Significant Other Getting A Work Visa while I'm in Law School?

[_____]

anod our solution to that has been to look at cities with numerous law schools and med schools (NYC, DC, Boston, Chicago mainly). I'd really like to stay down in the states after graduation (coming back to Canada to practice is a huge pain).

I just spoke with her, she's obviously not too happy about this. Really at a loss as to what to do, she's even talking about giving up on medicine and writing the LSATs and going in to law (would not suit her at all).

This is not making me happy at all...

It's a pain, I know... That's why plenty of people just prefer to hop the fence....

Seriously though, you'd have a better chance of all this if you both apply at the same time. 

(I don't know where you are in the app cycle.  Have both of you finished your degrees?  Is one graduating before the other?)

And tell her she doesn't need to apply to law school.  Even if you both applied to the exact same law schools, there are no guarantees you'd get into the same schools.  (IE You get into schools 1, 3, 5 while she gets into schools 2, 4, 6. You're still stuck apart, only she's studying something she hates, and wasting 150k on it too)

So she should apply to Med school, and you should apply to law school--just try to do it at the same time so you can coordinate your results. 

(It's a lot easier to say, I got into DC, NY, Chicago and SF.  You got into Virginia (which is near DC), Phoenix, Detroit, and LA.  You can then go, gee, Virginia and DC sound like the best options for both of us because we'll be very near each other while we each study what we love.  Whereas, if you apply at separate times, the second one to apply is totally SOL if they don't get into the 1 school where the first person is attending.)

[3ML]

The MCATs are only offered twice a year and she hasn't prepared for them, so she can't write them in august. Soonest she could write is April of next year and that's too late to apply for next year.

Wonder if it's at all possible for her to work for a Canadian consulate somewhere...

[_____]

Well then maybe you should wait for her... The easiest way to coordinate these things is by applying at the same time. 

Otherwise, you're back to options A and B: either she's in Canada while you're here (because you don't get married), or you do get married and then she follows you, but she can't work during the year between your arriving and her start of med school.

Either way, you're still stuck with the same problem: there is no way to know where the second applicant will end up.

(What if you go to school in DC, because the best school that accepts you is there, but the only med school that accepts her, one year later, is in California?  You'll have to separate anyway--either that or live with her resentment of you for the rest of your lives. And I don't recommend that.)

As far as I can tell, you have the following options:

(A) Be ok with being separated for at least the year while she is working in Canada and you are a 1L in the US.  Then you can hope that she gets into a med school near your school, but if she doesn't, you'll basically have to separate (physically anyway).

(B) Get married, and be ok with her following you to the US while you are a 1L, but you'd have to be ok with her not being able to work either.  She'd basically have to rot--or study for the MCAT. She might actually be able to make good use of it.  And then you're still back to the second half of (A): "Then you can hope that she gets into a med school near your school, but if she doesn't, you'll basically have to separate (physically anyway)."

(C) Just wait until she can apply, and then both apply to your respective programs at the same time.  Then coordinate your acceptances the best you can, and hopefully you both get in to places that are geographically similar.  Of course, you may still end up with the second half of (A), but your chances are greatly reduced because both of your final locations will still be flexible (IE no one has committed to any single place yet).

.....

If it makes you feel any better, my husband and I will be separating this year.  He has 1 year to go here in Calfiornia, but I'm starting at Michigan in 3 weeks... It can be done...

EDIT: I should specifiy.  When I write CA, I mean California, not Canada.

[3ML]

Her studying for the MCATs full time would be good, but it would also be a giant pain in the ass in that she'd be totally broke. I'm almost certain she could get a work visa in Palm Springs, but there are no law schools nearby.

I'm not delaying a year, not a chance of that.

How hard would it be for me to get American citizenship once I have my student visa?

[_____]

Her studying for the MCATs full time would be good, but it would also be a giant pain in the ass in that she'd be totally broke. I'm almost certain she could get a work visa in Palm Springs, but there are no law schools nearby.

I'm not delaying a year, not a chance of that.

How hard would it be for me to get American citizenship once I have my student visa?

The only way to become an American citizen is by having had a Green Card for a certain number of years (as little as 3 in some cases, more in others), depending on the circumstances under which you got the Green Card.

The catch?  There are a limited number of ways to get a Green Card, and many, many hoops to jump through.  (By the way, the nine billion forms that have to be filed also have hefy fees attached, which is why it's hard to get an employer to do this for you...)

For a complete list of the ways to get a Green Card and more details, follow this link:

http://uscis.gov/graphics/howdoi/LPReligibility.htm

[_____]

Her studying for the MCATs full time would be good, but it would also be a giant pain in the ass in that she'd be totally broke. I'm almost certain she could get a work visa in Palm Springs, but there are no law schools nearby.

I'm not delaying a year, not a chance of that.

How hard would it be for me to get American citizenship once I have my student visa?

By the way, Palm Springs is only a couple of hours from LA or San Diego... Worth a shot, no?

[3ML]

Ya, I guess I could go to USC or UCLA and then apply to transfer to a bunch of places. Who knows.

I don't suppose the US has similar immigration policies to Canada where foreigners can essentially buy their way in does it? In Canada, all you have to do is invest 50k or 100k and you're in. Her parents are loaded and could move some assets around to help if it mattered.

[Dilettante]

If money is not a problem, she could just take 6 credits per semester (1/2 time) at any college and that would qualify her for a student visa. She could take classes at a community college or a uni that might help serve as prep for the MCAT. When she eventually becomes a doctor, she'll have a much easier time getting a green card, since just about any job in the medical field is eligible for a green card due to shortages.

Speaking of which, can lawyers from other countries easily get work visas/green cards? I've never heard anything about this.

[allyreese]

Furthermore, the problems I see with the Uncle thing:
If she gets an H-1 visa to work with her Uncle, and then STOPS working there, her visa expires and she has to go back home.  So the H-1 from the Uncle is most likely NOT going to solve your problems.  (Of course, you could have here work there while she's applying to Med School, etc, but she couldn't stop working there until her change to F-1 comes through.)

I still think i would try to work out this uncle option, unless you're ready to elope (like hubby and I did) and attach her to your student visa.  If the plan is that she wants to work until she goes to med school and uncle can give her some secretary job or something to occupy her while she's studying for MCAT and filling out applications, that seems like the best way.  Unless she thinks she's going to hate working with him and will want to stop working there before she starts med school, then I don't think she'd have a problem waiting for that student visa.  That would also let her earn some money, but like Dilettante said, if money's not an issue, taking some easy CC credits might be the easiest way to get the visa.

[_____]

If money is not a problem, she could just take 6 credits per semester (1/2 time) at any college and that would qualify her for a student visa. She could take classes at a community college or a uni that might help serve as prep for the MCAT. When she eventually becomes a doctor, she'll have a much easier time getting a green card, since just about any job in the medical field is eligible for a green card due to shortages.

Speaking of which, can lawyers from other countries easily get work visas/green cards? I've never heard anything about this.

Unfortunately, this would not be an option for her.  F-1 students are required to take full time units (at least 12 at most places), and you pay international student tuition.

So, for example, a Community College in California costs $26/unit for a California resident.  Someone from another state pays $176/unit, and international students pay $186/unit.

186 x 12 units minimum = $2232, but then you have to add any campus or student union fees, and international students are required to purchase health insurance (another $800/year usually).

So even community college costs at least 3k per semester, not including living expenses. Better to save up that money for Med School.

Of course, you said her parents are loaded, so maybe the cost is irrelevant.

Nonetheless, we still come back to the same problem: neither of you can guarantee that you are going to be able to study near one another.