Graduate School on K1 visa

[Chris_B 9]

Hello,

My fiance has been in the US for almost 3 weeks now. He's interested in pursuing a master's degree while here. We'll be married in early December, and most applications are due in March. I believe that while the K1 visa is valid and after we're married he's considered a legal alien who's allowed to work. We will be filing for AOS jointly with EAD (green card) immediately after marrying. I'm a bit unsure of his status at this point. Can he apply to school in this interim period. He will have a social security number this point. Will he be eligible for financial aid through FAFSA as a married graduate student? Will he be allowed to take out loans? Anyone with any knowledge please help me out. Thanks. Enjoy the upcoming holiday.

Christina

[Pitaya 2,576]

~Moved from K-1 Process to Family-based AOS Forum~

~Inquiry is about AOS, not K-1~

The K-1 visa is a one-time one-entry visa. After the K-1 visa beneficiary arrives in the the US (POE), the CBP officer invalidates and voids the K-1 visa. The alien- fiance(e) beneficiary then has ninety days to marry the USC-fiance(e) sponsor, or return home. The alien-fiance(e) cannot work until they have applied for and received their Form I-765 Employment Authorization Document (valid only for 90 days, uncommon). I would suggest that the alien-fiancee apply for an SSN two weeks after their POE. It is important for the couple to get married as quickly as possible. After marriage, the alien-spouse may apply for AOS and EAD/AP concurrently. The EAD/AP combo card is typically approved within 90 days of application. If the AOS application is approved (after possible interview) a two-year conditional Permanent Resident card (Green Card) will be issued.

The alien-fiancee may enroll in college, that may depend on the particular requirements of the college. Realize that out-of-state tuition will likely be a requirement.Your financial aid inquiries may best be saved for the financial aids office at the college.

There are several topics that you should review and become acquainted with:

http://www.uscis.gov/family/family-us-citizens/fiancee-visa/fiancee-visas

http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1k3aos

http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1aos

Good luck on your immigration journey.

[bdawn 66]

He isn't a permanent resident and doesn't qualify to file FAFSA. Also, he is highly likely to be considered an international applicant for fee-paying purposes. The College/University will ask for a copy of his permanent resident card to confirm his status in order to be considered as a domestic applicant for fee-paying purposes, and since he has none yet, he cannot get any institutional financial aid for domestic applicants either. Unless he can pay the fee (international student fee), he has to wait until after he has his greencard. There is no way around this.

Hello,

My fiance has been in the US for almost 3 weeks now. He's interested in pursuing a master's degree while here. We'll be married in early December, and most applications are due in March. I believe that while the K1 visa is valid and after we're married he's considered a legal alien who's allowed to work. We will be filing for AOS jointly with EAD (green card) immediately after marrying. I'm a bit unsure of his status at this point. Can he apply to school in this interim period. He will have a social security number this point. Will he be eligible for financial aid through FAFSA as a married graduate student? Will he be allowed to take out loans? Anyone with any knowledge please help me out. Thanks. Enjoy the upcoming holiday.

Christina

[pete_falcone 7]

Depends on the school you go to. Most state-run schools have different classification of student (international, in-state, out-of-state, etc.) and will charge tuition differently. Establishing residency also depends on the institution. Some simply require an in-state primary address. Some want to see residency for a period of time (usually one year.) You may not qualify for FAFSA, but you can still qualify for private or specialized scholarships.

My wife is on the same boat since she's required to go back to school to practice here in the States, and each school we prospected had different requirements.

[Darnell 8,478]

I say wait till green card in hand,

as

LPRs are allowed to chase after stuff over at fafsa.gov

Sure, he can try signing up at the university for the spring term, but,

IMO, the registrar will treat him as an international student (without a student visa) until he has a green card, and mostly, it's a battle.

[kari81 18]

Hello,

My fiance has been in the US for almost 3 weeks now. He's interested in pursuing a master's degree while here. We'll be married in early December, and most applications are due in March. I believe that while the K1 visa is valid and after we're married he's considered a legal alien who's allowed to work. We will be filing for AOS jointly with EAD (green card) immediately after marrying. I'm a bit unsure of his status at this point. Can he apply to school in this interim period. He will have a social security number this point. Will he be eligible for financial aid through FAFSA as a married graduate student? Will he be allowed to take out loans? Anyone with any knowledge please help me out. Thanks. Enjoy the upcoming holiday.

Christina

Chris

Your fiance can pursue his masters but will not qualify for financial aid. He will likely qualify for in- state tuition since he will be married to a resident of Maryland. That is if he will be attending state university.

[Chris_B 9]

Thanks for all of your answers. It sounds like waiting is the best bet.

[Darnell 8,478]

sure, it can be !

in the interim, apply for the masters program, have the undergraduate degree evaluated. Evaluation takes some time, so you can be waiting in parallel.

[GAFL 16]

sure, it can be !

in the interim, apply for the masters program, have the undergraduate degree evaluated. Evaluation takes some time, so you can be waiting in parallel.

My husband is not here yet but when he comes we want to get his degree evaluated. Whats a good company to use?

[Chris_B 9]

My fiance has already taken the GREs and had his transcript evaluated. We chose World Education Services: http://www.wes.org/index.asp