H1 to F1

M

Moogle

New Member
HI, I recently got admitted to a school and am thinking about
changing my status from H1b to full time student F1

I am wondering that once I started attending School and apply for change of
status from
H-1b to F-1, do I have to wait until INS approve the application before
going back to my country?
Can I use the school\'s I-20 and go back to my country and apply for a
student visa
at an American consulate while the change of status application is still
pending
at INS and then come back into the states?

Thanks!
 
some tips

CHANGE OF STATUS FROM H-1 TO F-1

A change of non-immigrant status from H-1 to F-1 may be requested when the applicant makes the decision to discontinue temporary employment and to resume full-time student status.

The documents which need to be submitted to INS to apply for a change to F-1 status are:

Form I-539, application for change of non-immigrant stat
  Form I-20AB with item 11 completed by the student.
  Copy of front and back of Form I-94 (Arrival/Departure card in passport). If dependents are in the U.S. as H-4\'s, please attach copies of front and back of their I-94 cards. Dependents in H-4 status do not need to file a separate application to change to F-2, but an addendum to the form I-539 must list the dependents.
  A copy of the I-797 (or I-171c), Approval Notice of the H-1 Petition.
  Evidence of financial support. It is necessary to show that the applicant has sufficient funds to support his/her studies for at least the first year, plus the living expenses of his F-2 dependents, and an indication that the funds will be available for subsequent years.
  Letter from the employer indicating the reason and date of departure from employment. Please note that the INS allows only 10 days from leaving employment to either file an application to INS or to leave the U.S. If the 10 day period has already lapsed, a change to F-1 status can only be accomplished by leaving the U.S., applying for an F-1 visa at a U.S. Consulate and returning as an F-1 student.
  Check or money order for $120.00, payable to INS.
  Passport identity pages of student and dependents, showing expiration date.
  Copies of visa of student and dependents.


Processing will take a minimum of two months and students will be notified when their documents have been returned.

PLEASE NOTE THAT ON-CAMPUS EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY BEGINS UPON RECEIPT OF THE APPROVED CHANGE OF STATUS. IF YOU LEAVE THE U.S. AND INTEND TO REENTER IN F-1 STATUS, YOU MUST REQUEST AN F-1 VISA AT A U.S. CONSULATE OR EMBASSY BEFORE YOU RETURN.
 
LIST OF DOCUMENTS (Status Change H1 to F1)

HI ! THe list above is sufficient for initial filing, but you will require additional documentation to be furnished to INS. I and a friend recently applied for a Change of Status (H1 to F1) to the California Centre. Here is what we sent initially, and were asked for as RFE (Request for evidence):

Date of Reciept of application (by INS): Feb 20 \'02
Notice date: Feb 27 \'02
RFE date: Mar 27 \'02
RFE Recieved by me: Apr 01, 02

INITIALLY SENT with I539 (in no Particular Order):

1. Original I20 both School and Student copies, duly signed by School Official and Self (Friends lawyer sent copies ! The jerk charged him > $ 1000 !)

2. Original I 94 of applicant - I think I539 instructions mention it clearly. Check....

3. Proof of financial support - in our case, I had my own funds , so I sent bank / CD - Credit Union statements. But, more on this later...

4. Official Transcripts of courses we had already taken

5. Registration details of current courses (offical copy - I sent a web download)

6. Proof of ties to Home country - I included COPIES of Property Document, FD reciepts and Utility bills. More on this later....

7. Bank statement - past 3 Months (someone said they need 4)

8. Copies of Pay Stubs - last 4 (2 usually are sufficient)

9. A cover letter stating clearly the reason to change status.

10. Fees :)

11. Copies of Passport pages incl. Visa

12. Previous H1 B approvals

Here\'s what the INS asked for as RFE:

 Means of financial support - submit I-134 Affidavit of support with W-2\'s, Bank Statements. DO NOT SUBMIT A PERSONAL LETTER OF FINANCIAL SUPPORT.

Duhh ??? I said I had my own funds, as in #3 above didn\'t I ? Gave evience too... So why do I need a sponsor ? Or do I really ? Is there something called a "Self Affidavit of Support" ?

Does anyone have any thoughts ? mail me at cshanky@hotmail.com or post here

 Evidence of Tuition Paid - reciepts or cancelled checks

 Submit justification for remaining in US to complete education

 Explain Buiness Plans upon return to home country which necessitate an advanced degree

 Submit proof of termination of employment

 Proof of all residential addresses in US - incl. Telelephone Bills, Utility Bills, Rent Reciepts. Provide proof of current residence.

 ORIGINAL proof of residence in the home country (ref. # 6 above)

I have been given 84 Days to respond.

I hope H1 - F1 convertees find this info. useful. Combining List A and B, should pretty much cover everything. But with INS you never know....

By the way, news rules will be in place for Conversions shortly and I think they will be a lot more stringent. One good news is that all F1 conversions will be decided in 30 days. Thats what Ziglar said...
 
Godspeed H1 to F1

> By the way, news rules will be in place for Conversions shortly and I think they will be a lot more stringent. One good news is that all F1 conversions will be decided in 30 days. Thats what Ziglar said...

Other day the INS Comm Ziglar was on radio (NPR) and said 100,000 F1 applications are under thorough review.
 
quick

it has taken 3 weeks for me to get my status change
i have applied throught the school and i was studying during the time.
planning to g o to india to get my visa stamped, does anyone know how the visa stamping is done if you are ins approved
will it be easy or do we have to go throught the same process a s a fresh f1
thanks
vijay
 
Take all COS docs

To be on the safe side take all the documents you provided for Change of Status to F1. The procedure is same as fresh F1, go to US consulate/embassy and fill forms for visa stamp.
 
Its very very risky...

Remember INS (DOJ) and Embassy/Consulates (DOS) are no way connected. INS atleast (pretends to) look(s) through your docs - the jerk behind the glass window at the consulate depends on his /her /its \'gut-feel\' - you just have a minute or two to prove your point - but in general the Ass**** has already decided. Besides Consulate Mo**F** do not look kindly at "change of status" applicants...

IMHO, DO NOT ATTEMPT THE CHANGE AT CONSULATE UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY.
 
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