azepine00

I don't see how this is relevant to op's question or how having a girlfriend conflicts with study or education.

Overall it's disappointing to see so many "i am older than you so i know better" posts here on FT where countless MRs to all sorts of remote locations and overall contributions to "travel hacking" are done by teenagers...

To many of them the concept of borders or countries does not exist anymore with affordability of travel and worldwide social media... Flying to another continent is not seen any different than driving to another town or going camping ^^

Distilled

To be clear, this post was not about minors traveling alone or doing MRs or any other issue that you bring up above. This was about whether an 18 yr old (therefore legally an adult) can fly overseas and bring back a 17 yr old girlfriend (therefore a minor) to the states for several months without any documentation from her parents. That is a much different issue than a minor taking a MR. As other posters have agreed, it brings up other legal issues which are much more difficult than simply a minor traveling for tourism. I would guess that many countries, not just the US, would raise an eyebrow at a 17 year old trying to enter their country for several months with no other purpose than tourism and no documentation from parents. It is far outside the ordinary. Therefore, it is worth cautioning the OP about these issues, given that at the age of 18 many of these things may not have crossed his mind.

Often1

OP - What people are trying to tell you is not that you are doing anything wrong, but that law enforcement, which is trained to be on the lookout for this, would look at this as a potential human trafficking effort.

Air carrier front line personnel receive training to be on the lookout for this as well.

That's the simple fact of it.

Even if she were an adult, a several month visit is not likely in the cards without a lot of documentation. Just by way of example: where will she live? Who will support her as she will not have authority to work? Does she have a return ticket in her possession? Does she have a job back home or is she likely to overstay here?

Conversely, maybe nobody cares and she slips in. But, I would be prepared with thorough answers which are provably correct and she should be prepared for a separate in depth interview to make certain that she isn't being coerced.

CDTraveler

Well if teens don't understand the concept of borders and immigration laws, maybe it's a good thing the OP came here with his question. Borders and laws are facts here in the real world, no matter what social media would have them believe. People doing what they think are innocent things - like arranging for a girlfriend to visit - need to know that people in authority (Customs & Immigration, for example) might interpret their actions very differently and there could be serious consequences to the choices they make.

Also I would hope people here could differentiate between an independent teen traveler and someone bringing a minor into a foreign country for an unspecified type of relationship.

BearX220

That view, if it exists, is utterly immaterial. The immigration authorities see things differently.

Absolute

This is some of the best advice you'll find, if you end up set on your travel plans together. Everything will depend on the agent that interviews her - we can only offer advice and opinions on here, not certainty.

Bring more documentation / letters than you think you need. Such as parental permission, financial records, etc., as identified above. You should be able to find templates online, but it also wouldn't hurt to have a notarized letter.

I'd suggest you absolutely get parental signatures and signed letters of fiscal responsibility, as it's better to have them available to hand over, rather than be asked for them, not have them, and refused entry. I also suggest that you make sure she feels confident and prepared for all questions, and that you do NOT accompany her into the non-resident line if you're a US citizen, as (IMHO) that would look even more like a trafficking case!