RULES ARE BEING PUT IN PLACE BY THE COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL RECRUITMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

Today, China sends over 200,000 students to the United States each year for higher learning.  India sends about 50,000.  Other countries like to send their students as well.  

If you are one of these people who would like to study in the U.S.~~  take note!   As you begin your journey of preparing to study in the United States, you may be considering the option of hiring a consulting service provider to help you in this process.   Depending on where you live, such services could include a recruiter, broker or agent who charges fees or receives a commission for such things as helping you obtain a student visa, housing or other services. A recruiter is often known as Zhongjie in China and Yeo Haeng Saa in Korea.

It is important to know that you do not need to use a recruiter or agent in order to obtain a United States student visa. Free information about applying for an F or M visa is available from the US See the Department of State’s website.

What is important to know your rights and responsibilities and the problems you could encounter by hiring an agent or recruiter. Get all the facts up front and ask a lot of questions.  These recruiters do not hold professional membership in organizations like HECA, ICEA or NACAC.

Students and their families must ensure that their living arrangements in the United States are adequate for their needs. The arrangements a recruiter makes for you may not match how the recruiter describes them to you. A recruiter cannot prevent you from moving to a new living arrangement. Also, the fees paid for
your housing should not be tied to the agent or recruiter.


Additionally, and more importantly, you are a student must ensure that the school where you enroll meets your educational objectives. If it does not, a recruiter cannot prevent you from transferring to another school.  

Be aware that the US government cannot force recruiters to refund fees you have paid to them for not meeting your expectations (such as bad living arrangements or the school 
program not providing what you expected).

REMEMBER: KNOW AND UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN INTERNATIONAL RECRUITER/AGENT and a COLLEGE ADMISSIONS CONSULTANT.

Many recruiters/agents work for a specific school or many schools in the U.S.  In addition to charging families for their fees, they sometimes receive incentive compensation from the schools they represent which can lead to misrepresentation, “high pressure” sales, conflicts of interest, and other forms of detrimental behavior.  This behavior hurts international students and their families.

On the other hand, a college admissions consultant is a highly trained individual who belongs to at least one of the national organizations, stays current on the latest trends, tours colleges campuses and can give a family a first hand look at each of the schools in the United States.  A college admissions consultant is NOT affiliated with any college or university and have no specific ties to any one school, and the fees to families are less that that of agents.  The only fees they receive are from their client.  

If you are looking to attend college in the United States, We offer a FREE 1/2 hr. consultation to international families to answer their questions.  Feel free with no obligation to contact us about how we can help you reach your goals.

Temporary Relief for Immigrant Students (Deferred Action-- AKA Dream Act")

There is great news for undocumented students who are now seeking a chance to gain college access into U. S. Colleges and Universities. On June 15, 2012, President Obama announced a new policy allowing undocumented immigrants brought into the country as children the opportunity to avoid deportation.   The new policy, commonly referenced as 'Deferred Action', will allow undocumented immigrants under 30 to apply for two-year deferrals excluding them from deportation,  so long as they meet criteria similar to provisions found in the DREAM Act, including  being a student, high school graduate or veteran of the armed forces or Coast Guard. Unlike the DREAM Act, which would give people under the age of 35 a path to  citizenship, the new policy would not provide any increased opportunity to obtain legal permanent resident status.           For more information, please see the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s website.