Student visa for 16yr old niece

[Daneandkathy 53]

Hi All

Now that my husband is a citizen we are working to bring his nieces over from Macedonia. The oldest is 16yrs and wants to come and study, perhaps finish high school and then study pharmacy. I am not exactly sure where to start. Any ideas? Thanks os much. 

[Zoeeeeeee 795]

You/your husband can't sponsor his nieces, as they're not direct relatives. So if they want to come over, it would need to be on their own (ie, on a student or working visa). You could obviously provide them with a place to stay and help out with their school tuition (spoiler alert - not cheap) - but they would need to do all the visa stuff themselves.

[Boiler 43,436]

Normally a money issue, she can only study for a year at a State school and obviously has to pay. More obvious is schools who attract international students

 

I would speak to the School International Admissions Officer

[Daneandkathy 53]

Just now, Zoeeeeeee said:

You/your husband can't sponsor his nieces, as they're not direct relatives. So if they want to come over, it would need to be on their own (ie, on a student or working visa). You could obviously provide them with a place to stay and help out with their school tuition (spoiler alert - not cheap) - but they would need to do all the visa stuff themselves.

Yes, I guessed as much, I am trying to find a program to bring her out to do a year of high school to start while we figure out how they need to do the student visa. 

[Daneandkathy 53]

Just now, Boiler said:

Normally a money issue, she can only study for a year at a State school and obviously has to pay. More obvious is schools who attract international students

 

I would speak to the School International Admissions Officer

I am looking into schools now. I found one program that is approved by the US embassy in Macedonia and hope I can use that one to get her here for the first year. then we can look at Pharmacy schools and she can apply for a student visa for that school. Just starting the process and trying to figure everything out. 

[Boiler 43,436]

1 minute ago, Daneandkathy said:

Yes, I guessed as much, I am trying to find a program to bring her out to do a year of high school to start while we figure out how they need to do the student visa. 

She needs a student visa to do a year of high school 

[Daneandkathy 53]

Just now, Boiler said:

She needs a student visa to do a year of high school 

thanks, I am looking into all that now. 

[Zoeeeeeee 795]

1 minute ago, Daneandkathy said:

Yes, I guessed as much, I am trying to find a program to bring her out to do a year of high school to start while we figure out how they need to do the student visa. 

To my knowledge, that doesn't exist (though this definitely isn't my area of expertise). The visa is needed to enter the country - they can't apply for it when they're already here. And even a year of high school won't be cheap (to my understanding, even public schools aren't free to international students, who arent residents or citizens, though I could be wrong about that). 

 

[Daneandkathy 53]

1 minute ago, Zoeeeeeee said:

To my knowledge, that doesn't exist (though this definitely isn't my area of expertise). The visa is needed to enter the country - they can't apply for it when they're already here. And even a year of high school won't be cheap (to my understanding, even public schools aren't free to international students, who arent residents or citizens, though I could be wrong about that). 

 

sorry I don't think I am making sense. At the moment there is a very long wait for all visas for Macedonians into the US. So I am trying to find an international student exchange program that you can work with who would bring students out to the US and hopefully we can act as the host family. Give her that experience for her last year of high school. Then after that, she can apply for a student visa for pharmacy college (probably after she goes home). But this would be a way for her to come and see if she even likes studying in the US and to look at some schools she can apply to when she needs to do the student visa. We realise it is expensive and will cover cost of high school and she would live with us for that year. 

[Zoeeeeeee 795]

4 minutes ago, Daneandkathy said:

sorry I don't think I am making sense. At the moment there is a very long wait for all visas for Macedonians into the US. So I am trying to find an international student exchange program that you can work with who would bring students out to the US and hopefully we can act as the host family. Give her that experience for her last year of high school. Then after that, she can apply for a student visa for pharmacy college (probably after she goes home). But this would be a way for her to come and see if she even likes studying in the US and to look at some schools she can apply to when she needs to do the student visa. We realise it is expensive and will cover cost of high school and she would live with us for that year. 

You are making sense...but even for a school exchange program, she will still need a visa (a J1 I believe). She cannot enter the US without one.

[Boiler 43,436]

Student visas are generally expedited

 

I assume you are aware of the costs involved to become a Pharmacist 

[AnnaCa 63]

1 hour ago, Daneandkathy said:

I am looking into schools now. I found one program that is approved by the US embassy in Macedonia and hope I can use that one to get her here for the first year. then we can look at Pharmacy schools and she can apply for a student visa for that school. Just starting the process and trying to figure everything out. 

https://www.efacademy.org/en?source=00700,GGNOS_EF_00_00 
Have you looked into this? It is pricey though, but "a way into the system". I did an exchange year with "Education First" 10 years ago, and I enjoyed it, but that was just an exchange year from my high school in Norway. 

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

1 hour ago, Daneandkathy said:

Yes, I guessed as much, I am trying to find a program to bring her out to do a year of high school to start while we figure out how they need to do the student visa. 

You need the student visa before she can start high school. 

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

here are some official dept of state resources you can look at 

high school

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/study/student-visa/foreign-students-in-public-schools.html

https://studyinthestates.dhs.gov/grade-9-to-grade-12-public-schools

https://studyinthestates.dhs.gov/guide/f-1/f-1-kindergarten-through-grade-12
 

college 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/study/student-visa.html

https://educationusa.state.gov/your-5-steps-us-study/apply-your-student-visa/undergraduate
 

 

[Daneandkathy 53]

@SusieQQQ Thank you, I will take a look at these. I appreciate it. 

 

@AnnaCa thank you I will look into this.