Can I study while I'm pending?

A

adelina_cazacu

Registered Users (C)
I'm on the F1 status and I'm attending a community college, I'm getting married this week to a USC. I talked today to somebody from college and they told me that I'll need to finish this semester then I can't continue my studies till I'm getting a green card... is that true? coz I wrote here before with the same question and ppl said that I can still study while I'm pending for a green card.
 
Not true. Once you have filed the I-485, you can continue to study without the F1. Or you can continue to study in F1 status, as long as you don't leave the US (if you travel they probably won't let you back into the US in F1 status, because you married a US citizen).

Look up your college's web site, they probably will have the admission and eligibility rules listed somewhere.

Some colleges will even allow you to pay the in-state tuition rate after 1 year of pending I-485.
 
When in doubt, talk to either the director of the international student office or the director of the admissions office. Many lower level clerical workers do not understand the more complex issues.
 
yeah, I think I talked to the wrong people

Is it true that I will need to pay the international student tuition till I'm getting my work permit?
I figured that after I will apply for the green card I will pay less for the tuition, I was counting on that for the next quarter... but I think i'll still pay the same tuition...
 
adelina_cazacu said:
yeah, I think I talked to the wrong people

Is it true that I will need to pay the international student tuition till I'm getting my work permit?
I figured that after I will apply for the green card I will pay less for the tuition, I was counting on that for the next quarter... but I think i'll still pay the same tuition...
Click to expand...

In my school you only begin to pay in-state tuition after you get a GC. Even if you abandon your F1, still go to sch, and are not a bona fide GC, you still pay international tuition.
 
adelina_cazacu said:
yeah, I think I talked to the wrong people

Is it true that I will need to pay the international student tuition till I'm getting my work permit?
Click to expand...
If your school is like mine, you would continue to pay the out-of-state rate until you've spent a year with a pending I-485 or green card. The work permit (EAD) is irrelevant.

But of course, the rules vary from state to state and school to school, although they are generally consistent for state-run universities within the same state. However, one consistent rule nationwide is that it is legal (from an immigration standpoint) to study with a pending I-485.
 
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