h4 to f1 visa stamping - please help

[h4tof1visa]

My wife came to the United States on a H4 visa. She applied for higher studies at a top university (ranked within the top 25) after coming here and joined school in Fall 2012. She applied for COS to F1 and was approved in Nov 2012. She has been doing part time job on-campus after she got her F1 status. For the COS, we had stated the sponsor as my father-in-law and included bank statement to prove sufficient funds that would cover the total amount quoted on the I-20. Within a few days after we applied for COS, we managed to get a student loan here through a family friend who is a permanent resident. The loan was approved and the tuition fees has been paid through the bank loan. This loan has been linked to her SSN now. We did mention her SSN when filling out the DS-160.

She has completed 3 semesters so far and has an outstanding GPA and she also got scholarship worth 15k from the school. She also got a internship in her summer semester and currently working on CPT for that company. She is expected to graduate in May 2014. We are planning to go to India in September 2013 and she needs to get her visa stamped.

I am H1B and haven't applied for green card yet.

Here are my questions:

1. The I-20 states that source of funds is through Family but now it is actually through a US bank loan. If the visa officer looks up the SSN records, he will come to know that we got a US loan. How should my wife go about answering this question when the visa officer asks "who is sponsoring your education"?

2. Does taking a loan in the US result in denial of her visa? I have seen a few people mention that it makes it harder to prove "non-immigrant intent". Is this true? If so, how can we prove non-immigrant intent?

Has anyone been in this situation?

[t75]

It looks like you intended to commit fraud when you filed for the I-20 and COS. Since you are on H1B, you could have funded her education.

 

I also wonder how your family friend could make it possible for her to get a loan. If he cosigned, he was really foolish as he is now responsible for repayment if she and you do not make payments and student loans cannot be eliminated in bankruptcy.

[chakrakr]

It looks like you intended to commit fraud when you filed for the I-20 and COS. Since you are on H1B, you could have funded her education.

 

I also wonder how your family friend could make it possible for her to get a loan. If he cosigned, he was really foolish as he is now responsible for repayment if she and you do not make payments and student loans cannot be eliminated in bankruptcy.

 

What is the "fraud"  here ?  OP's father in law  promised to fund the education but since his wife got a loan  it was not required.   I do not think OP has any issue .     Being on H1  does not make one wealthy in a few months  and you would have possibly not loaned OP.

 

As far as cosigning for a loan is concerned ,  it is more common than you think .

[h4tof1visa]

Thanks for the reply.

 

My father-in-law had sufficient funds when we applied for COS. We thought about the option to get a student loan here because the interest rates are lower. Also, we thought that we can use the money on hand for some investment in India and we did invest in buying a house after we got the loan approved here. I have been repaying the student loan on time every month though the repayment starts only after my wife graduates. 

 

If the visa officer asks who is sponsoring your education, what should we answer? The I-20 states "Family funds" and as I had mentioned things changed after a few months of applying COS. In the i-539 application, I did mention about myself and my income although I mentioned my father-in-law as the primary sponsor. 

 

Any help on how to answer this question will be really appreciated. Thanks much!

[pontevecchio]

It does not matter who funds the education as long as it is funded legally. Cut the word sponsoring from your lexicon. Why is it even a Question? She surely has enough street smarts to tell the Officer she managed to get a loan. Do not anticipate questions.

[h4tof1visa]

Thanks a lot to all of you. This sounds every encouraging.