Chances of Student Visa with undocumented status in USA

[pepeuni]

Hello everyone. I am originally from Peru and my wife is a US citizen. We have two daughters together.I applied to immigration here in the US but my case has been denied over and over so I am tired of waiting . I graduated with honors last year with a Bachelor in Electrical Engineer and I would like to get a student visa to study for my Masters in Canada. I have been researching and it seems like it would be difficult to achieve a student visa after living without immigration status in USA but maybe somebody have some tips that could help me on how to achieve that. Does somebody know what my chances are of getting a visa approved in my case? Is there anything that I could do to increase my chances? Thanks for your time.

 

[Harry_89]

Ola comos estas senor.
Your question is not clear man. If your wife is US citizen how come you are undocumented.
Please elaborate.
But you need to be a citizen of US to apply to canada from there i hope you are not stateless at the moment.

 

[pepeuni]

Hola. Estoy bien por ahora. Thanks for responding. Yes, I am without a status while my case with US immigration is being appealed. According to my lawyer the odds are against me. That is why I wanted to immigrate with my wife and kids so they could be close home and in a safe country. I was wondering if maybe my wife were to apply for the student visa the odds were to increase.

 

[scorpio1641]

Perhaps the others can advise you better, but your being currently undocumented in the US is a huge stumbling block to obtain visas anywhere. Even if your wife will file for you as her dependent, it probably will still not pass muster for CIC.

I guess you can return to your home country and file from there, but this doesn't seem to be an option in your case. What are the reasons the US Immigration denied your case BTW?

 

[pepeuni]

Thanks. That is what I thought about my wife being able to get the visa. We have been fighting US immigration for over 7 years now. At first they didn't believe my current marriage was bona fida. Once they realize it was, they stated that my previous marriage was not bona fide and denied my current wife's petition. So even though I could return to Peru I am afraid for my wife and kids well-being because of the increased crime level. So it is why I was hoping to immigrate somewhere where my wife and kids could be safe and close home like Canada.

I only have like 430 points in the CRS point system and seem like it wont go below the 450 level for the Express entry system. So I am at the moment unsure on how to proceed to immigrate to Canada. Any advise would be helpful. Thanks

 

[scorpio1641]

Thanks. That is what I thought about my wife being able to get the visa. We have been fighting US immigration for over 7 years now. At first they didn't believe my current marriage was bona fida. Once they realize it was, they stated that my previous marriage was not bona fide and denied my current wife's petition. So even though I could return to Peru I am afraid for my wife and kids well-being because of the increased crime level. So it is why I was hoping to immigrate somewhere where my wife and kids could be safe and close home like Canada.

I only have like 430 points in the CRS point system and seem like it wont go below the 450 level for the Express entry system. So I am at the moment unsure on how to proceed to immigrate to Canada. Any advise would be helpful. Thanks

There must be some reason why they think your previous marriage or this marriage is not bona fide. Unless you fix that, I don't think there's any way you can get a visa to Canada.

 

[scylla]

Hello everyone. I am originally from Peru and my wife is a US citizen. We have two daughters together.I applied to immigration here in the US but my case has been denied over and over so I am tired of waiting . I graduated with honors last year with a Bachelor in Electrical Engineer and I would like to get a student visa to study for my Masters in Canada. I have been researching and it seems like it would be difficult to achieve a student visa after living without immigration status in USA but maybe somebody have some tips that could help me on how to achieve that. Does somebody know what my chances are of getting a visa approved in my case? Is there anything that I could do to increase my chances? Thanks for your time.

If you have no status in the US the chances of obtaining an approved Canadian study permit are zero. I wouldn't bother applying. If you want to have any chance of being approved, there are really two options. One would be to obtain legal status in the US somehow (i.e. green card status). Or you would need to leave the US and return to your home country. You would then need to live in your home country for a couple of years and reestablish yourself there (develop ties) before applying for the study permit. Your wife can certainly apply for a study permit to Canada now - however you will not be approved to come with her either on a tourist visa or on an open work permit. Canada is not going to approve someone without status in the US for any kind of temporary visa.

If you and your wife want to apply to come to Canada now - you need to forget about the study permit route. Your only option would be to apply to immigrate to Canada (if you qualify). If you are applying through Express Entry, make sure you aren't claiming any of your work experience in the US that was obtained while you were without status. Canada won't count this experience.

 

[pepeuni]

Thanks for your reply. I wasn't aware that the work experience had to be when one has some type of status. I have been looking for a reference about this in the CIC website but I was unable to find it. Could you please provide more info as to where I could find the such a rule? Thanks

 

[Lammawitch]

How did you manage to study & graduate in the U.S. with no status? (Genuinely curious).

Re working without status in the U.S. & EE: you will have to provide proof of your work experience. CIC can and does check this. Will the companies you worked for provide official proof? If CIC asks for additional information (think pay stubs, IRS, etc. ...) how can/will you provide it? What about the FBI PCC requirement? And proof of legal status in the country you are applying from?

I could go on, but I think you get the picture...

Read & listen to what Scylla has told you.

 

[pepeuni]

Most universities in the US do not care about your status as long as you pay the exorbitant tuition fees. There are only a few states that I know of that prohibit undocumented students to enroll in their universities.

I would be able to provide proof of my work experience with pay stubs, reference letters (my previous employer would be able to verify it if needed). I could also provide income taxes from all years as well as FBI reports. That would not be an issue.

I have read to what Scylla has stated but I have read cases of people that have lived undocumented here and immigrate to Canada. I will keep looking into the rules to see if I can find anything related to the work experience but if somebody knows where the rules state that the work experience have to be when in some type of legal status it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Lammawitch]

Most universities in the US do not care about your status as long as you pay the exorbitant tuition fees. There are only a few states that I know of that prohibit undocumented students to enroll in their universities.

I would be able to provide proof of my work experience with pay stubs, reference letters (my previous employer would be able to verify it if needed). I could also provide income taxes from all years as well as FBI reports. That would not be an issue.

I have read to what Scylla has stated but I have read cases of people that have lived undocumented here and immigrate to Canada. I will keep looking into the rules to see if I can find anything related to the work experience but if somebody knows where the rules state that the work experience have to be when in some type of legal status it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for answering my question about studying in the U.S.

If you have no status, how are your pay stubs/tax returns legal? Or did you at some point have legal status then lose it/overstay?

 

[samroc]

In the US, being a resident for tax purposes is treated differently regardless of the fact whether you have documents authorizing your status to be present in the country. It is an interesting difference but that is how it is applied in the states. So you can be undocumented but still have a tax number that enables you to pay taxes and still work as a contractor etc. That is why some 12 million undocumented folks in the US have been paying taxes to the IRS for many years. In terms of legal status, it all depends on if you were an official employee and what kind of proof you used for the I-9 form which is a document that confirms your working status.

I would suggest that you reach out to an organization that helps folks in your particular dilemma. I know they are out there but you will have to do some research. Sorry I can't be more helpful!

 

[pepeuni]

Thanks you everyone for your advice. In response to Lammawitch: Yes I come to the US with a work Visa and then later expired. So I have a social security number, a driver license. Those documents have make life somehow bearable here in the US.

Samroc, you are correct that the IRS has a different definition of resident for tax purposes than immigration does. As long as you have lived in the States for a required number of months, ( I can't remember how many at this moment) you are considered a resident for tax purposes. What organization could possibly help me out?. If it is the "dreamers", I don't qualify since I wasn't brought here when I was a minor. Thank you for your suggestion.

If somebody ran across any info regarding the work experience having to be while in legal status, please share it. Thank you guys again for taking you time to share valuable information.