My first cousin is a 16 year old Vietnamese national and a junior
currently studying at a high school in San Antonio, TX on a J-1 Visa
sponsored by the International Student Exchange of Babylon, NY.

Her Visa states that the two year rule for J-1 visitors does NOT apply
to her and she would like to stay in the United States to complete her
high school education and possibly attend college.

The Vietnamese government has agreed to allow her to do this but will
not provide any funding. We would like to have her relocate to either
Louisiana or Nevada and complete her high school education where
either myself or my parents would provide room, board, and all other
support.

I've spoken to several attorneys regarding this and cannot get a
straight answer out of them. They all want a couple of thousand in
retainer to discuss in more detail. I cannot even get them to say if
there is even a realistic chance of this happening. I guess that's the
nature of their profession.

After doing some research on the internet, it seems like she may be
eligible for an extension of her current Visa or may need to switch to
an F-1 visa. However, I'm not sure which is more appropriate.

Hopefully someone out there has been through the same thing and will
be able to offer some sage advice or at least point me in the correct
direction. While I'm not adverse to hiring an attorney, I don't want
to pay one $2,000 to tell me that there isn't a good chance of
success.

Thanks!