can F-1 work on campus in the process of applying for green card?

[lily124]

can F-1 work on campus in the process of applying for green card? If not, how can I be qualified to work on campus? through EAD?
I would appreciate your reply.

[arran_hope]

Originally Posted by lily124

can F-1 work on campus in the process of applying for green card? If not, how can I be qualified to work on campus? through EAD?
I would appreciate your reply.

I am not aware of any immigration law changes in F-1 status. Previously, any one in F-1 status is allowed to work On-Campus for 20 hours/week in the major semester (Fall & Winter) and 40 hours on campus or internship in summer time. Foriegn student advisor of the university should be able to confirm or help you on that.

[Dubu]

As soon as you application is received, your F-1 becomes void. You are thus on a pending AOS. Nobody has to know anything, don't even mention it to your DSO. The only thing is you CAN'T do is work off campus without EAD. As long as your school has you on their I-20, I believe you can still work on campus. Goodluck.

Originally Posted by lily124

can F-1 work on campus in the process of applying for green card? If not, how can I be qualified to work on campus? through EAD?
I would appreciate your reply.

[huatuanjincu]

lily124,
I asked ISO advisors at my school. They said yes of course you can still work on-campus as a Research Assistant like before. They said that pending I-485 does not revoke your F-1 if you want to maitain it by not using AP and EAD. Everythig should be the same as before. But some school does allow you to use EAD for in-state tuition. If you choose to do so, your F-1 is no longer valid. Also, if you have not got your GC by your graduation, OPT application will be rejected because filing I-485 shows your immigration intention.
hope this answers your question. I would still recommend you to talk to your ISO advisors.
Good luck

[pianoplayer]

Originally Posted by Dubu

As soon as you application is received, your F-1 becomes void. You are thus on a pending AOS. Nobody has to know anything, don't even mention it to your DSO. The only thing is you CAN'T do is work off campus without EAD. As long as your school has you on their I-20, I believe you can still work on campus. Goodluck.

A couple of quick issues to address:

When a person files I485, he/she is considered to be in I485/AOS status. The obvious question is whether this denies the benefits of the previous status held, in this case F1 student.

Mostly, one can only hold one status in the US --- i.e. you have the benefits of the one, but not of another simultaneously. However, I485 status is kind of "illusive" in that it is a "neither here, neither there status".

The mainstream opinion, is that benefits from the previous visa may continue as long as that status is maintained. i.e. if the previous F1 student keeps abiding by the conditions of the F1 visa, he may keep using its benefits(generally, some exceptions with regard to OPT as another poster noted, but for our purpose here, generally). Note that applying for EAD e.g. would break the F1 benefits, because that EAD would be based on I485 and would allow the person to work off campus.

This general theory is consistent with other areas in immigration, e.g. an H1B holder may continue to use his H1B status(for work and travel) until he receives PR, UNLESS he applies for EAD and completes a new I9 with his employer.

The advice by the poster above, to whom I am responding, is essentially correct, but I would hesitate to say that the F1 voids. I don't think that that has been determined for sure. Also, there is no reason to be secretive about it --- and the OP should answer all questions truthfully. According to the mainstream view, I do not see any problems with working on-campus while maintaining F1 status, having filed I485.

[Pinturicchio]

Originally Posted by pianoplayer

A couple of quick issues to address:

When a person files I485, he/she is considered to be in I485/AOS status. The obvious question is whether this denies the benefits of the previous status held, in this case F1 student.

Mostly, one can only hold one status in the US --- i.e. you have the benefits of the one, but not of another simultaneously. However, I485 status is kind of "illusive" in that it is a "neither here, neither there status".

The mainstream opinion, is that benefits from the previous visa may continue as long as that status is maintained. i.e. if the previous F1 student keeps abiding by the conditions of the F1 visa, he may keep using its benefits(generally, some exceptions with regard to OPT as another poster noted, but for our purpose here, generally). Note that applying for EAD e.g. would break the F1 benefits, because that EAD would be based on I485 and would allow the person to work off campus.

This general theory is consistent with other areas in immigration, e.g. an H1B holder may continue to use his H1B status(for work and travel) until he receives PR, UNLESS he applies for EAD and completes a new I9 with his employer.

The advice by the poster above, to whom I am responding, is essentially correct, but I would hesitate to say that the F1 voids. I don't think that that has been determined for sure. Also, there is no reason to be secretive about it --- and the OP should answer all questions truthfully. According to the mainstream view, I do not see any problems with working on-campus while maintaining F1 status, having filed I485.

pianoplayer, the minute you file for AOS you show immigration intent. This automatically voids your strictly non-immigrant F-1 visa. Now when it comes to university advisors and how well they know the laws, that's a different issue.

H1B visa holders are an exception, because the concept of H1 incorporates dual intent. That is why one can maintain H1B while having a pending AOS application.

[pianoplayer]

Originally Posted by Pinturicchio

pianoplayer, the minute you file for AOS you show immigration intent. This automatically voids your strictly non-immigrant F-1 visa. Now when it comes to university advisors and how well they know the laws, that's a different issue.

H1B visa holders are an exception, because the concept of H1 incorporates dual intent. That is why one can maintain H1B while having a pending AOS application.

I cannot disagree with your first sentence --- filing for AOS definitely shows immigrant intent. Also, I concede that my analogy to H1B was a weak one, because H1B visa, as you point out, is in fact a dual intent visa whereas the F1 is not.

However, there is a mainstream tendency to allow the F1 visa holder to preserve his benefits during AOS. Note: I am not referring to student advisors here, because they are often misinformed about many things.

There has been no definitive rule about this --- until administrative policy or judicial opinion give a final answer to the issue, this pragmatic approach is followed by most.

I agree with you entirely that this is an unclear approach. Someone either changes his status or he doesn't ---- benefits should not carry over. There is a good argument when you apply the law strictly that students should not be allowed to work on campus during AOS, without EAD that is. However, AOS status is of such a "flimsy" and undefined nature, and perhaps that is why it tends to be allowed.

My answer is probably not as clear as you would like it do be, but that is how it is with most of these things. There is no bright line rule here. In all likelihood, a student visa holder who has filed AOS will be allowed to continue to work on campus. At least until some authority declares the opposite.

[garrulito]

I was an F-1 student when I applied for 1-485. The truth is, despite some people's arrogance(which may come from being a current law student), you are safe by taking your International Student Councelor's advice, it's their job and they deal with this type of issue more than you think. I had no problem continuing to workl on campus and I have seen the same action taken by DOZENS of friends at school when they apply for AOS. While it is true you can get lost on a bunch of technicalities, I quote what a USCIS director from the Boise DO said to us in a meeting for international students at our campus: "We have bigger fish to catch". I do not recall his exact position in the Boise DO but he was no little fish.

In conclusion, don't worry so much about it. Your councelor tells you information from EXPERIENCE, note from making a debate on what AOS does technically to your F-1 status

[Jewel12]

It is indeed a very grey area of the law, but I have never heard of anyone punished for continuing on-campus employment while AOS was pending.

[pianoplayer]

Originally Posted by garrulito

I was an F-1 student when I applied for 1-485. The truth is, despite some people's arrogance(which may come from being a current law student), you are safe by taking your International Student Councelor's advice, it's their job and they deal with this type of issue more than you think. I had no problem continuing to workl on campus and I have seen the same action taken by DOZENS of friends at school when they apply for AOS. While it is true you can get lost on a bunch of technicalities, I quote what a USCIS director from the Boise DO said to us in a meeting for international students at our campus: "We have bigger fish to catch". I do not recall his exact position in the Boise DO but he was no little fish.

In conclusion, don't worry so much about it. Your councelor tells you information from EXPERIENCE, note from making a debate on what AOS does technically to your F-1 status

Be nice! I am not claiming that all international counselors are uninformed. It depends very much on how large the school is, how often they deal with international students etc. I can assure you that there are many international advisors who are misinformed about the correct information, while there are many who are excellent. Incidentally, it is not really an international counselor's job to to know all that much about I485 issues. They are there to help the regular F1 student maintain his status. Most prudent advisors(unless they are very well informed about the issue) tend to refer students to attorneys, immigration clinics when they venture outside the scope of a regular F1 student.

As a side note, if you read my response, you will see that I agree with you about working on-campus. You mention that we can get lost in technicalities and that USCIS has bigger fish to fry. I agree with you, and in practice, I cannot imagine USCIS really chasing after such an F1 student. However, the OP is entitled to know that there may be complications involved. I have heard some terrible advice from advisors --- you only need to read some F1 students's posts on this site. Does that mean all advisors are misinformed? Of course not. But the OP has the right to know all the relevant information to make a decision.

As I have said before, in the end, even though you feel that my analysis makes the situation too complex and that we get lost in technicalities (welcome to immigration law BTW), we have arrived at the same conclusion.