Unique Situation
 

Probably, down here, pre-K isn't free, full day costs extra and you've got to prove legal status which is dubious but there you go and for K state only pays half day and you have to pay for the rest if you want full day and you've got to prove legal status for that.

Though depending on birth date, could be up to 6 years old.

Re: Unique Situation
 

Hmm, Maine schools charge a fee to anyone attending who doesn't live in the administrative area. The state sets the fee - it's around $9k. My daughter also attends a state boarding school and I pay for her room and board, also around $9k. The mechanism is certainly there *weeps*

Re: Unique Situation
 

It sounds like those are choices you are making. If you have a child, living in Maine, and are unable or unwilling to engage in home schooling, are you not required to send your child(ren) to a school funded exclusively by taxes? :confused: If you fail to send your child to school, or provide home schooling, are you not at risk of prosecution? :confused:

As far as I can tell, and despite the petty regulations that certain school districts have purported to introduce, there isn't anywhere in the industrialized world (G20 +++) where education for children isn't (i) mandatory, and (ii) funded by taxes and free from fees at the point of service.

Re: Unique Situation
 

Our school district is pretty strict too, for certain schools you MUST live within school boundaries. There isn't a "fee" scheme.

The only way around that is doing something like the IB program which is only offered at certain schools. Even then I don't think they will allow out of district students.

Pulaski, children don't attend school illegally if they are illegal immigrants. I'm nit-picking but if they live in area, if they have had vaccinations then they can go to school. The school is NOT allowed to ask about immigration status.

Re: Unique Situation
 

Indeed, but you said there was no mechanism for collecting fees. And I pointed out that there absolutely are mechanisms.

Re: Unique Situation
 

I was talking about "mandatory" free public schools, and I think you knew that.

Re: Unique Situation
 

That is EXACTLY my point. And the rules that school districts attempt to enforce, regarding residency and visas, are almost certainly illegal/ unenforceable.

Re: Unique Situation
 

I thought this was the case in our school system until I went to a school budget meeting recently and discovered that not only can students from another administrative unit come to our schools for a fee, but also teachers at our school can bring their children to the school also for a fee. This is likely to increase in Maine as the governor is very pro-school-choice. It's going to be interesting.

Re: Unique Situation
 

Again, those are fees related to choices. If you live in the area, your children are required to attend school (subject to the homeschool exception, or parental choice to pay for a different school), and no fee is allowed.

Re: Unique Situation
 

Sorry, I wasn't trying to create the great debate.

I am none the wiser as to our situation and will leave it at that given the conflicting guidance.

Thanks to those that did try to offer genuine assistance, to the others take it easy.

Thanks

Chris

Re: Unique Situation
 

Yes, they can attend school, there is no charge, though you will almost certainly be asked to contribute stationery supplies and tissues, wipes, etc.

Under the Affordable Care Act you can obtain health insurance, that much is certain, and it will likely be through your employer, and isn't/ can't be priced based on your child's health. You get to choose, probably from several policies, offering different premiers and deductibles (excesses). Depending on your employer 's generosity in subsidizing the cost, it will likely cost you between $100 and $1,000 per month in insurance premiums; $600-$800 is typical IMO. Each year you pay the first $x, being the deductible, and then insurance picks up most of the rest. There is usually also a modest point of service fee, called a copay, usually $25-$30.

Any prescription drugs will be subsidized by the insurance, but in a very unpredictable way. You can look up the gross cost of the drugs at goodrx.com, but the only certain thing is that you will pay somewhere between zero and the total cost. ..... There is usually a drug copay, typically of $10.

Re: Unique Situation
 

To my personal memory you can attend in US public school. Maybe you would be required to pass an exam in general studies - English, math. But ai I remember it's not obligatory, at least not in every school

Re: Unique Situation
 

To get entry to the school? .... That doesn't sound right? :confused:

Re: Unique Situation
 

Oh, sorry, but I've heard something like that about USA. I know that there are good public schools in Russia tha requires passing entry exams.

Re: Unique Situation
 

No, as was discussed above, and apparently irritated the OP :o, in the US schools are assigned on the basis of your home address, and that determines which school your children attend, the school can't turn you away. .... There are certain choice possibilities (magnet schools, academies, out-of-district schools, etc.) for which there may be fees, but generally your addreas determines school assignment.

Re: Unique Situation
 

Hi I made the move to Dallas 6 months ago. You've asked a lot of good questions heres some answers and advice:


1) If you are not on something like an L1 visa, for example a H1B, that's not a good deal. H1B is not known as the body shopping visa for nothing.


2) Your company should have a healthcare scheme. It may be a high deductible one, but they should contribute reasonably. For my family I pay $250 a month for medical, $30 for dental and $15 for vision. The company trebles this. Check the small print. I got lots of freebies on mine too based on lifestyle choices.


3) I think Aus is similar to UK with taxation. So don't take a simple exchange rate multiplier. You will be below market value here and unable to move company unless/until your company gets you a green card. This should be a red flag if a combination of 1,2 and 3 are not fulfilled.


4) Dallas, like everywhere, has a highly variable schooling system.


4a) Firstly there's getting in. The getting in part is down to English as a primary language and having the right jabs/inoculations. YOU ARE OBLIDGED to have both sorted if its not the case at your expense. Check the Texas Education board website. THEY ARE REALLY STRICT ON THIS. You can walk into a Walgreens to get them done, but you MUST have proof.


4b) I suggest a pre-visit out here to talk to the administration people at the school you finally choose (see my housing advice to follow). By choosing a school I mean choose a district and a school and RENT THERE. Don't choose a house and take the school. You need to prime the school about YOUR education system and the needs, achievements of your kids. They WILL STILL probably get put in grade recovery classes, but you will have warned the councilor to keep an eye on their progress. My son got place in Grade Recovery despite being a Sheldon Cooper at Physics, and is now with the Seniors in high school. They realized having him in with his own age was disruptive to those kids as he knew too much.


4c) The house rental websites have school reviews. Its basically a pretty easy pick though. The more the houses cost to buy, the better the schools. Property taxes pay for schools in Texas. I'd recommend North of Dallas, and Frisco ISD. If they are sporty look at Allen, but don't expect academic excellence, expect overly well funded excellent sports.


5) Homes. Because of schools go straight to a rental home. Apartment complexes than companies stick you in will be in a different ISD and probably a different school area and tie your hands. Your kids will be in and out of recovery classes for months. I got a realtor to look for me in the high school area I wanted and rented there. Realtors finding for you will work for free. My company would have paid for an apartment for 8 weeks, but its a hassle and not worth it. Get them to pay for a hotel suite for a couple of weeks instead as I did, but have a home rented with an address the day you move over (as the address determines eligibility for the school).


Ping me if you want any more advice. If you plan and prepare the move will be smooth and bar the kids/wife having inevitable bouts of homesickness you'll make the transition much better than turning up and relying on a relo company who are just looking to sell you and your company pointless services.

Re: Unique Situation
 

totally agree about the Dallas school comments. We were in Dallas ISD for a few months and it sucked majorly. We moved north to Mckinney (East of Frisco) and its a bazillion times better. I love the school district and my kids are doing great there.

Re: Unique Situation
 

Does Grade Recovery, whatever that is, apply for elementary kids? I know if someone moves here with kids of high school age, or maybe even middle, you'd have to ride the school hard to get them to recognize the child's previous studies and make sure they're in the correct academic class track. But mine - at 7 and 11 - were simply just placed in the correct grade for their age, 2nd and 6th.

And this was despite coming from Switzerland, where the oldest hadn't written a sentence in Enlgish for 3+ years, and the youngest couldn't read yet. They gave her some one-on-one tutoring for about 6 months, a couple of times a week, but she was otherwise in a regular class.

Re: Unique Situation
 

Yeah Grade Recovery is usually High School. I didn't do an age check.

Re: Unique Situation
 

No, but to rank you for classes. The boys had to, much to their great surprise. They had to do a civics exam, and ended up in the top 10 in the school - despite never touching the syllabus.

Mine you, when #2 son scored 105% in his last maths test, you have to wonder about the standards here....

Re: Unique Situation
 

:) My son ran a grade of 104.something for most of last semester's US History course, based on getting extra marks in an exam (answering a couple of voluntary extra questions or something). Funnier when it's actually for maths, though!

He was halfway through 6th grade when we arrived here. Once in middle school and noticeably finding the classes easy now he was all caught up in English, he took some aptitude tests, CoGAT ones, as the gateway tests to being placed in more demanding classes (other kids had been placed in them based in their end-of-year state tests). His school split it out that the performance on the verbal reasoning block determined placement in Honors English and Social Studies, and the numerical reasoning block made him eligible for the Accelerated Math and Science track, so he did Pre-Alegebra in 7th, then Algebra 1 and the 9th grade general science class in 8th.

Being a year ahead in the Math and Science tracks is useful, as he's going into his junior year next year, and has been able to sign up for more APs with prerequisites than he otherwise would have. Plus of course he's had the benefit of more engaging classes with a group of like-minded peers; not necessarily all the smartest children, but definitely the ones more inclined to work hard and not be disruptive.

Re: Unique Situation
 

A few years ago my employer circulated "participation" (percentage of employees who had pledged) for the annual United Way appeal. Unsurprisingly it was the marketing department which had 102% participation. :rolleyes:

Re: Unique Situation
 

#1 son did some US aptitude tests (ASVAB ?), and now he can't shake the US Navy off his tail.....we have politely pointed out he isn't actually a citizen...

Re: Unique Situation
 

That is absolutely not a bar to serving in the US military, and in fact joining the military is a fairly popular path to citizenship. Also it is not uncommon for UK Territorial Army reservists to join the US National Guard while seconded on an L-1 visa.

Re: Unique Situation
 

I thought that path was closed. When did it reopen ? Not that I think he'd stand a snowflake in hells chance of surviving the military.

Re: Unique Situation
 

The military path to citizenship? I didn't know it had closed. .... Still hasn't stopped non-citizens serving in the US military, though, AFAIK.

IIRC the Territorial Army - National Guard connection might be linked to NATO. :unsure: