EB5 INVESTORS M AGAZINE
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return to the United States. There have been cases of
students who returned to their home countries only
to be denied re-entry to the United States. Usually,
this results from paper work errors and the like,
which can be cleared up relatively quickly. However,
such concerns simply do not apply to green card
holders. Permanent residence in United States brings
peace of mind.
PRE-UNIVERSITY
Many foreig n students attend private boardi ng
schools t hat cost a n average of nearly $40,000
per year. 5 A merican residents, however, have an
a lter nat ive: tuit ion-free publ ic school i ng from
approximately the ages of 6 to 18 (grades 1 to 12).
A mer ica n publ ic s c ho ol s prov ide a n e ducat ion
that is often just as good as, or even superior to,
expensive private schools. 6 The U.S. student visa
(F-1) cannot be used to attend free public schools
in the U.S. If one wants to use an F-1 student visa
to attend an American public school, the parents
must pay the entire cost to the local school district,
w h i c h i s e s t i m a t e d b y t h e U. S . g o v e r n m e nt’s
National Center for Education Statistics to be an
average of $10,556. 7 This does not include room and
board or other expenses.
UNIVERSITY APPLICATIONS
While free public K-12 education is a good start, there
is more. Attending a U.S. high school may be a benefit
to university applications. American high schools
employ guidance counselors who perform many
functions, including assisting university applications.
The same functions that agencies in another country
may charge thousands of dollars to perform are done
for free by the guidance counselor at an American
high school. This includes helping the student select
the right college or university, making sure he or she
has the right preparatory classes, getting letters of
recommendation, and making helpful suggestions
if there are elements of the students’ applications
that need to be shored up, such as work experience or
extracurricular activities. 8
Admissions departments at competitive American
universities require proof of English proficiency.
However, any student who has attended at least two
years of high school in which the primary language of
instruction was English can skip the requirement of an
ESL exam, at many universities.
In some states, top-scoring high school students
gain automatic admission to flagship state-funded
universities, usually with certain additional testing
requirements. In Texas, which is the most generous,