school Placing my 16-Year-old son in US School System

[Srckmc 2]

Hi, my wife and I are planning to relocate to the US in the next few months and we need advice on how we can get our 16-year-old son into the US school system. We know which high school we'd like him to enrol with, it's in the Cape Henlopen School District in Deleware.

 

We're all currently living in the UK; my son (from my previous marriage) and I are both UK citizens and have been living in the UK from birth. My wife is a US citizen and has lived with us in the UK for the past 8 years. We're in the midst of relocating to northern Delaware and will be buying our own property when we move over. This will take a few more months to complete, so to avoid our son missing the start of the US school year, which starts on September 4, we've decided to fly him over in advance so that he can join his new school as soon as possible. In the short term, he'll be staying with my wife's family until we move over, and then we'll move to our own property.

 

We also have a 19-year-old who is staying in the UK to complete university studies and will then move over to the US to join us in 2-3 years from now.

 

We've researched what needs to be done to move our son to the US school system but we're a little unclear on how to prepare and complete the school application. If you have any tips or suggestions on how to expedite the application process and/or any pitfalls we should avoid, then any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

Many thanks.

[Jojo92122 1,924]

What visa will your son be entering on?

 

He can not go in advance of the petitioner.  The petitioner must be in the US in order for your son to use the visa.  

 

The wait for a USC to petition a child over age 21 is 7 years.  In 2-3 years, your 19 years old will be over 21.  Are you aware of this?

[Crazy Cat 39,213]

ESTA or a B2 does not allow a student enroll in high school.

[Boiler 43,426]

Are going through DCF?

 

Do you have your Immigrant Visa's?

[Roel 7,191]

4 minutes ago, Jojo92122 said:

What visa will your son be entering on?

 

He can not go in advance of the petitioner.  The petitioner must be in the US in order for your son to use the visa.  

 

The wait for a USC to petition a child over age 21 is 7 years.  In 2-3 years, your 19 years old will be over 21.  Are you aware of this?

Those are good questions. How is your son going to enter the US? He can't go on VWP and start school.

 

Does he and your spouse have their visas already? If yes, then he cannot enter first - the main petitioner needs to move first and/or with beneficiaries.  I assume you're doing CR1 visa for spouse and CR2 for child. Or Direct filling.

 

As for school application and paperwork - I'm sure calling the school will give you all the answers. People on the forum don't know what each and different school requires from applicants... 

Edited August 15, 2018 by Roel

[Jojo92122 1,924]

Every school is different.  You need to contact the school for information.  There is no universal or general application for all US high schools.  Each has its own procedure.  

[Amadia 711]

Check the state and district information for your address and see what schools he qualifies for. I know in Florida they zone you but not sure for your intended state.

[debbiedoo 2,339]

i live in the south so it might be different here as we have a lot of immigrant/undocumented kids in the school system. you will need to find out what school he will attend based on his address.

 

for HERE to enroll in school, you have to have

-vaccination records

-school records

-PROOF OF ADDRESS IN SCHOOL DISTRICT (lease, deed to home, utility bills, etc)

-Birth certificate

[Russ&Caro 1,548]

Back on May 1st, in another thread, the OP received advice about filing DCF and expressed excitement that that would be the immigration route that they would choose.

[Roel 7,191]

Just now, Russ&Caro said:

Back on May 1st, in another thread, the OP received advice about filing DCF and expressed excitement that that would be the immigration route that they would choose.

Nevertheless. The son cannot move first, I believe.

[Jojo92122 1,924]

32 minutes ago, Roel said:

Nevertheless. The son cannot move first, I believe.

The son can not legally immigrate while the petitioner continues to reside in the UK.  The petitioner must enter to reside or be residing in the US when the beneficiary uses the immigration visa as required under the I-864.  

 

33 minutes ago, Russ&Caro said:

Back on May 1st, in another thread, the OP received advice about filing DCF and expressed excitement that that would be the immigration route that they would choose.

He asked on May 10.  It's August 15.  3 months later.  Does the son have an immigration visa?  

Edited August 15, 2018 by Jojo92122

[Boiler 43,426]

DCF can be pretty quick but no timeline so who knows.

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

As others have said - no one size fits all - but apart from the visa issues, especially if it’s a sought after school district, just staying with family to attend school may not be enough to prove you reside in the district. All that said.. seeing as OP knows the district it’s curious he hasn’t just gone on to the website where registration and enrollment information seems easily available?

https://www.capehenlopenschools.com/Page/3390

 

 

 

 

[KazuriSana 324]

In most cases in the US, assuming all else falls in place and the kid is ready to enroll, which public school to enroll in is dictated by zone -- where one lives (and they ask for proof such as lease or title. Unless enrolling the child in a private school, in which case no zoning rules.

 

That is one thing to keep in mind when buying a house and have school-going children.

[Ontarkie 13,913]

~~Moved to Moving here and your new life, form Bringing Family of USC - As the main question is about enrolling in school.~~