OK- Visa Lies? Student Visa?

I asked my fiance from Lebanon yesterday what kind of visa he has (because I think he may be being dishonest with me and may be a visa con artist, as I've said), and he claims to have a STUDENT VISA. There are 3 types of student visas, and none of them describe what he is doing here, or his study program.





He hasn't taken classes for the year he's been here on this alledged student visa. He's supposedly starting class in January, just to take one ESL class at a time. I know if you have a student visa that there is a credit hour minimum you have to have.





He also bought an investment property here and is running it himself. I assume there are rules attached to student visas as to what you can and cannot do with money and investments.





I'm asking for more information on student visas, and if it is actually possible for him to have one, or is he totally playing me?

OK- Visa Lies? Student Visa?
I can only think of two (not three - off the top of my head) types of student visa. The F1 and M1. The visa type he is actually on is irrelevant as running your own business (which is what you have said he is doing) is a violation of both of those visa statuses.





As an F1 student you only permitted to work a maximum of 20 hours per week and this is on-campus employment only.





An M1 student is not permitted to work period, they are however hey are, however, allowed to participate in practical training following the completion of their course of study.





Either of these visas require him to maintain a full course of study which is at least 12 credit hours per semester, any less and he would again be in violation of his visa status.





In regards to investment property, you need to be more clear, does he intend to sell them on, i.e. make an income off of this? If so this is also in violation of both student visas, as this would be classed as an business venture. However, do not get mixed up, he can legally buy a property... not sure quite how he would have managed to do so in his name as you know yourself you buy a property you must at least be credit-worthy and meet a whole list of legislation to do so.





There are only two of options (which I can think of) available to him in order for him to legally run his own business. One would the be L-1, but for him to be eligible for this his company must be 'international' along with a whole host of other requirements and on top of that, it is only temporary, meaning he as to return home after a fixed time. You can research this visa online for more specific details.





The other option is an immigrant E5 visa. Which is the one which investors use but to qualify, he must invest between U.S. $500,000 and $1,000,000, depending on the employment rate in the geographical area, in a commercial enterprise in the United States which creates at least 10 new full-time jobs for U.S. citizens, permanent resident aliens, or other lawful immigrants, not including the investor and his or her family.





The bottom line is I think your fiance is full of B.S. as what he is doing is not possible, the E5 would mean he would be a permanent resident but he is not, the L1 means his company is international, which I doubt and the student visas do not allow this.





You either ask him to come clean or report him and have the authorities look into his status and taxes - he could end up owing thousands in unpaid taxes.





Edit:





A car dealership, so am I right to assume this is more than just a simple investment? By this I mean he is actually running his own business/company and making an income off of the cars which he is selling?
Reply:Maybe he did came here on a student visa under false pretense, once you come on a student visa you have to stay in school if not that visa is no longer valid.





You are his fiance and you have never seen his passport? Take the passport look whats in it and then you will know if he's telling a lie. You have to be careful, this guy can afford to buy a business but he's not trying to get himself straight, if he was he would have marry you already
Reply:He is lying to you. Contact the FBI and INS. If he is a Muslim from Lebanon, then you can be sure he is possibly a terrorist in wait. If he's a Christian, he may be scared to tell you he has political asylum from the terrorism going on there in the last 20 years.
Reply:He is your fiance and you are not trusting of him? I would say time for you to move on since he has given you so many reasons for distrust.
Reply:First, don't worry about the investment so much, unless you are concerned about where he is getting his money in a 'should I call the FBI before he takes flight lessons' kind of way. Foreigners can invest, period. They have hairy tax issues, but that is a separate matter from immigration.





On the no classes, he is at least in violation of his visa.





P.S. If you are this worried about him and know this little about him, you have NO BUSINESS marrying him.





Personal opinion.
Reply:i would distance myself from this guy as soon as possible , you obviously think something is wrong





he is buying property ?? wheres he getting the money from , most students i know dont have a pot to piss in





i hope he is only " playing " you and not a lot worse





all the best


Ian
Reply:I am not an attorney, so I certainly think the best thing would be to research this more...


I have a green card and am in the process of gaining citizenship here. So, I have had experience with the USCIS.


I do not know the requirements of a student visa, but, there is concern if he is making money from a property, since student visas are not work visas. If he is making money off the property and not paying proper taxes, things could get dangerous for his status here.


This is something you two should really work out soon, because you don't want to end up in a situation where he is here illegally.
Reply:I would say that what he is doing borders on criminal activity. I would be very careful if I were you, especially since he is from the middle east. The FBI would be very interested in what he is doing.
Reply:Well, assuming he actually came in on a student visa, it wouldn't matter at this point, as he'd be illegal now anyway. He has to enrole in classes immediately on entry and attend full time to retain his status. The university is required to report to immigration any students who fail to show or who fail to enrole in full-time studies. So, unless he's deceiving you about his visa for some strange reason, he's here illegally. Unless he has some other status, he can't work in the US either. Hard to know just how many games he's playing here or which ones, but it's clear he's playing more than one.
Reply:what country are you in, for a start?
Reply:Run like hell, and consider yourself lucky you did not marry him. I would also call the FBI, some of the bombers on 911, were not what they were suppose to be. If you are engaged to a man that will not tell you where is source of income comes from, it's time to confront him, or say good bye