Sibling going to US grad school

lierre · October 19, 2018

I’m now a US citizen. If my family ends up wanting to live here, we may consider applying for immigrant visas for them as family members of a USC. Which for siblings might take 10-14 years — have not yet looked up Times for people coming from the Philippines.

However, my sister is considering doing grad school here. Which I presume would be either a J1 or an H1B (feel free to correct me if I’m wrong).

With certain limitations attached to those non-immigrant visas, would that hurt her chances of getting approved for immigration? How “easy” is it to change status from non-immigrant to immigrant? Just wanted to know personal experiences and/or get your two cents.

Boiler · October 19, 2018

F1 for Students.

She will not be studying that long so will not be able to adjust to immigrant status through you.

dwheels76 · October 19, 2018

Siblings from Philippines takes 25 years. fastest way is to petition parents and have them petition siblings. Parents as green card holders takes about 2 years.

lierre · October 19, 2018

5 minutes ago, Boiler said:

F1 for Students.

She will not be studying that long so will not be able to adjust to immigrant status through you.

Even for PhD? Acceptance into programs often come with job positions. I thought it could be an H1B.

3 minutes ago, dwheels76 said:

Siblings from Philippines takes 25 years. fastest way is to petition parents and have them petition siblings. Parents as green card holders takes about 2 years.

Knew I should have looked it up! Thank you for that.

do you happen to know the processing time for LPR parents petitioning adult daughter?

Boiler · October 19, 2018

Very unusual for a Uni to use H1b's, F1 is the Student visa. J1 for faculty sometimes.

12 years or so for adult children, single.

SusieQQQ · October 19, 2018

13 minutes ago, ivyyy said:

Even for PhD? Acceptance into programs often come with job positions. I thought it could be an H1B.

Knew I should have looked it up! Thank you for that.

do you happen to know the processing time for LPR parents petitioning adult daughter?

The jobs are on-campus and fall under F1.

SusieQQQ · October 19, 2018

22 minutes ago, dwheels76 said:

Siblings from Philippines takes 25 years. fastest way is to petition parents and have them petition siblings. Parents as green card holders takes about 2 years.

Depends on age of child. Under 21 is indeed a little over 2 years, but over 21 for Philippines is over 11 years. If sibling is looking at PhD, one assumes sibling is or soon will be over 21.

OP: you want to be looking at F2B for Philippines in first table : https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin/2019/visa-bulletin-for-november-2018.html

Edited October 19, 2018 by SusieQQQ

lierre · October 19, 2018

4 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

Depends on age of child. Under 21 is indeed a little over 2 years, but over 21 for Philippines is over 11 years. If sibling is looking at PhD, one assumes sibling is or soon will be over 21.

OP: you want to be looking at F2B for Philippines in first table : https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin/2019/visa-bulletin-for-november-2018.html

17 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Very unusual for a Uni to use H1b's, F1 is the Student visa. J1 for faculty sometimes.

12 years or so for adult children, single.

Thank you! Will start exploring this side of the visa world then.

geowrian · October 19, 2018

40 minutes ago, ivyyy said:

How “easy” is it to change status from non-immigrant to immigrant?

Their PD has to be current first, which as noted above is a pretty lengthy process.

But they cannot enter with intent to adjust status to an immigrant.

Unlockable · October 19, 2018

1 hour ago, ivyyy said:

I’m now a US citizen. If my family ends up wanting to live here, we may consider applying for immigrant visas for them as family members of a USC. Which for siblings might take 10-14 years — have not yet looked up Times for people coming from the Philippines.

However, my sister is considering doing grad school here. Which I presume would be either a J1 or an H1B (feel free to correct me if I’m wrong).

With certain limitations attached to those non-immigrant visas, would that hurt her chances of getting approved for immigration? How “easy” is it to change status from non-immigrant to immigrant? Just wanted to know personal experiences and/or get your two cents.

As you can now see from the previous replies in this thread, the everybody-come-at-once option is a challenging (often nearly impossible) task for migrating extended family. In fact, we rarely see it happen successfully.

That being said, school visas may not provide enough time for your plan, meaning that they may finish their academic requirements (graduate) before their priority date is current. Then they may be stuck in limbo and have to either return to the PH, or remain unauthorized in the US.

Edited October 19, 2018 by NuestraUnion

SusieQQQ · October 19, 2018

38 minutes ago, NuestraUnion said:

That being said, school visas may not provide enough time for your plan, meaning that they may finish their academic requirements (graduate) before their priority date is current. Then they may be stuck in limbo and have to either return to the PH, or remain unauthorized in the US.

Remaining unauthorized in the US of course means they cannot adjust status even when the PD becomes current, and may have a long ban to deal with depending on how long they were in unauthorized stay. Not only illegal, but also a totally impractical/just plain stupid course of action for someone who has a legal option for immigration albeit one they need to wait for.

Edited October 19, 2018 by SusieQQQ

lierre · October 19, 2018

2 hours ago, geowrian said:

Their PD has to be current first, which as noted above is a pretty lengthy process.

But they cannot enter with intent to adjust status to an immigrant.

Of course not. Visas are visas.

Hmmm i don’t know what a PD is.

lierre · October 19, 2018

2 hours ago, NuestraUnion said:

As you can now see from the previous replies in this thread, the everybody-come-at-once option is a challenging (often nearly impossible) task for migrating extended family. In fact, we rarely see it happen successfully.

That being said, school visas may not provide enough time for your plan, meaning that they may finish their academic requirements (graduate) before their priority date is current. Then they may be stuck in limbo and have to either return to the PH, or remain unauthorized in the US.

1 hour ago, SusieQQQ said:

Remaining unauthorized in the US of course means they cannot adjust status even when the PD becomes current, and may have a long ban to deal with depending on how long they were in unauthorized stay. Not only illegal, but also a totally impractical/just plain stupid course of action for someone who has a legal option for immigration albeit one they need to wait for.

Geez. That escalated REALLY quickly.

My family isn’t even considering immigration yet. I’m just looking at all the potential pathways for her, since my dad’s pathway is obviously clearcut (family-based). FYI, not everyone in the world wants to migrate to the US. I know for sure I didn’t.

and yes, she’s considering a PhD program... which is at least 5 years of her life. Hence, my question — I’m not asking about changing status while on a non-immigrant visa. I’m asking for after.

Like if she was on an F1 or a J1 or an H1B while doing grad school, will that be a detriment to an immigration petition I file or my dad files for her behalf? Like will it ruin her chances?

Don’t know if this is really the forum to ask this. I just presumed somebody here had experienced this with their family since I don’t think I’m the only immigrant in the US who has & have family with graduate degrees.

geowrian · October 19, 2018

32 minutes ago, ivyyy said:

Hmmm i don’t know what a PD is.

PD = Priority Date. This determines when a visa number becomes available for the given I-130 petition. When you file the I-130, you'll get a PD. Then regardless of when the I-130 is approved, you wait for that to become current for their classification in the Visa Bulletin before it will proceed through NVC and schedule an interview.

willcrack · October 19, 2018

Also, remember H1-B is dual intent (entering or adjusting with non-immigrant intent but also is allowed to pursue permanent residency). Now, if she is anyways doing PhD, there is a good case for applying thro' an employment-based (EB) petition made by an employer once she graduates - that will be on her own merit without tagging to any family immigration alternatives. For a Philippines born person, and with an EB (there are multiple priority categories here - research it) route, they would get green card easily within 24 months if not earlier.

Edited October 19, 2018 by willcrack

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“The fact that we are here and that I speak these words is an attempt to break that silence and bridge some of those differences between us, for it is not difference which immobilizes us, but silence. And there are so many silences to be broken.”

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“The fact that we are here and that I speak these words is an attempt to break that silence and bridge some of those differences between us, for it is not difference which immobilizes us, but silence. And there are so many silences to be broken.”

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“The fact that we are here and that I speak these words is an attempt to break that silence and bridge some of those differences between us, for it is not difference which immobilizes us, but silence. And there are so many silences to be broken.”

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“The fact that we are here and that I speak these words is an attempt to break that silence and bridge some of those differences between us, for it is not difference which immobilizes us, but silence. And there are so many silences to be broken.”

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“The fact that we are here and that I speak these words is an attempt to break that silence and bridge some of those differences between us, for it is not difference which immobilizes us, but silence. And there are so many silences to be broken.”

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“The fact that we are here and that I speak these words is an attempt to break that silence and bridge some
of those differences between us, for it is not difference which immobilizes us, but silence.
And there are so many silences to be broken.”

“The fact that we are here and that I speak these words is an attempt to break that silence and bridge some
of those differences between us, for it is not difference which immobilizes us, but silence.
And there are so many silences to be broken.”

“The fact that we are here and that I speak these words is an attempt to break that silence and bridge some
of those differences between us, for it is not difference which immobilizes us, but silence.
And there are so many silences to be broken.”

“The fact that we are here and that I speak these words is an attempt to break that silence and bridge some
of those differences between us, for it is not difference which immobilizes us, but silence.
And there are so many silences to be broken.”

“The fact that we are here and that I speak these words is an attempt to break that silence and bridge some
of those differences between us, for it is not difference which immobilizes us, but silence.
And there are so many silences to be broken.”