Ramesh: After you pay the tax, you might be getting about 1000 per month. You will have to really economize to save money, specially if you are going to Ann Arbor. It is often possible to save a lot of money even by TA ship, if you are not in big cities where rental is high, but you will have to control yourself, and economize alot. As for greencard, you will probably regret a lot after a few years if you read this question of your own. It really looks like you are in a rush to leave Nepal even before you enter USA, and , in addition to that, you are talking about money way too early. But we all know this is how average Nepali feels, and I was also like you before I came here. Things such as whether I would be saving money, whether greencard would be within my reach were my major questions just like they are yours now. Suffice it to say, please come here thinking that you are coming here to gain skill, and you might end up anywhere in the world after finishing the school. If you get a decent job after your graduate degree, and decide to stay here (conditional on the fact that there is a good company willing to hire you), you will most likely (not automatically) get a greencard. This means, if you really want a greencard, and stay here, (nothing wrong with that), you should probably gain some salable skill (i.e. change your major if it is not salable). Hope you have a great trip, and wish you good luck. Remember that you are coming to USA as a student to learn, not to make money. You are lucky that you have an assistantship, and you can devote all your time for education.