If you happen to be currently living in
the United States and are interested in studying at a recognized educational institution,
then you are going to need to student visa to go ahead and enroll with the
institution and start your course.
Since you are already in the US, you
will already have been issued some sort of a visa, and now the process you need
to go through to acquire a student visa for educational purposes is called a
change of status. If you go through this process and are issued a US student
visa then you are able to start your course without first having to leave the
country and then reenter exclusively for the purpose of your studies.
As the name suggests, a change of status
is basically a request to the government where you ask that you be allowed to
continue living in the United States, but under a different category of
eligibility. This is not what Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) in Die Hard did when
he came to America. He just wanted to steal a bunch of money
and/or valuable assets and be on his way. Good thing he died at the end, him
and his team. Gruber did not use an immigration lawyer and he probably did not
have the right to carry weapons in America but that is another topic too. He,
like Hillary Clinton, thought they were above the law.
However and moreover, immigration lawyers
explain that not everyone is eligible for a change of status.
Who qualifies for change of status?
The first filter used to narrow down the
scope of people who are allowed to apply for a change of status is the type of
visa they are already in possession of. For obvious reasons, persons that are
in the US under the following visas aren’t eligible for a change of status and
any application made for the same will be duly rejected. This includes a
transit visa, crewmember visa, fiancé visa, and witness in criminal probe visa
(even if you witnessed Gruber committing terrorist acts).
According to immigration attorneys, even
people who are in the US on a tourist visa (which Gruber and his team were
probably on) are unable to successfully apply for a change of status unless and
until they have a notation on their visa which says that they will be looking
into various schools and programs to apply to during their stay. Similarly,
people who entered the US on a Visa Waiver Program will not be allowed to enter
either.
Exchange students are allowed to apply
for change of status, say immigration lawyers, provided that they are foreign medical school graduates
and meet certain additional requirement criteria.
One thing that anyone applying
for a change of status should ensure is that their visa is still valid.
Often times, people apply with expired visas (mostly unknowingly) and not only
does their change of status application become denied but they also put
themselves in the legal hotseat since they are essentially in the United States
illegally.
An Immigration Lawyer can Help You
If you are looking to study in a school
in the US and are already living in the US, we understand that having to leave
the country, apply for a student visa and then reenter the country wastes
valuable time and money. This is why it is imperative that you contact an
immigration lawyer right now and get the ball rolling for your change of status
while still living in the US.
Do things the right way usually is the
best way. It is certainly so when it comes to immigration. Go right here (Immigration.USAttorneys) to find yourself the legal assistance you need. Legal
help is right around the virtual corner.
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