My Husband is in home country with my 1 year old Child. He is planning to come to US as my H4 dependent along with my Child. After coming here he is planning to join Masters degree coming Fall. He has already taken up the GRE and TOEFL Exams. Is it same for him to apply for colleges/universities from my home country or he has to come here in H4 and apply ?
If he is applying to public universities, it may be easier to get classified as an in-state applicant if he applies on an H-4 visa from within the country. Otherwise, it shouldn’t matter whether he chooses to apply from an American mailing address or a foreign mailing address.
Regarding F-1 vs H-4 visa while he is studying.
Advantages of F-1: the F-1 visa comes with a work permit for internships during his degree program and up to 29 months after graduation (12 months by default, with the possibility of a 17-month extension for STEM majors). The F-1 visa would also make your husband’s status independent of yours; if you lost your H-visa for any reason, your husband could continue to finish his degree.
Advantages of H-4: H-4 students may qualify for reduced in-state tuition rates at public universities, while F-1 students have to pay out-of-state tuition rates almost universally. The H-4 visa would also allow him to study part-time, while F-1 students are required to maintain full-time student status. Finally, the H-4 visa is less “risky” to apply for. F-1 visa applicants need to convince their interviewer that they do not intend to immigrate to the US. (Worldwide, about 20% of non-immigrant visa applications were rejected due to concerns about immigration intent in 2014.)
Apologies, In the thread i said as Fall but he is planning for Spring.
He has his H4 stamped but he will be travelling only by end of october 2015 (he is in his notice period of employment and we have no intend of immigration). Apart from that can he apply to the colleges from India with the H4 visa (who has not yet travelled before)?, as the colleges are expecting the applications by 1st of November 2015. Will there be any legal issues in it because he aimed to take this as an opportunity to continue his studies?
I don’t see any legal issues here. Do you have specific concerns?