Bringing Your Family
Family
Housing
Childcare
Schooling
for Your Children
Your
Spouse
If you are married, you may be thinking about having your
spouse and/or your children accompany you to the U.S. for
all or part of your academic program. This is a big decision,
which each family ultimately needs to weigh based on its individual
circumstances. Here are some of the issues you might want
to consider.
On the positive side, the opportunity to immerse oneself
in a foreign culture can be a life-enriching experience, and
you may be looking forward to sharing this experience with
your spouse and children. Exposure to an English-speaking
environment—especially for children—can greatly
facilitate the learning of English and provide a lifelong
benefit for each member of your family. As an international
student or scholar far from home, moreover, you may find that
having your family with you in the U.S. provides you with
a source of emotional support and enables you to avoid the
anxiety of a long separation or of worrying about how they
are doing at home without you.
On the other hand, bringing your family to the U.S. can add
considerably to the cost of your stay, at a time when your
budget may already be tight. You will need to provide proof
that you have sufficient funds to support your family members
in the U.S. before being able to secure visas for them. You
can expect your expenses to be significantly higher, especially
for housing, food, and health insurance. Since it may be impossible
for your spouse to work, you may not be able to count on supplementary
income that you may be accustomed to at home. Finally, the
presence of family members dealing with their own adjustment
issues can sometimes pose difficult demands on your time or
attention and possibly distract you from your primary goal
of completing your degree program or research project.
Here are some things to think about as you plan whether or
not to bring your family with you. (And don’t forget
the third option—many international students and scholars
choose to leave their families at home but arrange to have
them travel to the U.S. for a temporary visit of a month or
so.)
Family Housing
International students and scholars report that finding suitable
and affordable housing is one of the biggest obstacles to
having their families with them in the New York area. It’s
a good idea to have your spouse and/or children delay their
arrival until you have arranged a place for your family to
live. This is especially important if you have school-age
children whom you want to enroll in public school, since the
school they attend will depend upon where you reside.
Check with your academic institution to see if married student
housing is available. The off-campus student housing office
is another good source of options for apartments suitable
for families. Faculty in your department may know of available
housing; let all your local friends and any relatives know
that you are looking. Be sure to consult Metro International’s
Help Yourself to Housing (http://www.metrointl.org/programs/housingbooklet)
for additional tips.
Childcare
Children under the age of four or five are not eligible for
public school, so if you and/or your spouse have young children
and are unable to care for them at all times, you will need
to explore other childcare options. Young children should
never be left alone; parents who do so may be subject to legal
action. Unless you are lucky enough to have relatives in the
New York area, the extended family that may help with childcare
in your home country will not be available, and there are
no government-provided nursery or daycare facilities.
Childcare options include daycare centers and private nursery
schools, where you pay to enroll your child in a program,
and private babysitters, who may care for one or several children
simultaneously, either in their own homes or in your home.
The student employment office on your campus is a good place
to look for students who are available to work as babysitters
for an hourly wage. Before hiring any childcare provider,
you should always ask for references and arrange to speak
with parents for whom the person has previously worked. For
daycare centers, a good place to begin your research is online
at www.naeyc.org/accreditation/search/.
Schooling for
Your Children
By law in New York, any child between the ages of 5 and 21
who has not already received a high school diploma is entitled
to attend public school free of charge. In New York City,
your child may start public school in September of the year
that he or she turns five. In some areas, there are public
pre-kindergarten (“pre-K”) programs available for
4-year olds, but places may be limited and cannot be guaranteed.
The New York City public school system is large and complex;
it serves over 1 million students and includes 1,200 schools.
The public school your child may attend usually depends upon
the “zone” in which you are living. Official information
on finding your zoned school and learning about other options
can be found on the website of the New York City Department
of Education; see www.nycenet.edu/OurSchools/default.htm;
see also “A Guide for Parents and Families” www.nycenet.edu/childrenfirst/CFParentGuide.pdf.
Here are some other useful websites:
If you plan to enroll your child in public school, you will
need to present a copy of the child’s birth certificate
and proof of required immunizations. The school year begins
in early September and ends in mid to late June.
Private (independent) schools, including those with a religious
affiliation, are also available throughout the New York area.
Students must go through an application and testing process,
and tuition can be quite expensive. For information on these
options, see:
Your Spouse
It’s a good idea to do some advance thinking about how
your spouse will spend his/her time in the U.S. If your spouse
is not as fluent in English as you are, be prepared for the
language barrier to pose a handicap, at least initially. If
your spouse is employed or has a professional career in your
home country, he or she will need to prepare for the potential
frustration of not being eligible to work in the U.S. (Spouses
of students on F-1 visas are not allowed to work; spouses
of J-1 students/scholars may work only under specific circumstances.
Consult the international student advisor on your campus.)
Fortunately, the New York City area provides an abundance
of resources to help support international spouses. Begin
with the international student office at your institution
and see what special programs or services they may offer.
These may include regular spouse club meetings, free or low-cost
English language lessons, and other activities.
Metro International is another good resource, offering a
special International Spouse Network run by spouses, for spouses.
Most of Metro’s other programs are also open to family
members, and there are also opportunities for spouses to volunteer
their time to help with tasks in the office. Another excellent
volunteer opportunity is Metro’s Global Classroom program
through which international students/scholars and their spouses
can visit New York City schools and make presentations on
their home countries and cultures. For additional ideas, see
the section “Resources
for International Students”.
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