Conversion of h4 to b1 to f1 due to divorce

S

Shalini17

New Member
Hello All,

I'm on h4 visa going through divorce and it would be finalized within 20days. I'm assuming that my h4 visa will expire immediately on the day of divorce and I want to change my status to a F1 but due to the documents requirement of the spouse, i'm thinking of changing to a B2 visa and then to an F1 within the US. I have the following questions and would appreciate any advice.

1. Is my approach correct? Or are there any other routes?
2. What kind of financial documents are needed from a sponsor(my friend) to show that they can support me during my transition period?
3. How much funds are needed to be shown?
4. What should the sponsor mention in the sponsor letter since they're not blood related?
5. can I file COS to F1 while my B2 COS is still pending?
 
1. Well, you may have difficulty with the part of the application that asks you to show you will leave the US at the end of the status you are applying for. The other route is to return to your home country and apply for an F1 from there.
2. An i134 is the correct affidavit of support for a B status. The instructions detail what documents you need.
3. Refer to the poverty guidelines, it depends on the size of the sponsor’s household as well.
4. The nature of the relationship- in your case, “friend”.
5. Yes, but it will be dependent on the B application being approved. If it is denied, you will have been out of status from when your H4 status ends, and then you will have to leave the US as you cannot change status if you don’t have a valid status to change from. If you are denied the B and have been longer than 180 days unlawfully present in the US as a result, you will face a 3-year ban on re-entry into the US from when you leave. Current listed processing times for change of status to B is 3.5 months, so you should know well before you face the prospect of a ban. However - if it is denied it will still be an overstay on your record, and that will likely cause a problem for the next non-immigrant visa you apply for.
 
SusieQQQ said:
If you are denied the B and have been longer than 180 days unlawfully present in the US as a result, you will face a 3-year ban on re-entry into the US from when you leave.
Click to expand...
Unlawful presence would only start counting from the date of the denial. If they leave within 180 days of the denial, they would not trigger the unlawful presence ban. However, they might issue an NTA 33 days after the denial, and being removed also triggers a ban, so it would be a good idea to leave before that.
 
newacct said:
Unlawful presence would only start counting from the date of the denial. If they leave within 180 days of the denial, they would not trigger the unlawful presence ban. However, they might issue an NTA 33 days after the denial, and being removed also triggers a ban, so it would be a good idea to leave before that.
Click to expand...
Sorry, you’re right. However, it will still be counted as overstay from day 1 after the H4 lapses, which would still likely be an issue when applying for another non-immigrant visa.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top