Gc And F1

I

I140helppls

Registered Users (C)
My I140 is pending at CSC for abt 7 mths now. Also my wife is studying on an H4 and she is not able to take any assistantship /internship that is being offered to her etc .
She is currently on an H4 .Recently I had got an H4 extension approval for her till 9/30/2006.


She graduates in dec 2004 . i am thinking whether it is wise to transfer her to F1 now . i am thinking what will happen if we do not get an EAD till 1 year from now (worst case scenario). atleast she will have an OPT.
My company will not file concurrent in any case.
Pls comment
 
Is your wife officially enrolled as a full time student in a degree program or is she just taking as per her interest.?

I think it would be wise for her to be on a F1 as she would be able to work part time for 20 hours. Although, after you file for her I-485 she will no longer be able to have an F1 status. This is because F1 is considered to be a nonimmigrant status. She would then have to wait for 90 days to get her EAD.
 
re:

yes she is enrolled as a full time student . my concern only is that if i apply for her F1 i hope she does not land up in trouble since my GC is going on . also if her F1 application takes a long time and meanwhile my I140 gets approved then that would create problem again .

F1 is a non immigrant visa but i am showing immigrant intent and she is my wife .maybe i am thinking beyond the line and being too negative
 
i didn't think you could register as a full time student on H-4. I have had friends who had to change to F1 status from H-4 to be registered in a full time degree program. I don't see any advantage on being on a H4 status besides paying resident tuition (if that applies).

Since she doesn't have a pending I-140 application I don't htink she would in trouble going for F1. Only once you apply for her I-485 then she can't be on F1.


Ask your wife to talk to the International student advisor at her school. They will be able to give her more insight on what to do.
She should also ask the advisor if she can continue her student status once she has applied for I-485.

Hope this is helpful. Goodluck
 
re:

you said that you have friends who have been thru this . could you tell me where they got their F1 visa's stamped . was it in India ???
also are you sure that H4 cant be enrolled in full time study . is there a specific definition for a full time study ???.that would mean i have invited another trouble.
 
I found this on the web..so you can be a student on a H4 visa.
"They do not apply to students attending public school on derivative visas, such as F-2, J-2 or H-4 visas"

If you wife has any concern's she should talk to the International Student Advisor at her school. They are very knowledgable and will be able to give you some advice ( pertaining to rules regarding F1 status etc)

If you wife want's to get her F1 visa stamped..she can do it at a local BCIS office. She doesn't have to go to India to get her visa changed.

Which BCIS office have you applied for your I-140?
 
I140helppls

I do not think that you can change the status from H4 to F1 at a local BCIS office. Atleast I am sure that it is not the case "Always". One of my ex-colleague was on H1. She got laid off at client's place. By that time, she was doing part time course for MS degree. After she got laid off, she wanted to convert her status to F1.

The International student advisor at her school told her that her Visa could be approved and stamped while she is in US. But then after three months, she got a notice from BCIS that her petition is approved, BUT it needs to be stamped in India (Or probably foriegn Embassy.. I am not sure).

So.. Even though there are chances (I am not even sure of this, may be there is a slight chance), it is not always true that you can change the status from H4 to F1 while you are in USA.

Also.. in my opinion, your concern for "Intent" weighs high. Also, I don't see a reason why you are too concerned about EAD/OPT right now ? Unless you typed it wrong, she graduates in Dec 2004 (One year from now) and your I-140 is applied before 7 months.. CSC takes about 8 - 10 months for I-140 (My guess).. So.. in any case, you would get EAD by then.. Isn't it ?
 
Originally posted by I140helppls
My I140 is pending at CSC for abt 7 mths now. Also my wife is studying on an H4 and she is not able to take any assistantship /internship that is being offered to her etc .
She is currently on an H4 .Recently I had got an H4 extension approval for her till 9/30/2006.


She graduates in dec 2004 . i am thinking whether it is wise to transfer her to F1 now . i am thinking what will happen if we do not get an EAD till 1 year from now (worst case scenario). atleast she will have an OPT.
My company will not file concurrent in any case.
Pls comment
Click to expand...
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1)You mentinoed that Your I140 is pending and EAD.
Do you$ your wife file !-485 and EAD.?If 485 is not filed questionof EAD is not related.
2)You mentioned your wife has has approval till 9/30/2006.
Even if I140 and 485 are Not fourth coming you and your wife can
be on H1 and H4 till the vaildity of i94 and Visa.
3)If you haven't applied yet for 485 it may atke a while for EAD (CSC Min. 3months) even you apply now.So you can explore the possibilities of applying 485 and EAD for you and wife.
Once you are on EAD you are not on H1&H4 continuance.
4)H1 and H4 are of duel intent nature(Non&immigrant)where as F1, guess not
(you have to better to ask a lawyer and F1 issues before/while/after applying 485&EAD).
5)Some above postings say H4 can not enroll as fulltime student.
This is not correct. I knew some H4s ,are on full time in CA univeristies for example.
(Full time student in CA state Univs are considered those who enrolled more than 12 Units in sem).
If you are paying residential fees(Which will be very much less
than international students in many Universities) weigh the benefits before goin to F1.
6)Of course after the completion of course if the candidate is still on H4 she may not be eligible to get Paid for OPT stream.
(Option is EAD)
So consider pros and cons for taking adecision.
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This is not a legal advise and not binding.
 
re:

thx for ur response.

my employer will not file I485 concurrently. thats the source for all my problems . if he does it then i dont need to even think abt F1 .
 
re: dbsraju

i agree that i have one year but she is going to have internship in april .also i really dont know whether i will get approval within a year or not within next 6 mths .
 
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