Should my girlfriend come on an F1 visa?

[Roprose 0]

Hello everyone! I've been researching this for the past couple weeks, and this site proved to be a wealth of information. After reading through it I decided to make an account and seek advice myself. I haven't found anyone in our particular situation yet, so I apologize if this has already come up.

Background:

Early this year while attending an overseas astronomy workshop in Spain I met a girl from Turkey (I am a US citizen) who was also attending the workshop. We instantly clicked and we spent the whole 5 week workshop tied to the hip. After it was over we even decided to take a two week trip to Morocco so we could spend more time together. By the end we knew it wouldn't be easy but we weren't about to give up on us. Since then we've talked every day for 4-5 hours on Skype (without fail!) and our relationship is stronger than ever. I'm visiting in December and I'll be bringing a ring with me.

Now:

My girlfriend is graduating from Turkey this semester with a master's in astronomy. I am in a PhD program in astronomy in the US. If she wants to continue her education (in other words, get a PhD) she needs to improve her English a little. She applied to an English language school in my university and was accepted (they are sending the I-20). She hasn't gone to the embassy to apply for an F1 yet. Given my plans to marry her, I realize this will complicate things greatly and more than anything I don't want to endanger our future together by getting on the bad side of the US immigration office.

Given this, I think there are a few options:

a) Apply for the F1. Be honest and say she is coming to study English so she can get a PhD later, and she chose this particular University because her boyfriend lives there. If they accept her, some time while she is here we will get married and apply for AOS. This seems like the best solution, but how likely will they be to accept her if she says she will be living with me?

b) Apply for the F1. Be honest about her need to study English, but leave out the boyfriend part. I think this will cause trouble down the road because they will look back and realize she chose this university for her F1 because of me, and had intent to immigrate. If this endangers our future, I prefer not to do it.

c) Forget the language school and apply for a visitor visa to visit me (her boyfriend) and meet my family. If accepted, after she has been here a while get married and apply for AOS. She'll still improve her English just by living in the United States.

d) Get engaged now (or when I visit in December) and apply for a "fiance" visa. She'll still improve her English by living in the United States.

e) Something else we haven't thought of?

I appreciate any advise anyone has. I've read this forum so much, and I'd like to say thank you to the volunteers who take their time to help others.

Have a great day!

[Boiler 43,871]

Improve her English first and then apply to do a Phd in the US.

[Roprose 0]

Thank you very much! This reminds me of something important I forgot to add:

She may want a PhD, but she also might not get one due to various realities. But she needs to improve her English to have a chance at getting a PhD (whether she studies in the US or Turkey or anywhere else in Europe). But how does the fact that she has a boyfriend/possible fiance in the US impact her attempt to go to a language school in the US now as well as in the future if we get married?

[Boiler 43,871]

She can start improving her language skills now, no need to rely on a US Student Visa.

Judging by the number of times this situation arises on VJ, I would assume US Consulates are very well aware of this strategy.

[vroni 1]

If she goes to language school in the US, and then later starts a PhD program at the same location in the US, she

might have a difficult time getting a visa. I have heard multiple times that embassies are suspicious if you try

to get two different non-immigrant visas for the same location. my advise would be either

1) take an english class in Turkey, and apply for the PhD program in the US as soon as possible OR

2) take an english class in the UK, and apply for the PhD program a year later

How much English does she speak? It must be enough for you two to communicate, or do you have a common

language besides English?

Also, you might want to ask your department if they give preference to partners. my department does, but I

don't know how common it is.

Do you really want to ask her to marry you if you haven't even lived together??!!

[Roprose 0]

If she goes to language school in the US, and then later starts a PhD program at the same location in the US, she

might have a difficult time getting a visa. I have heard multiple times that embassies are suspicious if you try

to get two different non-immigrant visas for the same location. my advise would be either

1) take an english class in Turkey, and apply for the PhD program in the US as soon as possible OR

2) take an english class in the UK, and apply for the PhD program a year later

How much English does she speak? It must be enough for you two to communicate, or do you have a common

language besides English?

Also, you might want to ask your department if they give preference to partners. my department does, but I

don't know how common it is.

Do you really want to ask her to marry you if you haven't even lived together??!!

Thank you for the advice! Her English is very good, but not perfect. She'll need to improve a little (for her confidence more than anything) before she can start her PhD. My department does give preference to partners, they've done this in the past. Thanks for the idea!

As far as asking, absolutely yes!

[vroni 1]

Thank you for the advice! Her English is very good, but not perfect.

Ah ok, it sounded as if she could barely speak the language, lol. As long as she can get enough points for the TOEFL and decent points for the GRE she will be fine. At my university if they determine that your English is not good enough you have to take ESL classes (I had to). I could barely speak English when I came here, but I could understand it fine. In my opinion you don't

learn so much in classes. In that case, I would try to apply for the PhD program for next fall. Tell her to watch DVDs or TV in English, that helped me the most.

As far as asking, absolutely yes!

Maybe it's just me, but I would be a little bit insulted if someone ask me to marry him before even knowing me. I would prefer my future husband to know all my quirks and annoying little details, before deciding to marry me. I live together with my boyfriend for 5 years now, and we just started to even talk about the possibility of marriage.

[jaycali 415]

Hello everyone! I've been researching this for the past couple weeks, and this site proved to be a wealth of information. After reading through it I decided to make an account and seek advice myself. I haven't found anyone in our particular situation yet, so I apologize if this has already come up.Background:Early this year while attending an overseas astronomy workshop in Spain I met a girl from Turkey (I am a US citizen) who was also attending the workshop. We instantly clicked and we spent the whole 5 week workshop tied to the hip. After it was over we even decided to take a two week trip to Morocco so we could spend more time together. By the end we knew it wouldn't be easy but we weren't about to give up on us. Since then we've talked every day for 4-5 hours on Skype (without fail!) and our relationship is stronger than ever. I'm visiting in December and I'll be bringing a ring with me.Now:My girlfriend is graduating from Turkey this semester with a master's in astronomy. I am in a PhD program in astronomy in the US. If she wants to continue her education (in other words, get a PhD) she needs to improve her English a little. She applied to an English language school in my university and was accepted (they are sending the I-20). She hasn't gone to the embassy to apply for an F1 yet. Given my plans to marry her, I realize this will complicate things greatly and more than anything I don't want to endanger our future together by getting on the bad side of the US immigration office. Given this, I think there are a few options:a) Apply for the F1. Be honest and say she is coming to study English so she can get a PhD later, and she chose this particular University because her boyfriend lives there. If they accept her, some time while she is here we will get married and apply for AOS. This seems like the best solution, but how likely will they be to accept her if she says she will be living with me?b) Apply for the F1. Be honest about her need to study English, but leave out the boyfriend part. I think this will cause trouble down the road because they will look back and realize she chose this university for her F1 because of me, and had intent to immigrate. If this endangers our future, I prefer not to do it.c) Forget the language school and apply for a visitor visa to visit me (her boyfriend) and meet my family. If accepted, after she has been here a while get married and apply for AOS. She'll still improve her English just by living in the United States.d) Get engaged now (or when I visit in December) and apply for a "fiance" visa. She'll still improve her English by living in the United States.e) Something else we haven't thought of?I appreciate any advise anyone has. I've read this forum so much, and I'd like to say thank you to the volunteers who take their time to help others.Have a great day!

I donʻt know how strict the embassy/consulates in Turkey are. Some consulates wonʻt even ask any questions if you have an acceptance letter, while other consulates might want to know your life story. But to not deal with the whole hassle of student visas (and international student tuition), I would propose now, start the process for a K-1 fiancee visa and then have her go to school after she gets the visa and green card. Once sheʻs a resident tuition drops dramatically, and thereʻs no hassle with any student visas - This will require about 8 months of patience though, and a guarantee that theyʻll admit her again once she gets her green card.

Edited September 25, 2012 by jaejayC

[vroni 1]

I would propose now, start the process for a K-1 fiancee visa and then have her go to school after she gets the visa and green card.

I would first check if I fulfill the income requirements to sponsor someone.

Once sheʻs a resident tuition drops dramatically

PhD program in science area should usually come with tuition waiver and living stipend or teaching assistantship. Financially, I think it's easier to get the student visa for PhD program then K-1. for