i'm curious because i've read that they require foreign students to have at least 15,000 dollars in their account to show that they can afford to go to school here (tuition and living expenses total). i hope not, he's only taking a 6-month accelerated course and he'll be living with me (of course!) so he won't need 15 grand on his own.

so then, do we have to be married first and apply for AOS/EAD before he can register for classes? also, is there any chance he'll be considered a resident since he'll be married to me? i doubt it since in CA they require one-yr residency.

anyone out there gone through this process?

In most cases, permanent resident status (the green card) is required to even be considered for in state tuitions. The universities I attended all had residency policies of at least a year, sometimes two.

Yes, we looked into this for my son in Orange County and he had to be resident for one year and one day or claimed on our taxes (as per residency rules for taxes), otherwise he would be treated as an overseas student and pay overseas student fees.

The $15000 you read about are for visa purposes, because foreign students need to fulfill certain monetary requirements to be issued the necessary documents for travel. So, since your husband is not in need of a visa, the international student office should be able to exempt him from that.

Until his AOS is approved, he will however be considered an international student, which at most schools means not only paying out-of-state or international tuition, but also being subject to so-called SEVIS-fees and other international student fees in addition to the normal student fees. Finally, all international students need to have prove of medical insurance for the time they're enrolled.

The best thing to do to find out what the particular school requires is to contact their International Students and Scholars Office. They're in charge of the formalities and are probably the most informed people in this case. Don't expect them to be familiar with family immigration issues and procedures though... Good luck!

My husband was considered a "resident" for tuituion purposes because we are married and I'm a resident of our state. Maybe it just depends on the school.

i think it differs in each state. what state are you in? i may have to directly consult with the college admission.

yeah i think it depends on the school, UMASS says i will be considered foreign till i get green card

We are in Utah. Hubby had to go through the international admissions department and apply to qualify as a resident. Also, I remember that there was a stipulation about his main purpose for coming to the US must not be for educational purposes....Since he had Cr1, it was easy to justify.

As far as I know, they require 1 year of residency in California.

yeah, the community colleg rep we spoke to said that you need to have resided in California for a year at the time of application. my wife came in last October, which means she wont qualify for 'resident' until spring semester of 2007.

Daniel

http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admi..._residency.html

For comprehensive information about establishing residency, refer to each campus's General Catalog or contact the campus Residence Deputy: