I am an international guy who came here to the U.S as a dependant to accompany my wife while she is studying for her PhD. My immigration status was F-2 or dependant and I recently changed to student status i.e. F-1 so I could study as well as my wife, I was interested in studying English language as a way to keep me busy (because dependants in the US are not allowed to work legally or attend school full time and I had nothing to do during my wife's first semester at school and it was a very hard situation) also to improve my English skills and I wanted to start from the beginning level even though my English was good( I believed that i should start from the beginning and i was quite wrong), as you will see this was a big mistake that I made and now I'm regretting it very much: In my search for a good English program I found an intensive English program in a nearby college and enrolled in the program, the program gave me a placement test but I intentionally messed it up so they would allow me start from the beginning level(they give this test to all the students to determine their English level and students must start from that level not they level they want) but now that I am attending the classes I found them quite boring and unbearable, the books and topics discussed are really easy and the level of my classmates sucks! I even looked at the books for higher levels 2, 3, etc and found them quite easy as well, there isn't really much for me to learn from this program so it would be absolutely a waste of time and money for me to continue with this program. I regret very much that I enrolled in this program and I regret much more that I made the second mistake of messing up the placement test and starting from the beginning level. Yesterday I went to the program director and told him that I would like to withdraw from the program but I couldn't tell him what I did in the placement test, first he said that the instructors have decided to move me to a higher level i.e. to level 2 but honestly that does not solve my problem, he also said that if I still decide to withdraw, there wouldn't be any refund for me because the program is a non-degree program and part of the college continuing education and their refund policies are different from the other branch of the college for degree seeking students(But I heard from somewhere that in exceptional cases and with the permission of the dean of continuing education they can do that). Also he said if I choose to withdraw I would be out of my immigration status and must leave the US within a short period of time that could be 15-20 days, however he was not quite sure of this time frame and said he would find out more about the actual time frame, if this time frame is correct or if it's at least in range I will not be able to leave the country within this short time because I need some more time at least 3-4 months to work on my wife slowly slowly and convince her to accept and let me leave her and go back to my country, I had a good job there and I can go back and resume the job that I had there, I can not tell her at once that I want to leave her and the US, that would be very very shocking and totally unexpected to her and would definitely have an adverse impact on her studies in the new semester. The director of the program and the instructors are nice people and I appreciate their decision to move me to a higher level but the problem is that my true level of English is even higher than this 2nd level and I could not tell the truth to the director that I intentionally did badly in the placement test. I would be embarrassed and it would be inappropriate for me to say this to them and most importantly the fact of the matter is that I really want to withdraw from their program and get the refund and I do not really want to continue with this program. So my friends just to summarize my problem is that I want to withdraw from the program officially and I need to get as mush of the refund as possible because I paid all the tuition which was too much and I only attended the classes for two weeks and after I managed to do that then I need to stay in the US at least for another 3-4 months to work on my wife and get her ready and accept to let me go back to my country. That would be beneficial to both of us though it's difficult but it's only a few years and then she can come back home after she finishes her studies and in the meantime I will come several times to see her. I would appreciate it very much if you could help me find a solution or if you could share with me any similar experiences that you or any one that you know has had or if you could give me any good advice or information that could help me get out of this difficult situation. I know it was my mistake and I have only myself to blame but still I do not want to do any thing illegal and what I want from this program or the US government is not too much to ask. If I do not find any solution to this problem I would have to somehow get the program to let me sit the placement test again and start from my true level but they say they normally would not give the students a second chance to retake the placement test.
Thank you very much for your time and assistance, Rojin
2007-01-27 17:43:16 · 9 answers · asked by rojin 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Immigration
Wow, Rojin what a mess. It appears that you really want to go home and work. I can't say I blame you. A few years can be a long time when all you can do is sit and Wait. The only option I can see is to talk to someone at the college and try to explain that you made a mistake and need to go home. That or try to get into a more advanced class. You could always say you were nervous when you took the placement test and feel you could do much better if given the chance. That would buy you some time to prepare your wife for your leaving.
As for telling your wife, that may be a little tricky. But I do think you should give her credit, she may be more understanding than you think.
2007-01-27 19:04:17 · answer #1 · answered by Jan J 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
An F1 who drops out or finishes a program has ususally 30 days to depart the USA without any problems.
As for getting your money back from the school, it is totally up to them.
Since you probably won't get any money back then you only issue is to stay a few months before you head home.
If you stay enrolled, but only attend the classes you want (or not at all) it will be until the end of the semester before the school fails you. Will that give you the time that you need?
As for your wife, honesty is the best policy. If you can not tell her the truth now, how will it be later?
Have you considered returning home for a while and then coming back as an F2 again?
2007-01-27 21:14:31 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
WOW! Well I would suggest that if your best interest is to stay with your wife, then you continue the course work, but it looks like the school is standing firm on not refunding you.
Do you have a contract? Letter of Agreement about the tuition you paid? Read the fine prints since your English is so well and see exactly what are the terms of being refunded if any. The Directors may be telling you one thing, but when you actually see the paper work you sign it may be saying another thing, so read it again.
2007-01-31 21:46:27 · answer #3 · answered by gtgem 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't see any way you can get a refund, as you intentionally misled them about yur level. I think it's best to forget about that.
So the question is how to make the best of the situation. You could continue in the programme, at least formally, perhaps without attending very often, in order to keep your visa; to be honest it seems to me that your level of English is too advanced for it to benefit from any level of course. Perhaps you could even find a role as a volunteer teacher/assistant.
Otherwise, you need to find something productive to occupy yourself. If you are not allowed to work, and if it's impossible to get a work permit, have you thought of doing voluntary work? Or maybe some kind of self-study?
It seems to me that you need to become very disciplined and focused to avoid damaging your relationship - because if you are depressed or angry at yourself, you will not be a nice person to be around, and I'm sure your wife has challenges of her own to face in this new country.
I wish that you could really talk to your wife and explain about the situation and about your feelings.
Look at people who go to prison. Some of them, the experience just leaves them more bitter and resentful; others use it to turn their lives around. This period can be an opportunity for you to discover new things about life and about yourself. Everybody makes mistakes, but that doesn't mean that you are less of a human being, and in fact swallowing one's pride can make you stronger and better able to understand others.
You may end up going back to your country, but in the meantime, read, study, take up new interests - music, politics, Spanish, cooking, sport, poetry - there is so much out there! And try to set up a good routine for yourself, exercise, good food, study time, time with your wife.
You know, all this is easier said than done, but think about it!
Good luck
2007-01-27 22:23:27 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Unfortunately, you've gotten yourself into a situation you aren't going to be able to get out of easily. Your best bet is to just go ahead with the program and use it to learn what you can.
And--this will sound harsh, but the truth is you did this to yourself. If you hadn't tried to manipulate the situation by deliberately messing up the test, you wouldn't be in this situation. So the best thing is just accept the consequences of your actions--and let this be a lesson to you. Good luck.
2007-01-27 18:59:56 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Man, I aint got time to read a whole friggin' book about your life story. I mean I took one look at your question and my eyeballs froze up, next time keep it simple.
2007-02-03 15:32:00 · answer #6 · answered by frigginhilarious 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
While your command of the language is very impressive and certainly surpasses the majority of native-born posters here on this site, please consider the value of brevity!
You need some paragraph breaks and a good editor. I cannot read through all that grey.
Too much information ! "Cut to the chase" is a phrase we use here that means "Please get to the point." You totally lost me out of boredom.
2007-02-04 04:22:24 · answer #7 · answered by Pamela B 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
First thing you should do is cut that story down to about four lines, then maybe more people will read it.
2007-02-03 12:47:13 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
wow -- that was a mouth full. make it simple . you need help!!
2007-02-01 10:10:32 · answer #9 · answered by J 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋