student visa application

[Jovic 8]

I am a university lecturer in Nigeria and I applied for PhD in US and I got admitted and I have requested for my I 20 to apply for visa. But in December 2015 I got married to a US green card holder and has gone back. I want to apply for my student visa, hope her status will not affect because I don't have any intention to immigrate through this because am signing a bond back in my work place to come back and serve the number of years in spend in the US. Pls advice me.

Thanks

Oluwafemi

[arken 4,197]

You will possibly have a difficult road ahead in getting the student visa. The CO will have hard time believing you that you will return back to serve few years in your workplace leaving your spouse behind in the US.

[Jovic 8]

Thank you so what do you advice me should I wait for her to file me or I should risk and if am denied will affect her filing for me.

[Boiler 43,425]

What is the plan, is he leaving the US when you finish your PHD?

[Jovic 8]

Sir do you mean to ask if my wife will leave the US to come to Nigeria with me after my PhD?

No. She is already working there and may not come back with me.

[Boiler 43,425]

Might be a hard sell.

[aaron2020 11,651]

No. Are you planning to leave the US after getting your PhD. and leaving your wife in the US? Not common at all to do this.

Just wait and have your wife file for you. You are going to face an uphill battle. You getting a student visa may be viewed as a way to skip the 2 years wait for an LPR spouse to petition for you. It makes you look desperate to get to the US as quickly as possible. Why go into debt for a PhD, when you can get LPR status and get financial aid. It makes you look desperate to get to the US as quickly as possible.

Look at it this way - people do not get marry to live separately.

Sponsored PhD: 1. Come to US without waiting 2 years as the spouse of an LPR.. 2. Be in debt for the PhD. 3. After PhD., you will live and work for years in a country separated from your wife. (Maybe not if you decide not to go back and just repay the money.)

Wife files I-130: 1. Takes 2 years for you to get here. 2. As an LPR, you can get free money through financial aid to go to school. 3. You and your wife stay together after your PhD.

The F1 requires you to have non-immigrant intent and proof of a home to return to. Hard to do when you just married a US LPR.

Edited July 24, 2016 by aaron2020

[Jovic 8]

Thank you. Can she file me as a green card holder or she has to have citizenship first.

[aaron2020 11,651]

She can file for you as a green card holder. It's about 2 years for an immigration visa.

[Jovic 8]

Thank you. I have been worried on what step to take since I got my I 20. I have even applied for visa but yet to pay for the visa fee. I will have to wait then.

But if I have academic conference to attend in the US can I apply and will her status not affect me too.

[aaron2020 11,651]

Her status will always affect you when applying to enter the US. You have a US LPR wife. That's a strong tie to the US.

[aaron2020 11,651]

Faduvic Sent me a PM asking about a visa for Canada.

Anyone believe that he intends to return to Nigeria after getting his PhD? Looks like he is desperate to get to te West.

[afrocraft 313]

I would apply regardless -- unless one is willing to wait ~4 years to get an immigrant visa and keep your ambitions for graduate study on hold till then. If you're denied on the student visa, that denial has, on its own, little bearing on your future immigration application.

If I were you, I would be honest and upfront about the dilemma you face. Be sure to declare your marital status in your application, don't even think about hiding the fact that 1) you're married, and 2) your spouse is a US permanent resident. Doing so could seriously hurt your immigration chances later.

At interview:

• Explain why this is the right time to do the PhD (how it fits with your current research, how will it help your career transition, e.g., you need it to move from Lecturer to Senior Lecturer, etc.);
• Produce the bond that you've signed to return; and
• If your spouse's status comes up, and only then, argue that you are still negotiating where both of you will eventually settle, and that you can't just keep your career on hold till that is resolved.

I think ultimately the decision will rest on 1) how compelling the PhD opportunity is (e.g., the prestige of the program, whether you have substantial funding, etc.), and 2) how convincing your career plans come across. Good luck!

[Jovic 8]

Thanks for the advice