What employer? the one who hires you for up to 24 months on the STEM-OPT program* and is so dazzled by you that they want to invest the resources to fight for an H1B for a newly qualified non-national ?
I wouldn’t bet on it.
*iirc, you apply for that through you university
Yeah, that makes sense. Like @bouders said, I don’t want to be trapped in the same phantom zone of no green card/citizenship like my parents. Seems like I should start thinking more seriously about other colleges like in Canada.
Do canadian universities have an application website like Common App? Is there any specific eligibility requirements to apply because I am international? Thanks again for all your help. The deeper I dive into college admissions, the deeper the rabbit hole goes.
Each province has their own application. Here’s the link for Ontario universities. OUAC 105
5 universities are on the Common App as well. Bishop, Queens, Ryerson, Guelph and St. Thomas.
Thank you so much. Now I have to decide how many I’m going to apply to, as application fees are expensive and I’m pretty sure I don’t qualify for a fee waiver. I’m thinking 4 safeties, 5-6 matches, and 2 reaches. Everything is very “up in the air” right now, I need to sit down, write down all of my options, and have something more concrete.
One other thing about universities in Canada is that the most prestigious ones (i.e. those that may have enough prestige for your father) are huge (especially considering Canada’s population), so they are not as super-selective as the most prestigious ones in the US.
You can have 4 safeties, but you don’t need that many. My son had 3 largely because he liked all three and we were curious how much merit aid he’d get. Utah actually made his final three that he agonized over. In a perfect world a safety is a guaranteed admit, absolutely affordable without additional unanticipated merit, AND in the running for your top choice.
The other trick is to know everything you need to know about fit BEFORE YOU EVEN APPLY. There’s no reason to put in an application to a school that you haven’t vetted completely to your satisfaction. I’m stunned year after year with the “Which school should I choose?” threads where the schools in question are absolutely different experiences. You will be so far ahead in this game if you do that work first.
@Dunshire – Take a look at this page for McGill, especially the pdf halfway down the page, which shows the tuition for international students. Note that this is in Canadian dollars, so you will have to convert to US currency.
Room and board tend to run around 17k Canadian for freshmen at McGill. After the first year, students move off campus and rents are quite inexpensive compared to US rents.
Also, with enough AP credits at McGill, you can enter as a Sophomore, saving a year of tuition of that is what you want.
And although they admit a large number of students who apply, they aren’t holistic and have strict cutoff values, so from what I have heard, students who won’t make the cutoff don’t bother to apply, so that’s one reason they accept such a large percentage. And the cutoffs vary with the major, so that’s also something to look into.
Nvm/can’t figure out how to delete
You don’t need a lawyer to change status from H4 to F1, it’s pretty straightforward. Getting a work visa is a far more uncertain and complicated process. But once your parents have green cards, if you can’t get one at the same time, they can file to sponsor you for a green card on a family basis, though it will take a few years to process. (Would be a good idea even if you get a US work visa.)
@MMRose - I messed up, this was supposed to be a reply, my bad.
What does tuition per 30 cr mean?
Looking at the exchange rates, this college comes in at around 42K per year, which is really appealing when considering the other benefits of going to a Canadian college. Looking at the cutoff values, it seems like I can get in. McGill is definitely one to keep an eye on. Thank you!
If I get sponsored by them for a green card, will I still have to wait a long time until I finally get one? Or because of the sponsoring it’s essentially a fast tracked process?
You would be the category of over 21 son/daughter of green card holder which currently takes about 5-6 years to process; so it’s not fast (nothing in US immigration is fast…) but it’s not crazy like waiting for an employment based GC - different category so very different timing.
Still, 6 years is a huge improvement compared to the time period for getting a green card without a sponsor. Is there any major differences between a family application process versus an employment application process?
Tuition per 30 credits (or academic year’s worth of courses).
Yes. Firstly it’s far more straightforward as all you need to do is prove the family relationship (vs work GC needing to find an employer prepared to sponsor, going through labor certification etc). A very significant factor for you is that (with one fairly minor exception in the sibling category which won’t affect you) there is no oversubscription by Indian family-based applicants so not the same differentiation in time to get GC vs most other countries.
This is where an immigration lawyer will be helpful. To seek a family preference green card, you may be better off remaining in US for college.
I will disagree on both counts here. The vast majority of family based cases (unless a criminal record or other complication is involved) are totally straightforward and do not require lawyers. There is also zero need to remain in the US - the overwhelming majority of family-based green cards every year come from visas granted overseas. I can understand OP wanting to stay in the US to be near family, but it makes zero difference to the success of a family green card application.
@Dunshire I second the recommendation for Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly SLO), although I also agree that it may be a reach. (Don’t confuse it with Cal Poly Pomona). Fortunately, it’s an easy apply, because there are no essays and no letters of recommendation. Although you will be out an application fee, it would likely be a really great school for what you want, and within your budget, even as OOS – so it might be worth a try. The people who go there tend to really like it and it has an excellent reputation with relevant California employers, among others.
@SJ2727 are you an immigration lawyer? Best advice I have heard,”Do not practice law without a license.”