Question:
my girlfriend is from Germany and would like to study with me
at the college that I go to. The problem is that we have some
questions about doing everything, shes already been accepted by the
college and shes taken the english test and did very well on it, so
shes fully accepted, the only thing is, is that shes already in USA,
and at the airport in Germany , we had to get her ticket changed from
Dec. 22nd, to Nov 5th, we forgot that she could only stay 90 days with
her passport, we had planned on her applying for a VISA in the
USA...well when we got to USA, a customs guy searched her bags and
told us he was suspicious and he started using very fowl language and
was very very mean and told us that she could not study...ever since
Sept 11th everything is much tighter, and he told me if i cared about
her i would send her back Nov 5th...well I called my congressman of NC
and asked his office is this the truth, they told me no that it
wasn't, the customs guy must have been lying or something and that it
was no illegal for us to apply for a visa...but she did however say
that it might be a little bad that shes already here and that might
make them suspicious...I mean I don't know what to do, because I
really want my girlfriend to stay, shes not a terrorist and it just
seems like all of the real americans have to suffer because of
9-11...well should we go ahead and apply for a VISA, or should we like
go to canada or mexico and reenter the USA and then apply???
Answer:
There are a few more steps for people who are not U.S.
citizens or permanent residents necessary to study legally
in the U.S. The school must issue Form I-20 to the person,
and the person must somehow get into F-1 status, either by
entering the U.S. directly in F-1 status, or by changing
from a temporary status to F-1 status within the U.S.
the only thing is, is that shes already in USA,
It is not possible to apply for a visa in the U.S., except
for visas in certain categories not including F-1 (for
example H-1B, O-1), and even for those, a visa in that
category must have been issued the first time outside the U.S.
A visa is a stamp or seal in a passport which allows the
person to ask to enter the U.S. in a certain status during a
certain period of time. A visa is not status.
Rude as he was, he was probably right about her going back
before November 5.
It is not possible to apply for an F-1 visa in the U.S., and
your girlfriend is not eligible to apply for a change from
her visitor's status to F-1 status.
Your girfriend entered under a visa waiver program, and she
holds WT status ("waiver-tourist") status. She is not
eligible to change her status within the U.S. It sounds as
if the Congressperson's staff person either did not know all
the facts, or simply is not aware of the fact that a person
cannot change from WT status to F-1 in the U.S.
Your girlfriend should meet with an international student
adviser in the international office of the school that
admitted her. She will probably have to return to Germany
to apply for an F-1 visa.
Her biggest problem will not be suspicion of being a
terrorist, but suspicion that she intends to remain in the
U.S. permanently, especially if you are a U.S. citizen, and
the consular officer is aware of your relationship. I
suggest you study up on the topic.
Submit Your
Own Answer!
