Hello Everyone,
My child is currently in 10th grade in US and she is in dependent visa.
Can she get college admission being a dependent visa holder?
Will she be considered as International Student?
Can she get Federal,State scholarships?
How can she pursue her college studies in US being a dependent visa holder?
What could be the challenges?
Appreciate your guidance and hope your guidance will definitely help my child education and desire.
She would be applied as international student. If accepted, the school would issue her an I-20 form that she may apply for her F1 visa. She is not eligible to Federal aid. For some state public schools, she may be eligible to in-state tuition.
Which dependent visa does she have? The rules depend on the visa type, but most dependent visas permit at least part-time study.
F2 will need to convert to F1 for full time studies.
It is my understanding that students can study in H4 status, but must convert to F1 when the student ages out of H4 eligibility. G, L, and all the others also have their own rules.
She is not eligible for federal aid, but she might be eligible for other aid from the college/university itself.
There is state to state nuance for scholarships and instate rates, so check that out. What is the current visa and how long has she been in state schools and what state are you in?
As others have said, dependent visa holders are usually allowed to attend college, but it may be advantageous for your daughter to apply for her own student visa instead.
Advantages of a student visa:
- Student visa holders are allowed to work and qualify for a social security number.
- Student visa holders are allowed to continue working on their student visa for up to 36 months after graduation (post-graduation OPT), before they would need to apply for a work visa.
- The student visa is independent of the parent’s status. She won’t “age out” of status at 21, and she would be able to continue her studies even if the parents left the US part-way through.
Disadvantages of a student visa:
- Student visa holders are barred by federal law from establishing a domicile in the US, which means that they have to pay out-of-state tuition in almost all cases. (H-4 dependents would often qualify for in-state tuition, by contrast.)
- In order to get a student visa, you need financial documentation to prove that you can afford the cost of attendance. If your financial planning is shaky, the student visa may not get issued.
- F-1 visas are non-immigrant visas. If immigration intent is suspected (e.g. because you have a pending immigration petition), the student visa may get denied.
Thanks. This information really helps me in setting some plan for studies.
The first thing you need to do is see if the state you live in considers high school graduates from the state for instate tuition regardless of citizenship (ie., if you graduate from a public HS in the state you automatically qualify for instate tuition… or not.) In some states, legal non citizens may also be eligible for state grants.
The second thing you need to do is check whether your public universities offer significant merit scholarships, such as full tuition, for instate residents, and if so what the conditions are. Then you must evaluate whether your child has a shot at meeting these conditions (or already does).
Be careful to read the fine print. For example, California and New York grant in-state tuition to most high school graduates but explicitly exclude non-immigrant visa holders.
H4, pursuing 10th grade in 2017-18 academic year, GA