Is it possible for my cousins to get Student Visas?

Question

One is 13 the other is 15. They live in Honduras and are exceptional students in school. They would come live with my parents in Florida.

However, their parents are illegal immigrants here in the U.S

so should they even bother to apply?

If they should

Do my parents have to get involved now?

On average how much will the whole application process cost?

How long will it take for them to come here?

if they shouldnt apply..would adoption be a more preferable alternative..or would it be more difficult?

Is there any other way they could come here?

I have been to the USCIS site and read through some of the documentation..the problem is I am not familiar with some of the legal terms and such and also was hoping that someone would explain from personal experience or something.

Thanks in advance :)

Answer 1

Yak Rider is right. No chance at all, really. You have to be in 9th grade before you can even been considered for a student visa. And foreign students can only attend public high school for 1 year. Private high schools are different. But considering their parents are illegal immigrants in the US, no consular officer would approve them for student visas even if they were otherwise qualified. At the moment, they don't appear to be qualified for any visa.

Answer 2

High School students can come for 1 year only.  They'd need F-1 visas and they'd need to pay the public schools the full cost of their tuition.  They'd need to prove to the consular officer who interviews them that they'll return home after their 1 year is up.

Their chances are about 0.

To adopt them your parents would have to go to Honduras, adopt them under Honduran law before the age of 16, and then live in Honduras with them for 2 full years before coming back.