hello all,
Originally I plan to graduate in Fall 2006 semester, so I applied for optional practical training (OPT) in Oct. 2006 and got approved in Dec. 2006. If I want to officially graduate, I need to submit my thesis by the Jan. 9 2007 deadline (this is a deadline set by the graduate school from the academic point of view, nothing immigration-wise). Since supposably I will graduate in the fall 2006 semester, my I-20 expired on 12/20/2006 (the last day of our fall semester) and my OPT starts on 12/21/2006. However, I failed to meet the Jan 9th academic deadline, in other words, I was not able to submit my thesis before Jan 9th 2007. So what situation am I in now? Am I out of status? My I-20 expired but I got my OPT approved. I have completed all coursework requirement and the only thing left is to submit my thesis (I couldn't do this now because the committee professors want me to do some revisions). My guess is that my OPT cannot be considered valid since I have not officially graduated or completed the academic requirements. However, once I finish revising my thesis and submit it to the graduate school, i.e., meet the academic requirement, am I off the hook totally? Can I use my OPT to work full time by then?
Right now, I am not sure what status I'm in because my I-20 exipred but my OPT got approved. I have completed all the coursework except submitting the thesis, which can be done in the very near future. Am I out of status? Please advise!! If there are any regulations or policies or cases like this, please kindly let me know. This is an urgent situation because I may be forced to leave this country. Any advice is appreciated. Please post on this borad!! Or you can send email to me at greenboy21@gmail.com
best regards,
activeman
Originally I plan to graduate in Fall 2006 semester, so I applied for optional practical training (OPT) in Oct. 2006 and got approved in Dec. 2006. If I want to officially graduate, I need to submit my thesis by the Jan. 9 2007 deadline (this is a deadline set by the graduate school from the academic point of view, nothing immigration-wise). Since supposably I will graduate in the fall 2006 semester, my I-20 expired on 12/20/2006 (the last day of our fall semester) and my OPT starts on 12/21/2006. However, I failed to meet the Jan 9th academic deadline, in other words, I was not able to submit my thesis before Jan 9th 2007. So what situation am I in now? Am I out of status? My I-20 expired but I got my OPT approved. I have completed all coursework requirement and the only thing left is to submit my thesis (I couldn't do this now because the committee professors want me to do some revisions). My guess is that my OPT cannot be considered valid since I have not officially graduated or completed the academic requirements. However, once I finish revising my thesis and submit it to the graduate school, i.e., meet the academic requirement, am I off the hook totally? Can I use my OPT to work full time by then?
Right now, I am not sure what status I'm in because my I-20 exipred but my OPT got approved. I have completed all the coursework except submitting the thesis, which can be done in the very near future. Am I out of status? Please advise!! If there are any regulations or policies or cases like this, please kindly let me know. This is an urgent situation because I may be forced to leave this country. Any advice is appreciated. Please post on this borad!! Or you can send email to me at greenboy21@gmail.com
best regards,
activeman