Currently, I live abroad with my parents. I am a US citizen that spent my sophomore year in the US. My father has a visa but he is old thus he can’t really work. My mother on the other hand doesn’t have a visa. She tried numerous times for a visa but she was never given one. The reason is unknown, as she has no criminal records, etc. I’m a junior now, and I have an interest to spend my senior year in the US and apply for college. Problem is, I don’t know how I’m going to have a stable roof over my head with my dad in the US. If I go the US for college, will I be able to bring my mother with me so she can help us economically?
In order to bring your mom to US as a legal immigrant, first you have settle in US and have a certain income level. It will be easier for her to get travel visa once you settle in US. If she comes with a travel visa (I assume that’s what your dad has), it will be illegal to work in US. You would need a lot of capital to move and settle to US first (with your dad?). You will have to work (if you don’t have a lot of money) and complete high school. One advantage you have is, you can pick any state to establish residency (cheapest cost to live with best colleges). Establishing residency usually takes over a year. Bottom line is you need $20k-$200k in current assets (depending on how much you can work and how cheap you can live). Good luck.
If your main focus is college, your best option would be to finish high school where you are now and come to the US for college on your own. You can finance your own cost of attendance (including living expenses) with financial aid - scholarships, grants, jobs and student loans.
If you want to bring your parents over, the best time to do that would be after you finish college and have a full-time job.
As a US citizen, you can (in theory) sponsor your parents for a green card. However, probably not right away:
- You must be at least 21 years old.
- You must be domiciled in the US. (Which means you have to move to the US first before you can start the visa process for your mom.)
- Your parent(s) need a financial sponsor. If that’s you, you’d currently need to earn at least ~ $26,000 a year to support a family of 3. (125% of the federal poverty line for your household size.)
You should also find out why your mom had a hard time getting a US visa in the past. Some reasons may be an obstacle for a tourist visa but would not prevent her from getting a family-based green card (e.g. suspected immigration intent). Some reasons would also prevent her from immigrating (e.g. an entry bar due to previous unlawful presence in the country - has your mom ever overstayed a US visa?).
If you email the US consulate that processed your mom’s visa applications, they should be able to give you a brief reason for the visa refusal(s). Likely a reference to the appropriate paragraph in the Immigration and Naturalization Act. You’ll have to look that up to see what it says.
Here’s a full list of the possible reasons for a visa denial: https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Statistics/AnnualReports/FY2016AnnualReport/FY16AnnualReport-TableXX.pdf
Here’s the official guide to family-sponsored immigration visas: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/family-immigration/family-based-immigrant-visas.html
No, you will not be able to go to college and rely on your mother. It sounds like you need to study very very hard for the SAT or ACT in order to score a very high score. Then you need to apply to all colleges with full rides. You can also move to states such as NYS or MN or FL and start living on your own to establish residency (not all states allow it… check Maine and the Midwest since they’re losing population, they may have more lenient residency rules than states brimming with residents). MO and Utah allow you to register as OOS but get instate tuition if you qualify for scholarships, then it’s your job to apply for residency.
Neither parent would be able to come with you, you’d live in the dorms (if you get a full ride, tuition, fees, room, and board are covered. But those are rare and require very high scores).