Hi All! This past week I was blessed to attend the NAFSA Annual Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana. For those that don't know, NAFSA is "the world's largest and most diverse nonprofit association dedicated to international education and exchange, working to advance policies and practices that ensure a more interconnected, peaceful world today and for generations to come (nafsa.org)." Over 10,000 educators, vendors, agencies, and advocates gathered for 4 days of workshops, community dialogue, networking, and sharing best practices dedicated to serving YOU. And, as members of The American Dream Society, I'm sharing exclusive access to my notes dedicated to the issues that matter to you most. Access them here. If you have any questions post them below so I can answer publicly and everyone here in the community can benefit. (OK OK, if you're shy you can DM me haha) Have a great week!

This question came up at work yesterday and I thought it would be helpful to share with the community. An F-1 student reported that his wife and children had failed their visa interview. According to the student, the embassy interviewer denied his family because he didn't believe they had the financial resources to live in the U.S. Takeaways for the group: The reason interviewers ask questions is to see how the applicant responds. Sounds obvious, right? But in this case, the student was upset at the interviewer for asking a question that his wife didn't know how to answer. I explained to him that U.S. officials are very concerned about people coming to the U.S. and becoming a 'public charge,' someone who uses welfare, food stamps, etc. Yes, the interviewer challenged the wife a bit. He apparently made comments like, 'why would you choose this area, it's so expensive?' and 'I don't think you'll be able to afford the cost of living there.' Visa interviews are stressful. I get it. But what the wife needed to do was confirm their ability to afford the stay and provide reasons for choosing that area. "Yes, it is more expensive than the cost of living here at home. But my husband and I have created a monthly budget to make sure we have enough money for us all to stay in the U.S. while he's studying. Plus, it's a very safe neighborhood with great schools, so the investment is worth it for our family.' Had she responded with something along these lines, her outcome probably would have been very different. I hope this perspective is helpful! And if you have your own question, feel free to start your own thread using the "Write Something" section up top. I'll be happy to answer, and your fellow community members may benefit too (you never know who has the exact same question but is too shy to ask!).

Forgive me for being self-indulgent, but one of goals of this community is for it to be a place where we can celebrate together, so I'm going to model that here. We are already to our first 10 members, less than a week after launching! I'm grateful to each of you for being a part of this pioneering cohort, and I'm beyond excited for what this community is going to grow into and the many, many ways it's going to help international students. Cheers to you all for being part of the first 10! 🥳

Welcome to The American Dream Society! For those of you that don't know me, my name is Josh Schoonover and I've been helping international students live their American Dreams since 2016. I’m currently the Principal Designated School Official (PDSO) for a private university in Southern California. Sensing the great need for timely, reliable information that’s critical to international student success, in 2022 I started serving international students privately through my company Ask A DSO. I live with my wife and 4 kids in sunny Long Beach, California. Now let's hear about you! Tell us a bit about yourself below 👇 so we can all say hi 👋