Grace period? When does F-1 status officially end?

[ahsieh]

Here is the time-line for my wife:

Before 6/26: Good F-1 standing
6/26: Spring quarter ended, her last enrolled quarter
8/1x: Summer session ended
9/30: Original I-20 expired
11/8: I-485 receipt date
12/11: New I-20 expires, but she is not enrolled so should be invalid


We are thinking if it is safe for her to leave the States with the AP (when she gets it) because she did overstay for some time. We are not sure when exactly she started overstaying. Her school's international student counselor said she has 60 days to leave the country, so should we start counting 60 days after the Spring quarter ends, or 60 days after the summer quarter ends since it's optional? Or there is no grace period at all and they start counting from 6/26?

 

[Jackolantern]

The earliest they could start counting the overstay is 60 days after 6/26. The latest they could continue counting it is when the I-485 was filed (11/8). So at most she would have 2 and a half months of unlawful presence. In reality, it is probably less, because with an F-1 student with D/S on the I-94, they do not accumulate unlawful presence until USCIS makes a determination of them losing status, which normally would not happen immediately. Even if they started counting on 6/26, it is still less than 180 days to 11/8. So she should be OK to travel with the AP.