If homecountry currency devaluated

[virtua]

Hi,

So I`m on assistantship and my country`s currency recently has been devaluated, can I get an increase in my salary? I guess, I read smth about it somewhere

[fuzzylogician]

I highly doubt it. I'm also not sure how you'd argue that a devaluation of your home country's currency is relevant. You live in the US, that's where you pay rent, buy food, etc., and that's also where you get paid. US dollars in, US dollars out; the value of another currency shouldn't play any role. If you are somehow still using the banking system in your home country instead of having your paycheck deposited to a local bank account, now is the time to open that local bank account and stop relying on international transfers (which is never a good idea anyway). 

[kaykaykay]

your $ will worth more when you go home for a vacation. congratulations.

[TakeruK]

For my first 3 years, I was paid on a Canadian fellowship, which is worth a set amount of Canadian dollars. The Canadian government sent me a paycheque every 6 months, with the award value converted to US dollars. At first, the two currencies were at par, however, in the last year, I was only getting 80% of the original amount because the US dollar increased in value. 

My school asks me to send them the check stub for my Canadian fellowship. My program pays the same stipend to every single student, so they just pay me the difference between the set stipend rate and the value of my Canadian fellowship. So, my American source of funding did change because my program promises a guaranteed total salary if you're bringing in external funds. 

Unless you are getting paid from your home country as part of your stipend package with your grad school, I don't see how your home currency value should make a difference on how you get paid in the US.

[random_grad]

technically,I believe if U.S. immigration finds out you no longer have the min funds required by your visa, you could be sent home. whether or not this would be a good argument to bring up when arguing with a reticent uni is another questions.

[TakeruK]

16 hours ago, random_grad said:

technically,I believe if U.S. immigration finds out you no longer have the min funds required by your visa, you could be sent home. whether or not this would be a good argument to bring up when arguing with a reticent uni is another questions.

I'm no immigration lawyer, but the information I got from my international office is that this is more of a problem when you are trying to get a visa or use your visa to (re-)enter the country. I don't think maintaining funds is a requirement to keep F-1 status, it might only be necessary to gain F-1 status. Also, in order to get a F-1 visa, you just need to show funds for the first year, not all the years. But I am not an expert. Realistically though, it's very unlikely that you will be audited randomly by US Immigration, so this is not something I'd spend time worrying about.

However, the takeaway message for new international students would be that I would move enough money from home currency to US currency to last for a while when you first get to the US! If your F-1/J-1 funding requirements are met by your school's stipend package though, then you won't even need to worry about your home country savings to get your visa (I didn't provide any bank statements or anything to US immigration for proof of funds---just my offer letter).

[random_grad]

1 hour ago, TakeruK said:

I don't think maintaining funds is a requirement to keep F-1 status, it might only be necessary to gain F-1 status.

that makes sense. 

 

1 hour ago, TakeruK said:

the takeaway message for new international students would be that I would move enough money from home currency to US currency to last for a while when you first get to the US!

some Canadians might be hoping that the tide will turn

[TakeruK]

3 hours ago, random_grad said:

some Canadians might be hoping that the tide will turn

When I moved in 2012, the exchange rate was almost par so I was able to move a good amount (enough savings for maybe 3-4 months of expenses) just in case.

But now that the US dollar is a lot stronger, and I've saved up some amount of money from my stipend here, I've been considering moving some of that money back while the US dollar is high relative to the Canadian dollar. But it's tough since I don't know if I will stay here in the States for a postdoc or maybe go to a different country. So US dollars seems like the most flexible currency right now, for me!

[AP]

My home currency had a 25% inflation per annum since I moved to the US. There is no relationship between your home currency and US dollars because a. You live in the US, b. you are employed in the US. If you have some sort of income from your country (as it happened with my brother), they should adjust the salary. Note here the word "should". Their doing so depends on your government, the agency/university that is providing this funding, your visa, etc. 

On 12/27/2015 at 6:59 AM, kaykaykay said:

your $ will worth more when you go home for a vacation. congratulations.

Not necessarily. When I go home prices increased more than inflation (although because of inflation). In my case it became more expensive to live there on a US stipend.