My daughter is an immigrant in the US (H4 dependent). She is in high school (sophomore). She wants to apply for Australian colleges for her undergraduate studies. The reason is we have several friends there and she wants to migrate.
Is this a feasible pathway? anyone has any good advice or pointers for how she can prepare for this?
I don’t know about he process to study in Australia. I know it’s possible, my niece from Sri Lanka did so, but that was several years ago. What would be the impact on you daughter’s status in the US if she leaves for 3 or 4 years to study in Australia?
Thank you for the reply. My daughter will age out of the H4 status when she turns 21. So she would have to apply for a work visa to return back to US or apply to migrate within Australia.
It would be great to know more about the process and experience of anyone who has applied and joined an Australian college.
I think it is up to Australia, and they would have to accept her from her country of origin. The US part probably wouldn’t matter except that her schooling was in the US.
If someone from India was applying to a US school, but that student had lived in Mexico for the last 10 years, the US visa process would be from India, but the review of high school, test scores, and other application info would probably group the students (and compare) with the pool from Mexico.
See
“…. 4. Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) Requirement
To meet the Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) requirement, you must write a statement that addresses two criteria:
That you are genuinely coming to Australia to study and not for any other reason.
That you will only be residing in Australia temporarily (and not overstaying your visa).
In your statement, include details on your ties to home (such as your friends and family, or a job that you have to return to) as well as the value of the course to your future career or academic goals.
By including these details, it will prove both your intention to return home at the end of your visa and your true intention to study in Australia.”
With parents living in the US and her aging out of her US visa, it may prove difficult to convince Australian officials about her intention to return home, wherever home is.
You also want to see what specific curriculum they want -likely AP5s in specific subjects -along with a SAT score.
For example:
+
(2-5 AP scores, which would need to total 10-12 to be minimally competitive)
Note that when she ages out of H4, she’s supposed to apply for an F1 visa. Then she’s eligible for OPT for a year.
I think the big question is…where do you anticipate your daughter will go after she gets her undergrad degree. It does not sound like the U.S. OR Australia will be options for her. I honestly think this is something you very much need to consider.
@MYOS1634 am I missing something?
Where OPs daughter would like to live&work and where OPs family would settle after the US is a key question.
Not attending college in thr US as an H4 means forfeiting the quasi automatic conversion to F1 and the OPT period so returning to the US would mean getting into a US grad program from Australia.
In order to get a student visa she will need to prove she doesn’t intend to stay on. So where would she go after her degree? Unless she’s Australian, in which case I assume she plans on living there till you return.
Australia and New Zealand have excellent universities and quality of life but why exactly Australia?
why exactly Australia?
It is just one of several options she wants to explore. We toured Australia (Melbourne and Sydney) in 2017 and she has been interested ever since.
Thank you for the responses. Very useful and helps us decide better.