I'm trying to bring my brother, who is 14 years old, from Saudi Arabia
and enroll him in a school here in the United States. My family, my
parents, my brother, and I all believe that it's good for him.
However, there is some paper work to be done in the local public
school district office here in Tempe, Arizona. First, they requested
that I bring some paperwork. I brought the paperwork they requested
and emailed it to them. They said that it's not legitimate. So, I had
my family send me the original copies from Saudi Arabia, a process
that took several weeks, after I finally had my paperwork. I took it
to them, and they said, basically, "we will not be able to enroll your
brother in this semester because it's too late and your brother
doesn't speak English. We will give you the I-20 (the form that I need
to obtain the U.S. visa) for the next semester, but first we will have
to pro-rate the tuition since your brother will start in the middle of
the school year." I said fine. And now it's taking them more than 3
weeks to even decide what the pro-rated tuition is. Last time I called
them, they said "we'll have to present your case to our board"!!

The problem is that there are no private schools in the area, and my
brother doesn't speak English. I can only enroll him in a public
school where they have the 'English Learner Program' But those
buraucrats couldn't care less about our plans. It's already hard to
obtain a visa to the U.S. for a Saudi Arabian, and now I don't know
what's taking the school district office so long.

The secretary at the school district office said that she will have
information about my case this week. She said that on Monday, and now
it's Wednesday. I don't know if she'll keep her promise. Even if she
did, that doesn't guarantee that she will have my I-20 ready. They
might just simply say NO for no reason. I finished everything from my
part. I don't know what else they want. I feel helpless...

What can I do?

Wait, something smells fishy here.  Since when do public schools
charge tuition?  (excluding state colleges)

neither i nor my brother are united states citizens. since we don't
pay tax, we pay tuition.

Are your parents not in the country?  If you are legal aliens, you are
certainly entitled to an education.  Plenty of illegals get it for
free.  Maybe I just don't understand what an I-20 is.

My parents are not in the United States. I'm here in the United States
with a student visa. The I-20 is a form you have to get from an
education institution. Once you get this form, you take it to the U.S.
embassy and the process your permission to enter the United States. So
before we can bring my brother here, we have first to get him an I-20.
Then we take this I-20 to the U.S. embassy in Saudi Arabia and apply
for a visa.

When I came to the United States I had to get an I-20 from Arizona
State University. The process wasn't nearly as hard as getting one for
a louzy high school in the area! Those people at the school district
office are really making me mad...

Hello mohammed311-ga,

You catch more flies with honey. I wonder if the tone of your
communication with the school bureaucracy is similar to what you've
posted here. Most schools are understaffed and they may give higher
priority to dealing with students who are already enrolled than one
who might enroll in the future. I think polite persistence is the way
to go. Good luck.

~ czh ~

And of course, there could very well be the issue of discrimination.

Also, czh brings up a good point.  The Phoenix area is the fastest
growing in the U.S.  I'm sure they're having enough trouble keeping up
with domestic demand.  They don't want to start facilitating imports.

Thanks for the responses.

No, I may be TOO polite with them. In fact, that's the reason why I'm
venting here.

Here's an example of an email I sent to them:

"Dear Dr. Johnson:
 
Your assistant has mentioned to me nine days ago that your office is
going to determine the pro-rated tuition payment before we can proceed
with the I-20.  We have finished the paperwork and are ready to pay
the tuition.  The sooner I get a response from you regarding the
tuition and I-20 the better we will be able to plan for my brother.
The process of obtaining the visa in Saudi Arabia is not very
convenient as you might already now, and it requires planning ahead
for it to get done on time.

I would like to have an approximate date as to when the tuition will
be decided and the I-20 issued, so that we can estimate the time for
an appointment with the embassy in Saudi Arabia and perhaps get my
brother enrolled in a temporary English program while he?s waiting.

Your understanding is very much appreciated.

 

Sincerely,

 

Mohammed,
"

Now you guys told me why this may be happening to me, but I still
don't know what I should do about it. I have been polite and
persistent, but they are simply ignoring me. And I don't know what I
can do with them!! Might a lawyer help?

I'd like to add that this email was sent on the 6th (Thursday) of this
month. They did not reply to it. So I called them the following Monday
(this Monday) and the assistant told me that she'd have information
for me this week, after they have presented _the case_ (what?) to the
board. Now the business week is about to end and I haven't heard from
them.

Mohammed,
Just about anywhere in the world, foreigners can feel like they are
getting the run-around, and - unfortunately - sometimes they are.  If
or when you go to the office, it might help to bring along an American
acquaintance, preferably someone several years older than you are
(well-dressed, serious looking).  If the person can add anything to
the discussion, fine, if not, just his/her silent presence may help.
I hope so, good luck,
Myoarin

Yeah, bringing along an American who's well-dressed and serious
looking might very well help. Especially that I actually look very
casual and look like I'm 18 years old while I'm 23. But unfortunately,
I don't know anybody who'd come with me. The only person who would
come is may be my past roommate, but he moved to Brazil. I really
don't know anyone to ask.

mohammed311-ga,

I'm sorry to hear about your frustrations. Your age and appearance
could definitely be working against you. It sounds like you could
definitely use some support from friends or the community. You say
you're completely on your own but you also say that you're going to
school at ASU. Is there a Saudi Arabian community at the school? If
not, are there some support groups or organizations for international
students? Could you ask for help or advice from some of your teachers
or advisors?

I also suggest that you try to connect with some people who've shared
your experiences. Is there a Saudi Arabian or Arab community in Tempe
or Phoenix? Does your family have some connections or friends with
this community? I suggest that you seek them out so that you don't
have to feel so completely alone.

Regardless of whatever support you can line up to help you, you will
simply have to keep following up with the school district. Keep
following the procedures and meeting their deadlines. I also suggest
that you keep detailed records of every contact -- date, time, person
you spoke to, what was discussed. You mentioned that you've been
sending e-mails. I suggest that you send your requests by regular mail
as well. This organization may not pay as much attention to e-mail as
paper or they may give priority to something sitting in a paper stack
on someone's desk instead of in an electronic queu.

Wishing you well.

~ czh ~

I may sound exaggerating if I say that I don't know anyone here in the
U.S. beside my classmates who I never meet out of class. And I don't
know a single Arab person except my wife. But I always see the
International Student Club stand at school and they seem extremely
friendly. If anything goes wrong in the future I will try to seek help
there.

I said "in the future" because I called the school district office
today and the person in charge picked up. I spoke to her and she said
I could drop by to pickup the tuition statement so that I could pay it
at the school. However, since I don't have a car, I told her I'd come
on Monday when I rent one, and schools are closed this week anyway.

So it seems that things are moving now. I hope it all goes well. Thank
you everyone for your support and comments. I'll post updates if
anything goes wrong. Thanks!

Mohammed,
I really hope things are looking up.  Czh-ga came in with a better
suggestion of what I also had in mind.  If you still need someon to
accompany you, and can't find one  - without getting personal -  it
seems that your family is in a position to be able to pay a lawyer to
accompany you   - my respects for their wanting to educate their sons
in USA.
Best wishes, Myoarin

Salam,

Do a search for CAIR councel for Islam - American affiars - call them
to help you out.

Yeah, I guess I could've done that, even though I'm a confirmed
atheist. That shouldn't effect anything, though. I will try them next
time.

This time, I'm glad that everything worked out fine. They finally gave
me the I-20 and I sent it back to my brother in Saudi Arabia. Now
we're going through the visa process with the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh
Saudi Arabia.

Thanks to everyone for their help, advice, and comments.

Great, congratulations and good luck, Myoarin