Students who bring their families to the United States will encounter issues ranging from finding suitable family housing, child care, and schools to coping with additional financial responsibilities. Despite the complexities, your family can be your best source of support and comfort in a new country.

Housing

Single students attending Northern State must live in the residence halls if they are freshman or sophomores. If they are upper class students or graduate students, they are not required to live in the residence halls. However, it is highly recommended as they adjust to a new country and culture.

Northern State University currently does not have family housing available to its students. There are many apartments available for reasonable rent within walking distance of the campus. Finding and furnishing a new home for your family will probably be the first of many adventures you will encounter. Apartments and houses off campus are usually rented "unfurnished," which means that they are equipped with only a stove and refrigerator. "Furnished" apartments usually have--in addition to the stove and refrigerator--basic furniture such as a couch, chairs, tables, beds, and chests of drawers. Dishes, cooking utensils, bed sheets, and towels are not provided.

Buying new household furnishings can be very expensive, as can shipping all of the necessary belongings from home. A less expensive alternative is to buy used furnishings. Check the classified section of the newspaper and the notice boards at your school for used furniture sales. You can also buy used furniture from community "thrift stores" such as the Salvation Army and Goodwill. (Thrift stores obtain their goods from donations from the public. Items are cleaned and sold.)

The least expensive way to furnish your home is to buy items at a "garage sale," "moving sale," or "yard sale." Americans hold such sales in their yard or garage to clear their home of unwanted items. In university communities, many students sell their goods when they finish their studies and move away. Look for advertisements in the newspapers or notices posted at street corners. Come early to get the best buy, and yes, it is OK to barter over the price!

Shopping and Cooking

Shopping is one of America's most popular pastimes. There are a number of stores, including a mall, in Aberdeen. Many people go to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Minneapolis, Minnesota and Fargo, North Dakota to go shopping when they can’t find what they are looking for in Aberdeen. In retail stores, the prices displayed are firm and generally not negotiable. The following are some useful tips for shopping on a student budget:

• Learn to be a good "comparison shopper;" that is, check prices at several locations before you buy.
• Unless good service is very important to you, shop at discount stores rather than department stores.
• Wait for items to go "on sale," and watch for advertisements in the newspaper, in store windows, and on television.
• Talk with friends about where to shop.
• Be aware that the "sales tax" on an item is not included in the displayed price but applied by the store clerk when you buy the item. The sales tax in South Dakota is seven percent.

If you buy new appliances or other large items, keep the store receipts, read the instruction booklets, and fill out the "warranty card" that comes with the product. The manufacturer guarantees most products from defects for a period of time.

Cooking in a new country can be an exciting experience because there are new foods and techniques to try. You may find that you have to adjust to new cooking equipment. Americans use cups and teaspoons instead of weight for measuring ingredients and, unlike the rest of the world, we express temperatures in degrees Fahrenheit instead of centigrade. If you cannot find the ingredients you need to fix that special dish from home, ask fellow foreign students who have been on campus for some time. They will know just where the specialty stores are located or have catalogs from mail-order suppliers.

Americans are very interested in food from other countries. Inviting someone to come to your home to learn to cook a special dish from your home country would be a wonderful way to make a friend.

Child Care

Once you are settled in your new home, you may need to find appropriate childcare. Northern State University offers childcare for children from six weeks old to kindergarten at the Children’s Center. The Children’s center is licensed by the state. They are inspected for cleanliness and safety and are authorized to accept a maximum number of children.

The Aberdeen School System and the YMCA both offer after school care for children in elementary school. Fees may be reduced if your family income is below a certain level.

If you would prefer a more "homey" atmosphere, you might wish to find someone who provides childcare in his or her home. Look for a trusted friend or a licensed child-care provider. The license means that the provider's home has been inspected by a state-licensing agency for cleanliness and safety. It also means that the provider has passed a state background check. If you choose to hire a private "babysitter" to care for your child, check references carefully as few states license babysitters. Many of the students who work in the Children’s Center also do babysitting. Should you choose to employ a babysitter, verify his or her employment authorization. It is illegal to employ someone who is not a citizen or permanent resident of the United States or who is not authorized by the Immigration and Naturalization Service to accept employment.

School-age Children

In the United States, children between the ages of 5 and 16 are required to attend school. You may enroll your children in the Aberdeen Public Schools free of charge. The school your children will attend is determined by where you live, unless you choose to enroll them in a private school. To start your children in school you will need their birth certificates, school records or transcripts, and documented proof of immunizations from a physician noting the day, month, and year of each immunization.

Your child will want to take a look at his or her new school before school starts. This simple step can be very important in helping your child make an adjustment to a new school. You can arrange an appointment at your child's school by simply calling or going to the school.

Elementary school includes kindergarten (age 5) and grades 1 through 5; middle school includes grades 6 through 8; and high school covers grades 9 through 12. In local public schools, the school year generally begins at the end of August and ends in May.

Private schools are common in the United States. Because they receive no financial support from the government, tuition and fees can be very expensive. Private schools are listed in the yellow pages of the telephone book.

Parents are expected to participate in the affairs of their child's school. The Aberdeen Public Schools have a Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) that meets regularly during the school year to discuss school matters ranging from curriculum to budgets. Parent-teacher conferences are held several times a year and offer parents an opportunity to meet privately with teachers to discuss their child's progress. Finally, volunteering at your child's school to help in the classroom or with after-school activities is a good way to become involved in your child's school and to meet people in the area.

Employment for your Spouse

It is often the case that the spouse of a foreign student will want to work while in the United States. Sometimes this is possible and sometimes it is not. Persons in F-2 status cannot work in the United States.

Domestic Violence

Academic and family responsibilities in unfamiliar surroundings far from friends and family often cause strains within the families of foreign students. Sometimes that strain can lead to domestic violence, or spouse abuse. Domestic violence ranges from mildly abusive actions to severely violent, life threatening behavior. In the United States such occurrences are no longer sanctioned as private family matters. Temporary shelters are available in most communities for victims of family violence. To obtain immediate assistance or a referral to a local support agency call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1 800 799-7233 or Safe Harbor in Aberdeen at 229-1212. (Obtaining help in cases of domestic violence will not compromise your nonimmigrant status under the "public charge" provisions discussed in the next section.)

What is a "Public Charge"

International students with families often experience financial difficulties that are no different from those experienced by American students with families. Although the U.S. government has benefit programs designed to assist low-income families living in the United States, most such programs are available only to U.S. citizens and U.S. permanent residents. Nonimmigrant on F, M, and J visas are generally not eligible. Unfortunately, administrators of many public assistance programs rarely have the expertise to assess eligibility based on immigration status. Overlapping government regulations and eligibility standards, particularly when benefits are requested on behalf of children who are U.S. citizens, compound the confusion.

Remember that when you applied for your nonimmigrant visas you had to demonstrate to the consular officer that you had the means to support not only yourself but your dependents as well. Acceptance of public assistance can be a violation of your immigration status under the "public charge" ground of exclusion. "Public charge" is a term used by the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the State Department to classify persons who have become dependent on federal or state assistance programs. If the INS finds that you have become a "public charge" because you have accepted public assistance, you could be denied reentry to the United States after a trip home. Your nonimmigrant visa could even be canceled. Such a finding is extremely difficult to overcome or reverse, so be careful. Examples of public-assistance programs not open to nonimmigrants are:

• Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC)
• Medicaid, which provides reimbursement for medical care to low-income persons
• Food Stamps, which provide low-income families with coupons to buy food
• Some federally funded housing programs

Remember that even if the administrator of a benefit finds you eligible for support and encourages you to apply for benefits, he or she may not understand that acceptance could affect your immigration status!

If you are having financial difficulties, come to the Student Affairs office. The Vice President for Student Affairs can assist you with finding ways to address your financial problems.