<p>I desperately need a green card before I graduate college and enter grad school. I really want to attend a decent grad school. I've been in the US for 11 years. My dad has been in this country for 12 years. He still doesn't have a green card. I've lost all my confidence in him, and I'm not counting on him to make our family permanent residents anymore. He's just not dependable whatsoever.</p>
<p>This seems like the wrong section, but I'm sure you guys are much more informed about this matter than the kids in the International Student section. So I'm taking a stab in the dark and asking if there's any way at all I can apply for a green card myself as an undergrad majoring in chemical engineering with 2 part time jobs. I work real hard, and I sure as hell deserve the same opportunities as my peers.</p>
<p>I heard about the green card lottery, and I'll look into it. Other than that, do you have any knowledge/experience in this matter? Is it even plausible for a student like me to apply for a green card?</p>
<p>P.S. green card lottery is out. I was born in china, and apparently my people are kind of taking over the whole green card situation, so I'm not eligible.</p>
<p>… working hard does not man that rules should be broken or changed for you. </p>
<p>Green card rules are well documented. You can get a green card either based on a family criteria or employment criteria. You do not qualify under the employment criteria as it is designed for people with degrees, not people wanting to get degrees.</p>
<p>Family sponsorship is the way to go assuming your father came in here legally, he should have applied for it and you could get a derivative visa. If your father is here illegally, then you are in the US illegally to. There are protests in Texas about students who are in college and find their options are limited as they are illegally in the country. They may have come to the US when they were a year old, but the rules are still the rules.</p>
<p>So what is your immigration status and why does your father not want to get a green card? Unfortunately, if he cannot or does not want to get one, your options are very limited.</p>
<p>This may be a possible way…Go back to China after college, apply to graduate schools and come back to the US with a valid student visa. After graduate school, you are then allowed to get a job in the US for a year or 2 (not sure of length of time), and hopefully your employer would sponsor you for a green card.</p>
<p>Of course, a very sure way would be to marry an American citizen.</p>
<p>… For years, I’ve seen people around me get green card within 5 years of staying here, and we’re the only ones who still doesn’t have it.</p>
<hr>
<p>visa: F-1
age: 20
father status: postdoc in Microbiology (or something like that; It’s not that he doesn’t want a green card, I just lost faith. But maybe he’s my only chance.)
nationality: China</p>
<p>not good, I know. I’m just asking if there’s any chance at all?</p>
<p>Sorry, ISU, I thought in another thread where you complained that you were denied a scholarship for internationals at your uni, that you said you were from UK.</p>
<p>While I sympathize with your situation, you cannot blame your father for not getting a green card yet. The fact is that he doesn’t control that process. It is, indeed, out of his hands. You don’t state what his particular visa status is, but if he has an H1B he is very lucky. Most people who are postdocs have J1 visas, and are obligated to return home after their studies are completed. </p>
<p>You can read up on the Visa Lottery rules, and see if they apply to you. You can get a job with your F-1 visa OPT for a year (or whatever the limit is for your particular degree field), and hope that the company you work for will get you an H1B when the time runs out. You can stay in college, and grad school nearly indefinitely if you so choose in F-1 status.</p>
<p>The rules about green cards are right on the USCIS website. Read through it [USCIS</a> Home Page](<a href=“http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis]USCIS”>Home | USCIS) After that, if you still don’t understand your options, ask at the international student office for a referral to a competent immigration lawyer who can explain the rules to you.</p>
<p>I don’t see any way for you to obtain a green card before grad school, but after grad school it shouldn’t be too hard (though very time consuming) for you to apply on your own through the same route your father otherwise would have. I’m really sorry about your situation, since it seems kind of ridiculous not having obtained green card yet with your father being in the academia and having already stayed in the U.S. for so many years. Has he applied for a green card already? Did he just never apply for one?</p>
<p>due to my nationality, I’m not eligible for the green card lottery. I’ve done my research, and I don’t think i’m going to waste any more time. I turn 21 in 12 months, and if I’m my dad doesn’t get a green card by then, then I’m on my own.</p>
<p>What can we do to help my dad increase the chances of getting our green card before november of 2011?</p>
<p>You need to have a discussion with your father regarding his plans and reasons to not become a permanent US resident. There could be legalities due to his Visa status and being here for educational purposes. His family (you) were allowed to join him while he is here. Sounds like you have embraced American culture- a side effect of being here during your formative years. You have become an adult but your status in this country is entirely due to your father’s being here.</p>
<p>OP, you don’t need a green card to attend a grad school. You may stay (or switch to if you are not already on) as a student with an F visa. (Why are you so eager to get green card at this point? Did I miss something here?) If you find a full time job, and the company you work for is willing to sponsor you for a green card, then that’s how you get GC on your own. For now, I don’t think you have a good case, but if you really want to try, talk to an immigration lawyer. </p>
<p>And, there’s no way any one here can give advice on your father’s status without knowing the details of his situation. Rest this thread before it becomes a discussion that’s irrelavent to your concerns, which can be hurtful to you.</p>
<p>Not being qualified for the green card lottery doesn’t materially change your chance of winning , just like my not playing my state lottery doesn’t materially change my chance of winning my state lottery. Both sets of chances are essentially zero anyway.</p>
<p>It is unusual to stay 11 years on F1 status.</p>
<p>No special advice, but a comment on this:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>As I understand, you only have to return after J1 if the work was supported by federal money. Even then, your home country can waive the requirement, and some countries just issue a blanket waiver (e.g. UK).</p>
<p>^^^ J1 visas are trickier than F1 visas, so I didn’t really want to go into that. In the case of this particular parent, we don’t know what the visa status is. If it is J1 many things are possible - having the return waived, never having a return requirement in the first place, staying for years and years and then finally accepting that you do have to go home. For example, just two weeks ago I heard one more “stayed for 20+ years in J1 status and now is back in country X telecommuting to his US lab while the US citizen wife is here with the kids” story. If the parent is in H1B status, the family can be here indefinitely, but it is tough on children who “age out” of the status.</p>
<p>ISUClub - If your dad has filed the paperwork for his green card, he needs to sit down with a competent immigration lawyer and find out about his options. That person might be able to tell him if there is a way to accelerate the process. We aren’t immigration experts so we can’t help him.</p>
<p>NOTES FROM MODERATOR: Personal insults have been deleted from several posts above. All posts are moderated according to CC’s Terms of Service (see FAQ).</p>
<p>This might sound crazy, but if the options to stay in the US turn out to not be promising, you could opt to go to grad school in Canada, and from there you’d qualify for a work permit, which then you can turn into permanent residency. I know Canada is not the US, but it’s pretty good and pretty close :)</p>
<p>First of all, kudos to p3t for removing all traces of scum from this thread. I can only imagine how vicious it was…</p>
<p>“Most people who are postdocs have J1 visas, and are obligated to return home after their studies are completed.” It realy depends on what box was checked on the J1 application.</p>
<p>OP, IMO your options of getting a green card at this time seem to be limited to (i) marrying a US citizen (I do not recommend this route unless you already found a person that you would be happy to live with until death does you part); or (ii) getting into grad school on your personal F-1 visa (you will be able to hold paid TA and RA positions and get funded) and later apply for US jobs (H1-B) and get a green card on your own. Good luck!</p>
<p>PS - my co. hired a naturalized Canadian citizen and is sponsoring his green card here in the US. My friend’s co. hired a naturalized Canadian citizen who has been working there for years and is no hurry to get a US green card.</p>
<p>To clear up some false beliefs… yes my dad applied for a green card. No, he doesn’t want to talk to me about immigration lawyer. He thinks he knows the whole situation, and maybe he does. Either way, I don’t think he’s going to succeed. I mean the dude took like 6 years to get his PhD, and now he’s onto his 7th year in postdoc. All he’s telling me right now is pray for him, that god’s on his side, and that we will get the green card.</p>
<p>that’s how delusional he is. and he doesn’t even respect me as an adult for christ’s sake. Anyway, if there’s no way that I can get a green card on my own before senior year, then I’m just going to have to apply as an international student. ■■■</p>
<p>You are bad situation, the best is to get a graduate degree, get an employer sponsorship and then get a H1 on your own. Again, don’t blame your father, he is doing what he thinks is the best. It may not be what you think is the best.</p>
<p>happymomof1
As I understand, H1 visa is valid only for 6 years after which it cannot be renewed. It is given for a maximum of 3 years with one renewal.</p>
, just like my not playing my state lottery doesn’t materially change my chance of winning my state lottery. Both sets of chances are essentially zero anyway.</p>