F1 expires before OPT, what status am I in?

J

jayaka

New Member
My F1 visa expires on 06/06 and OPT on 10/06. Here is the scenario, I want to apply through my employer the H-1B visa on 04/06 but I will only get H-1B visa on 10/06 if approved.

My F1 expires before OPT, what status am I in? Can I work with using OPT with expired F-1 during July to September of 2006? Would I be able to apply for H-1B visa?

Thank you.
 
You are confusing yourself with couple of things. Your F-1 "Visa" expires on 06/06 probably ... Correct ? There is a difference between F-1 "Visa" and F-1 "Status". Since you got your OPT because of your F-1 "Status", your F-1 "Status" is valid until 10/06. F-1 "Visa" is the stamp in your passport. This is merely used for entering the US legally. F-1 "Status" is valid as long as you are with a valid I-20, attending school as mentioned in the I-20 or working on CPT/OPT as mentioned in the I-20.

If you look on the i-94 (white card) attached in the same page as the visa stamp, you will see that the officer wrote "Valid D/S". For any other visa type (H-1 etc) the officer would have written a Date instead of "D/S". F-1 status does not expire as long as you have a valid I-20 or OPT. So you are fine. Even after 10/06, you will have at least a month or two grace period for leavin the country. However, you cannot work during this period. I hope I explained this clearly.

Please contact your International Student Office at your school for confirming what I just said.

jayaka said:
My F1 visa expires on 06/06 and OPT on 10/06. Here is the scenario, I want to apply through my employer the H-1B visa on 04/06 but I will only get H-1B visa on 10/06 if approved.

My F1 expires before OPT, what status am I in? Can I work with using OPT with expired F-1 during July to September of 2006? Would I be able to apply for H-1B visa?

Thank you.
Click to expand...
 
Thank you for the reply. Just one more question popped up in my head. Can I reenter US after 06/2006 using just valid OPT and employment papers and expired visa?
 
I think I answered this already but not directly. Anyway, the answer is NO. F-1 "status" does not give you authorization to travel to US. You need a F-1 "Visa" for entry to US. F-1 "status" will authrize to remain legally in the USA.

You can probably go to CANADA or Mexico to get a new stamp after this visa expires and come back into USA. But this is risky, because your OPT will be expiring in another 4 months after your visa expires. Officer may not be favorable. Safer bet for you would be to ask your company to file for H1 quickly and get a H1 stamp from CANADA first, then travel..

If possible ask your employer to file for H1 Premier processing, if that can be done. You will get approval in week or two. However, I am not sure if they do premier processing for the first time H1s.


jayaka said:
Thank you for the reply. Just one more question popped up in my head. Can I reenter US after 06/2006 using just valid OPT and employment papers and expired visa?
Click to expand...
 
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Hello,

I am in the same position. Can you tell me what ended up happening in your case? Thank you in advance for your response! I appreciate it.
 
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