Dear Search for I-20:
As you may know, iMahal is a portal specializing in Colleges & University Education and Careers. High school education is not an area of focus for us, but we shall try our best to answer your question.
The I-20 form is a document, issued by the school, on the basis of which an international student can obtain an international student visa for the sole purpose of studying in the US. It is our understanding that recent laws passed by the US government make it difficult for international students to attend public schools - that is, government funded schools - for grades K through 12.
The INS website is a useful place to begin looking for information about international students attending public high schools in the US. Several of their webpages relevant to your question are:
The US State Department is another useful place to find information. One of their webpages relevant to your question is:
With the new laws, F-1 foreign students are now limited to a maximum of 12 months in US public secondary schools. This means your son could only attend one year of high school. However, the provisions of the new laws do not affect foreign students in any other immigration status, including dependents of foreign nationals in the United States on long-term visas.
A school must go through the US INS (Immigration & Naturalization Service) approval process before it is authorized to issue the I-20 to international students. Unfortunately, we do not have a list of schools in your neighborhood, or for anywhere else in the US, which have been authorized to issue the I-20 forms.
International students for grades K through 12 can however attend a private school, provided they make a convincing presentation to the US immigration officials of adequate finances for their entire stay in the US.
You can search for private schools on your own, starting at websites such as:
Dear Mentor:
