F1 Visa if parents and siblings have green card

[nick83]

Dear AA Forum members,

I am new to this forum. And my Dutch is not that great. So I am writing my post in English. Please do pardon me for the same. I have some doubts which are as described below and I would be grateful if anyone can help clarify them.

I am from India and currently, I am pursuing MSc in Netherlands (TU Delft) since past 2 yrs. This fall I will be joining Stanford University to pursue PhD with full financial support from the university. My parents and brother hold green card. My parents are currently living in India and my brother resides in the US. I will be appearing for F1 visa interview in end of May. I have following questions:

1) As my parents already have a green-card, will my application for F1 visa be rejected right away? I do not intend to stay in US after my PhD. How can I prove this?
2) If I appear for F1 Visa Interview in US consulate in Amsterdam, Netherlands will that be a negative point for me? Should I go to India and appear for interview from there?
3) Can you please share your thoughts on what aspects are looked into by VISA counselor while granting F1 VISA? Especially when candidates have their parents/siblings in the US.
4) Can reputation of University help to soften Counselors presumption of my immigrant intent?
5) Please do share your opinions, suggestions or thoughts that you feel might help me.

Your inputs will be very decisive for me. And I will be grateful to you for the same.
Thank you very much,
Nick

[goldenhills]

Hi Nick,

Ik neem aan dat het lezen van Nederlands nog wel zal lukken, dus mijn antwoord is in het NL.

1. Voldoen je ouders nog aan de green card voorwaarden? Als zij niet (meer) in de VS wonen hebben ze waarschijnlijk geen recht meer op de green card ('abandoned status'). Als jij bij jouw aanvraag aangeeft dat ze in India wonen vergroot dat alleen maar de kans dat zij de volgende keer dat ze naar de VS reizen in de problemen komen.

2. Het advies is om een visum aan te vragen in je thuisland. Hoe zwaar dat meeweegt kan ik je helaas niet zeggen.

3. Je moet opgeven of je familie in de VS hebt en wat hun status is (form DS-156 & DS-158). En heb je al deze informatie gelezen:
http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/types/types_1268.html

4. Ik neem aan van wel. Als je de VS binnenkomt op SFO bijvoorbeeld dan zal de immigration officer zeker bekend zijn met Stanford, en de goede reputatie.

5. Neem contact op met het international student office van Stanford, en leg hen deze vragen voor. Wellicht moet je een immigratieadvocaat raadplegen. Je hebt zeker een lastige situatie, met 'red flags' voor een tijdelijk visum.

Succes!

[nick83]

Hi Gold Hills,

Thank you once again. My parents Green-card status does not read abandoned and it is still valid. My dad runs a business in India which makes it hard for him to travel to US often. I would definitely follow-up on your advice and will contact the International office.

Points that are not clear and keeps baffling me are:
1) I have a B1/B2 visa and have been to US twice (for attending research conference). If my parents green-card can be an issue wouldn't that be an issue for B1/B2?
2) I am worried that I will not be able to prove my non-immigrant intent as my parents have a green-card. But reality is if I merely wanted to immigrate to US why would I choose to apply to tier-1 schools where admissions are extremely competitive.

These strange requirements for F1 visa is killing me right now.
I am sorry if I blew-up my frustration on this forum. But it seems more than intellect one needs luck to pursue higher education in US.

Thank you,
Sincerely,
Nick

[goldenhills]

My parents Green-card status does not read abandoned and it is still valid. My dad runs a business in India which makes it hard for him to travel to US often.

Dat kan evengoed betekenen dat als je ouders hun hele situatie uitleggen aan een immigration officer dat hij/zij bepaald dat ze geen recht meer hebben op een green card. Als jij op je F-1 aanvraag aangeeft dat ze een green card hebben maar in India wonen, kan dat problemen veroorzaken. Wat de kans daarop is weet ik niet...

Heb je deze vragen ook op een internationaler forum gesteld? Ik kan me zo voorstellen dat er veel meer mensen uit Azie in een vergelijkbare situatie zitten dan in NL/BE. De relatief weinige NL/BE die gaan studeren in de VS hebben ook nog eens procentueel gezien veel minder vaak directe familie met green card of US citizenship.

[nick83]

Hi Gold Hills,

I do have put this question on several of international forums. I have also consulted attorney through their community service. But it seems that opinion is very mixed. There is a video on youtube of a VISA officer who upright denies that parents/siblings GC does not matter for F1. Also he suggest that for F1 three things are looked at 1) Funding 2) Credibility of Student 3) Student's intent.

On the other hand there are few VISA officers who have mention parents GC makes it nearly impossible to get any nonimmigrant VISA. Mainly because, it is hard to prove home ties.

In summary, I have still not reached any concrete solution. I thought maybe somebody on this forum may have an answer.

Worst case, my plan is to appear for an interview here in Amsterdam. If it does not work will go to India.

Thanks Gold Hills for all your concerns and suggestions. I indeed appreciate it.

Regards,
Nick