She received a letter in July admitting her to the Fall Semester of LaGuardia College, a branch of the City University of New York.
However, today she received a letter saying that it is too late to enroll for the Fall Semester and asking her if she wants to attend the Spring Semester.
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I just spoke to a foreign student adviser. She said that this is because when foreign students are admitted, it often takes too long for the college to issue I-20 forms, so foreign students often have to attend a semester after the semester for which they were originally admitted.
Although Kayo Kimura has submitted all of the financial disclosure forms required for the issuance of an I-20 form (Kayo has lots of money in the back as a result of working for Toshiba for 14 years) La Guardia College has missed its own self-imposed deadline for issuing an I-20 form.
I had a big argument with the foreign student adviser about this. She admitted that Kayo had not delayed or missed any deadlines. She suggested that the admissions office, which is not at La Guardia College but is in the Grace Building at 43rd and Sixth avenue, was at fault for admitting students too late for La Guardia College to complete the paperwork.
I told her that Kayo does not need a student visa to come to America. Being Japanese, she does not need a visa at all. She can come any time.
The Foreign Student Adviser replied that under no circumstances would they allow a student to attend La Guardia College on a visa waiver. The Foreign Student Adviser finally agreed that she would allow Kayo to attend, provided that she arrives by August 16 on a "Tourist Visa for Prospective Student".
In other words, the visa must say "for Prospective Student" on it.
I do not understand why La Guardia College should care what kind of visa any student has, as long as they show up at the door in time to register for classes. Nevertheless, the Foreign Student Adviser was quite firm that Kayo must come on a "Tourist Visa for Prospective Student".
Also, I do not understand why they cannot send her an I-20 form at this late date, since Kayo has submitted everything they require.
I would like to call the US Embassy in Tokyo and explain the situation. Perhaps, if she shows them her letter of admission from La Guardia College plus her bank statement, they will give her a student visa even without an I-20 Form.
I would like to explain the situation to the US Embassy, as perhaps otherwise they will not understand that this is essentially a problem with La Guardia College and not with Kayo Kimura.
Do you have their number or do you know somebody you can call there yourself?
Please understand that this is a grave emergency, as I need Kayo here to take care of certain other matters.
Sam Sloan