Process to get a foreign student into BHS for a semester?
Anyone out there who has experience with hosting a foreign student and sending them to Berkeley High? I just learned that BUSD is not certified to do the I20 paperwork, and my friend in Germany will probably need to go through an agency, even though she already has the hosting family (us). I am interested in your experiences, with or without an agency, the processes the student (and the hosting family) had to go through, and how difficult it may be for the guest student to get the actual school or classes in BHS they may need to fulfill the requirements of their home school. (And yes, we are Berkeley residents, and our children go to BHS as well.) Any advice is greatly appreciated! Thank you.
Sep 29, 2016
Parent Replies
We have hosted students from Brazil and Germany, both of whom went to Berkeley High. Unless the student can obtain a visa on their own, students must go through a state department approved program. For a list of possible programs, see https://exchanges.state.gov/us/programs.
Our Brazilian student was born in the US when his parents were graduate students, so he had an American passport. We did not go through a program. We were appointed by his parents are temporary guardians, and just sent him to Berkeley High. Although there was a great deal of paperwork, Berkeley High was quite accomodating in providing appropriate classes. That said, I don't think the classes were officially transferred for credit, but he was here during what was mostly the Brazilian summer. It wasn't a problem for him.
We also hosted a student from Germany. Although she was a friend-of-a-friend, and we agreed to host her specifically, she still had to use an official program to come to the US, in her case AFS. AFS provided a packet which we used to enroll her at Berkeley High. Again, Berkeley High was quite accomodating about placing her in the classes she wanted. I'm not sure how transferring any credits went, as she elected to leave the program early.
Feel free to contact me if I can answer any questions.