Will it be a problem to get an F1 student visa if my dad is already a US resident?
My situation is pretty complicated so please bear with me. I'd like to study in the US. My nationality is Belgian, but I spent the first 10 years of my life attending Shanghai American School. I also spent the last two years of high-school in Shanghai attending a different international school. The time in between I'd been in Belgium. My dad received a job offer to work in the US last year and he's been living there as a permanent resident for around 4 months now. My parents are divorced and my mom lives in Shanghai, so I have no immediate family here in Belgium and I've discovered that in order to receive a student visa, you must prove your intent to return to your home country. My question is how I could best go about doing this when I have so few ties to my home country? Becoming a resident through my dad isnt really an option either as that would take years. Besides that, will it hurt my chances to apply for my visa in Shanghai instead of Belgium? I'm planning to visit my mom and check out the world expo. Any help is greatly appreciated. Turns out I misunderstood my dad and he's actually on an L1 work visa, not a resident. So I can apply for an L2. So my only remaining question is will I be able to get this in Shanghai just as well as in Belgium? Cause I really wanna go this summer :) Turns out I misunderstood my dad and he's actually on an L1 work visa, not a resident. So I can apply for an L2. So my only remaining question is will I be able to get this in Shanghai just as well as in Belgium? Cause I really wanna go this summer :)
Immigration - 4 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
The student visa would likely be refused for the reasons you have given. It seems unlikely your dad received a permanent resident visa in such short time. If he is here on a H-1 visa and you are under 21, you could qualify for an H-4 visa to live with him.
2 :
I recommend that you post your question on VisaJourney.com as well. They have a lot of knowledgeable members there and there also might be some who have been in the same situation. Good luck!
3 :
Easy way to find out is to get a I-20 then apply http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/types/types_1269.html
4 :
you could go on an L2 for now and attend school. however, you're only eligible for that status up to the time you turn 21, so at some point, you'll need F-1 status. you could apply for either visa in Shanghai or back home. even if your father had been a legal resident, your chances of getting a student visa would have been pretty good. it's more a question of establishing your intent to actually attend school and adhere to the conditions of the visa.
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Monday, January 28, 2013
Monday, January 14, 2013
Exchange Student Delimma!?
Exchange Student Delimma!?
I have a chance to become an exchange student but the problem is... I'm notsure where to go I have 25 choices: Argentina Austria Belgium Brazil Croatia Denmark Ecuador Finland France Germany Hungary India Italy Japan Lithuania Norway Peru Poland Slovakia Spain Sweden Switzerland Taiwan Thailand Turkey please help. i really need to figure it out thanks bunches =)
Studying Abroad - 2 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Here's an important question that will help you narrow it down: How many foreign languages do you know? If the answer is zero, you may want to consider a country which speaks your native language. But, don't fret. I know a lot of people who knew almost nothing about the main language of a country they did a foreign exchange to. If you go this route, consider taking language classes before you leave (independently or through your school or a nearby school), or taking language classes while in that country. If you do know a foreign language or two, even just a bit, go to a country which has that language as its first or second language. Also, how long have you been away from your family and friends? Do you get homesick easily? If you haven't been away from them for long, or you do get homesick easily, you should go to a neighboring country, or one on the same continent; or, you could go to a country that is farther away but you won't be gone for as long. One last thing to consider is this: how open are you to seeing different religions, different people, and different ways of life without instantly pressing your beliefs upon them? Any country you go to which isn't your own will have people vastly different from you. Are you willing to learn about new people and things without trying to change them into who you are? :) Personally, from your list, I'd pick Japan. Not only is it on a different continent, it's pretty much the technological and fashion capital of the universe, but those are some things I'm interested in. Look into a little history and culture about each of these countries before you make your final decision!!!
2 :
I think the best thing you can do is to decide what is important to you. Ask yourself questions like: -Do you want to learn a new language? -Do you want to get to know a completely different culture and adjust or you just want something with a little more familiarity? -Do you want to go to a place that has excellent weather conditions? -Do you want to go to a country where most people do speak English? LANGUAGE/CULTURE: I would definitely recommend a country that you do know something about and you can speak its language at a certain level. Even if you don't speak Spanish, it is a good option because that language is pretty easy compared to the others and most Spanish universities offer several classes in English. This way, you would have a good opportunity to learn a new language because don't expect too much from a language that you are not familiar with at all. I don't think anybody could learn more than some words in a semester. That was my experience at least. If language learning is not the reason why you want to be an exchange student, Denmark is also a great option since everybody speaks perfect English there. It is a very nice country, by the way. I'm from Hungary and I can tell you Hungarian is a very difficult language just like most of the languages of the other countries you listed. I have met many exchange students and although they felt great here, I kinda felt that they were a little lonely and sometimes they were afraid to communicate with others. They would have loved to learn the language but that is impossible in only one academic year or even less. If you have any questions, feel free to message me because I might be able to give you some advice if you have specific questions since I have visited or lived in a lot of countries you have on your list.
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Monday, January 7, 2013
studying in Belgium?
studying in Belgium?
I'm planning on studying in Belgium after high school to do Business Administration. I want to study in Brussels Business School. Unfortanately, I don't know much about Belgium nor the school. Can somebody tell me what its like living there. Is the school good? Is it cheap city or will cost me much money. The language not really an issue because French (not fluently, though). Any information would be helpful. Oh, and I will be an international student. I live in the US. I meant I speak French, I take it in school. LOL I read they're pretty new so that's probably why you haven't heard of it. It was built in 2006. So do you know any universities that's better than this one??
Studying Abroad - 2 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
I live in Brussels and had not heard about this school, is it the Solvay business school or is it asttached to one of the two big universities here ?? (VUB or ULB?) Looking at the mad it is not in a good part of town but of course that can mislead. brussels is expensive by US standards -we pay our interns about 1000 EUR a month (about 1400US$) and they can JUST manage but we do a lot for free for them too...but if you will do this remote just see who accredits it...if you have to do assignments in french do not underestimate the knowledge of the language you need but the site is in english so I guess they wil do this in english too... as i say, make sure you see who accredits this school and cross check with the local educatyion authority....Flying in here is not too bad, DC, NY, Chicago and Atalnata all have direct flights adding on .... if they are new they will not have much of a reputation, but its your money ... and doing french at school and being taught in it are not just a language thing, my daughter is taught in french although she is british and it is amazing what a different view french teachers have of history, economics, art, chemistry even and how they teach maths... be very very sure they look at content from an anglophile perspective !!
2 :
In addition to the previous post, check out this article about Belgium. It should give you a pretty good idea about the country, its culture, food, visas, etc: http://www.macquil.com/articles/belgium.php Good luck!
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I'm planning on studying in Belgium after high school to do Business Administration. I want to study in Brussels Business School. Unfortanately, I don't know much about Belgium nor the school. Can somebody tell me what its like living there. Is the school good? Is it cheap city or will cost me much money. The language not really an issue because French (not fluently, though). Any information would be helpful. Oh, and I will be an international student. I live in the US. I meant I speak French, I take it in school. LOL I read they're pretty new so that's probably why you haven't heard of it. It was built in 2006. So do you know any universities that's better than this one??
Studying Abroad - 2 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
I live in Brussels and had not heard about this school, is it the Solvay business school or is it asttached to one of the two big universities here ?? (VUB or ULB?) Looking at the mad it is not in a good part of town but of course that can mislead. brussels is expensive by US standards -we pay our interns about 1000 EUR a month (about 1400US$) and they can JUST manage but we do a lot for free for them too...but if you will do this remote just see who accredits it...if you have to do assignments in french do not underestimate the knowledge of the language you need but the site is in english so I guess they wil do this in english too... as i say, make sure you see who accredits this school and cross check with the local educatyion authority....Flying in here is not too bad, DC, NY, Chicago and Atalnata all have direct flights adding on .... if they are new they will not have much of a reputation, but its your money ... and doing french at school and being taught in it are not just a language thing, my daughter is taught in french although she is british and it is amazing what a different view french teachers have of history, economics, art, chemistry even and how they teach maths... be very very sure they look at content from an anglophile perspective !!
2 :
In addition to the previous post, check out this article about Belgium. It should give you a pretty good idea about the country, its culture, food, visas, etc: http://www.macquil.com/articles/belgium.php Good luck!
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Tuesday, January 1, 2013
USA, Belgium or the Netherlands? maybe somewhere else? (where should I go on my exchange year)?
USA, Belgium or the Netherlands? maybe somewhere else? (where should I go on my exchange year)?
Hello! I'm 15 years old girl from Latvia (Europe) and I'm planning to spend one high school year as an exchange student abroad. I have to start the application process on September this year, but I dunno where to go.. I'm thinking about the USA, Belgium or the Netherlands, but I'm not sure about my choice, maybe finally I'll find myself in a tottaly different country, hah :) I'm able to speak english and a little bit russian, but I'm opened to learn a new language, I just would like to start learning a bit earlier, so it would be nice to choose earlier than on September. But anyway I believe that you could have an amazing exchange in every country. I think I'll go on exchange with YFU and these are my opportunities: (I'm not interested exchange in Asia, so I didn't write it here) Argentina Australia Austria Belgium Brazil Canada Chile Denmark Ecuador France Finland Germany Hungary Netherlands Norway New Zealand Sweden Switzerland Venezuela Help me please with my choice, tell where you'd go! :) Thank You!
Studying Abroad - 2 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
I would definitely go to the USA. Netherlands and Belgium are both pretty close to Latvia, and I think it's way cooler to go oversea / to a different continent!
2 :
New Zealand for sure.
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Hello! I'm 15 years old girl from Latvia (Europe) and I'm planning to spend one high school year as an exchange student abroad. I have to start the application process on September this year, but I dunno where to go.. I'm thinking about the USA, Belgium or the Netherlands, but I'm not sure about my choice, maybe finally I'll find myself in a tottaly different country, hah :) I'm able to speak english and a little bit russian, but I'm opened to learn a new language, I just would like to start learning a bit earlier, so it would be nice to choose earlier than on September. But anyway I believe that you could have an amazing exchange in every country. I think I'll go on exchange with YFU and these are my opportunities: (I'm not interested exchange in Asia, so I didn't write it here) Argentina Australia Austria Belgium Brazil Canada Chile Denmark Ecuador France Finland Germany Hungary Netherlands Norway New Zealand Sweden Switzerland Venezuela Help me please with my choice, tell where you'd go! :) Thank You!
Studying Abroad - 2 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
I would definitely go to the USA. Netherlands and Belgium are both pretty close to Latvia, and I think it's way cooler to go oversea / to a different continent!
2 :
New Zealand for sure.
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Friday, December 28, 2012
Can EU family members enter Belgium with a tourist visa and then change status to family reunification ?
Can EU family members enter Belgium with a tourist visa and then change status to family reunification ?
Hi all, I have this question to which I need an urgent answer. I do know that people planning to study in Belgium shouldn't go there on a tourist visa as a change of status to provisional sojourn on the basis of studies is not possible. My question is, me as a EU family member, can I go to Belgium on a tourist visa and then apply for a change of status to family reunification or it's the same case as with student residence ? I'm thinking of doing that because my university starts next month and I won't be able to be there on time if I were to submit all the required documents to get a D-type visa for student provisional sojourn, due to this reason I'm considering going on a tourist visa and then apply for a change of status. I do know, that when one applies for family reunification, he/she has to submit the same documents required for a student visa, I read that this is possible for people who do not require a visa to Belgium, in my case I do require one, but if I had a Schengen tourist visa will I then be a able to change status like I mentioned above. Thank you. I hold a Lebanese passport. I hold no visas at the moment. I'm currently in Lebanon. I'm a spouse of a EU. I hold a Lebanese passport. I hold no visas at the moment. I'm currently in Lebanon. I'm a spouse of a EU. I used to have a polish residence card which has already expired months ago. I'm being asked for a certificate of good conduct from Poland which is totally ridiculous, I either have to go to poland to get that or wait for two weeks to have that sent to me by my wife which is nonsense considering the fact that I have to be in Belgium next month as classes start at the end of September. It pisses me off that they didn't have that written on their website nor on the MOF website, just a cerificate of good conduct without mentioning that it has to be in accordance to the countries of residence during the last 5 years, that is not specified instead they only had written a Certificate of good conduct of the last 5 years. Another thing that I can't get to understand, both countries are in the EU and the Schengen, considering only the fact that they are both in Schengen there shouldn't be such a requirement as everything would be visible in the Schengen system if there's anything against me. I do know about the reunification visa which I can apply for in Belgium as well as abroad, but my question is can I be on a tourist visa and I do so in Belgium ! I read somewhere that those not requiring a visa can deal directly with the municipality and apply for the reunification, but I'm not sure if that includes those who do posses a visa to go there.
Immigration - 1 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
since you are of lebanese nationality, you need to have a specific "eu reunification/accompanying family member" type d visa BEFORE entering. Then, within three months you must apply for a family permit. Within 6 months, the government should give you it.
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Hi all, I have this question to which I need an urgent answer. I do know that people planning to study in Belgium shouldn't go there on a tourist visa as a change of status to provisional sojourn on the basis of studies is not possible. My question is, me as a EU family member, can I go to Belgium on a tourist visa and then apply for a change of status to family reunification or it's the same case as with student residence ? I'm thinking of doing that because my university starts next month and I won't be able to be there on time if I were to submit all the required documents to get a D-type visa for student provisional sojourn, due to this reason I'm considering going on a tourist visa and then apply for a change of status. I do know, that when one applies for family reunification, he/she has to submit the same documents required for a student visa, I read that this is possible for people who do not require a visa to Belgium, in my case I do require one, but if I had a Schengen tourist visa will I then be a able to change status like I mentioned above. Thank you. I hold a Lebanese passport. I hold no visas at the moment. I'm currently in Lebanon. I'm a spouse of a EU. I hold a Lebanese passport. I hold no visas at the moment. I'm currently in Lebanon. I'm a spouse of a EU. I used to have a polish residence card which has already expired months ago. I'm being asked for a certificate of good conduct from Poland which is totally ridiculous, I either have to go to poland to get that or wait for two weeks to have that sent to me by my wife which is nonsense considering the fact that I have to be in Belgium next month as classes start at the end of September. It pisses me off that they didn't have that written on their website nor on the MOF website, just a cerificate of good conduct without mentioning that it has to be in accordance to the countries of residence during the last 5 years, that is not specified instead they only had written a Certificate of good conduct of the last 5 years. Another thing that I can't get to understand, both countries are in the EU and the Schengen, considering only the fact that they are both in Schengen there shouldn't be such a requirement as everything would be visible in the Schengen system if there's anything against me. I do know about the reunification visa which I can apply for in Belgium as well as abroad, but my question is can I be on a tourist visa and I do so in Belgium ! I read somewhere that those not requiring a visa can deal directly with the municipality and apply for the reunification, but I'm not sure if that includes those who do posses a visa to go there.
Immigration - 1 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
since you are of lebanese nationality, you need to have a specific "eu reunification/accompanying family member" type d visa BEFORE entering. Then, within three months you must apply for a family permit. Within 6 months, the government should give you it.
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Friday, December 14, 2012
I’m an American girl & my Love is a Belgium man. I want to marry him & move there.I have no idea how to start!?
I’m an American girl & my Love is a Belgium man. I want to marry him & move there.I have no idea how to start!?
I have a year and a half to go before I graduate with my MFA in Design Management. I rent an apartment, don't have a pet nor many things. He recently got a good job and bought his family’s house (and has a cat their too! :) ) My father is ill so we will be getting married in my hometown and then move to Belgium. (we were told that would be better anyways paperwork wise) I have student loans and will have a very fancy degree so I would like to be able to get a job ASAP once I graduate and move. Also I am a bit paranoid about heath care (I don’t want to be stuck with medical bills if something happens to me epically just in-case we have a family a little earlier then we plan. ) I also have some assumptions. I am assuming I will need a new Belgium divers license and have to retake the test? I am assuming once we get married all the visa stuff wont be toooo traumatic, but I am getting conflicting reports about that once I am married I get I am streamlined to get citizenship but some places say no! I would also kind of like to have full legal rights if I am making a place my home for most likely the rest of my life. I am assuming he does not have to-do anything but actually marry me? (He has been reading and asking to and he is confused as well) But how do I start getting a visa!? Who do I talked to first and what questions do I ask? (who do i actually talk to!) And then, I don’t have allot of stuff! But how do I go about actually moving there! (Shipping stuff and so on) just! It’s over whelming, any help is really welcome! oh! I am living in GA, (usa) and i will be outside of Gent (Belgium) for a week in a month to see him again! P.S. He is my darling and I would move to Timbuktu to be with him but I am glad I am not because I suspect that would even be more paperwork! We are both in our mid20s, (we have known each other for years though! And I swear our story plays out like a slow-motion romantic comedy) I have never been arrested, nor married before (nether has he) He speaks English and I am learning Dutch (very slowly :( and his family is Flemish so french will come latter!) We should be married by the time I move there. But once I move there I will be there for +10 years to a lifetime! But I have just a little less then a year and a half left till then!
Immigration - 2 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
You must be over 21.... the affidavit of celibacy is different http://www.diplobel.us/TravelingBelgium/Visas/Partners_EU_Citizens.asp
2 :
An enchanted couple...first start at the Belgium Consultant for rules of immigration, travel, marriage and getting a passport etc. then learning French might help but you guys are in love so talking is the least of ways you are communicating, ask him about the things you need to do and have him create a lists of do's and don'ts.
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Friday, December 7, 2012
how hard is it to learn dutch?
how hard is it to learn dutch?
i'm going to belgium for 6 months (student exchange) and it requires a basic understanding of dutch. I have one year to prepare. How hard is the grammar? How hard is it to understand? Read? Write? just learn in general? Could i attain a basic skill level in one year?
Languages - 5 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Very Hard
2 :
why do you need to know dutch? go to french part lol
3 :
The grammar of Dutch/Flemish is not really too daunting for an English speaker - and certainly considerably easier than German. Where English people often come to grief is in the pronunciation but even that is not really difficult if you are prepared to imitate what you hear. And in my view, a basic knowledge of the language is easily attainable in a year.
4 :
Dutch is one of the closest languages to English. There are a lot of features you'll recognized. It's not as difficult as German, and one of the benefits of learning Dutch is that it's mutually intelligible with Afrikaans (in Southern Africa). Edit: Flemish is to Dutch as is UK English is to North American English.
5 :
I agree with GrahamH and Allan. You should be able to learn much more than just the basics in a year. Start by practicing the guttural 'g' and you're already halfway. I don't speak Dutch, but I understand and read it quite well.
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