Research studies about international students have often focused on the students and their reasons for migration (Abuosi & Abor, 2015), the process of adjustment to the new context (Yeh & Inose, 2003), and the factors that facilitate adjustment (Chai et al. 2020; Yeh & Inose, 2003). Social support facilitates adjustment and family is one of the main sources of support for international students (Aldawsari et al., 2018). International students often migrate with their spouses and/or children as dependents (US Department of Homeland Security, 2021), yet there is limited research on the lived experiences of international students and their families. US immigration policies impact the experiences of international students living with their families in the US. As such, to fully understand the lived experiences of international students with family, in this study I employ life course theory (Elder, 1998) and hermeneutic phenomenology as an approach to explore the ways in which international students and their families make sense of US immigration policies related to their visa statuses and the effects of that understanding on their individual and familial life courses. The findings show that although there are various sources to obtain information about US immigration policies, the understanding that international students and their families have about what it means to have a particular visa type in the US comes from living through the opportunities and constraints of their visa statuses, and the choices and decisions that they make as individuals and as a family unit comes from their understanding of their visa status. Implications of these findings are also discussed in this paper. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]