hello everyone here, ask an emergent question

P

peaceinheart

Registered Users (C)
Hello everyone,
I'm a newcomer and have an emergent question to ask you guys. I sincerely hope I can get an answer from your experience. Great thanks to you in advance.
I'm a grad student and I have filed I-485 based on my wife who is having H1B visa. Right now, both of our status are "pending". In July, when all international students were asked to renew their I-20 before Aug, 1, I asked a lawyer about whether I need to renew my one. He told me that I was not an F1 anymore, I don't need to renew my I-20. But this semester I'm going to do RA. Just recently I submited my EAD application. Can anyone tell me that with my current status (no new I-20, no EAD), wether it's correct for me to do my RA? Plus, if I now apply the renewal of the I-20, is it right? I just totally got lost about my status. I also ever asked the consultant in the international student office of our univ. The answer is that whether I can do my RA is nothing to do with the immigration and I should talk with our department and the HR and payroll office of our univ. :confused: :( Hope someone here who ever experienced the same problem can give me a reply. Thanks again.
 
You do need F1 or EAD to do your RA. You need a SSN as well.
Check with your school lawyers.
 
Aren't you eligible for 1 year OPT? Or does it not cover things like RA?

F1 probably did not even have enough on-campus hours to cover RA duties. One thing is certain, you certainly need an EAD or OPT before you work.

You should not do your RA w/o one of the above.

Your status is currently AOS pending. On EAD application you should write "I-485 adjustee/AOS pending, applied MMDDYY" in the relevant line.

You can get an SSN authorizing you to work with INS permission once you show your EAD at SS administration.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
To peaceinheart

I am in the same boat with you.
I have never been asked to renewal my I-20. Why do u need it?
My 485 is pending, and I am still holding my F-1 status.
You donot need the EAD to get payment for your RA.
As long as u stay in US, your F-1is still valid.
Bottom line is that u can assume that u are still the F-1 student, and forget everything about the AOS.

That is only my own opinion. I just act like that,holding F-1 visa, keep getting paycheck for RA, and never find any troubles.
 
The visa only allows you to enter the country. It has nothing to do with your status. If you have a valid I20 then your status is legal. If your I20 has expired then your status is not OK to take up a job (any kind of job I beleive). So bottom line is to take the RA you should either have valid I20 or a valid EAD. If you were working already for a few hours then I would assume that you already have a ssn so I am not including that in my assumptions. My 2 cents.:eek:
 
Thanks for ur reply, but still quite confused

Hi, Killerboy, I agree what u said that it's better to have a valid I-20 or EAD for working as an RA. But what made me confused is that the consultant (maybe he is a lawyer? not sure) in our univ. told me that once u changed ur status to "pending", u would automatically abandon ur F1 status. In other words, u are not eligible to renew ur I-20. So, there is only one option left for me: to apply an EAD. I just submitted my application to BCIS yesterday. Sounds like I definitely couldn't work as an RA before I get the approval of my EAD.

Here, I just quote what u said, "If you were working already for a few hours then I would assume that you already have a ssn so I am not including that in my assumptions. My 2 cents". I indeed have worked as an "half time RA" in our dept. for a couple of years and I do have a SSN. Could you pls elaborate a little bit more about what u said, "I would assume that you already have a ssn so I am not including that in my assumptions". Anyway, I do appreciate ur great kindness and timely reply. Thanks again.
 
If you have a SS card that says you are allowed to work with INS authorization then you will not need to do anything about your SSN after obtaining EAD.

Since F1 is a not a dual-intent (immigrant and non-immigrant) visa your school consultant was probably right. You might want to ask him if you lost the ability to work under OPT also.

While EAD is clean, and you can stand in line and get iEAD after 90 days, I believe an H1 status is still an option for you (H1 is a dual intent visa). The reason I mention H1 is that you could get premium processing done, and probably get it faster than EAD. However, I'm not hopeful of your school sponsoring an H1... that is probably only an industry job option.
 
PeaceInHeart:
Don't know if it was you that posed this question on Murthy Chat

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Extract from the Murthy Chat:
Chat User : Hi. I am a Ph.D. student on an F-1 visa. I will apply for I-140/I-485 through my wife’s work. Can I continue to be paid as a research assistant while pending I-140/I-485?
Attorney Murthy : Once a person on F-1 files the AOS or I-485, s/he is no longer considered to be on F-1 status since dual intent only applies to those on H or L status. Once the EAD is applied for and obtained, a person may work for any employer on the EAD.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Since this is coming from a lawyer, I would trust this. Essentially this means that you would need an EAD to receive the RA payments.

I am however not so sure if Tuition Reimbursement is considered payment. If it is not, you may want to consider working for just the tuition waiver and start receiving the 'salary' once the EAD is approved.

Niladri - OPT is on F1 status. Hence he cannot work on OPT either.
 
What I meant was that to work you need to have valid I20. I donot understand how your F1 status is abandoned once you have applied for I485. They are different things. F1 is the status under which you were allowed to enter and study in this country. It is not related to I485 and I donot beleive that it is abandoned as soon as you apply for I485.
Now if you donot have a valid I20, since you have already applied for I485 you are not out of status. But you cannot work as you donot have your EAD yet. You have to wait till you get your EAD before you get your pay check.
So just walk to the International Students Office and have your I20 reissued. It should not be a big deal for them as you are still in school and taking the requisite number of credits.
Donot worry about my ssn comment as you already have one.

If you still need a second opinion it is better to contact another lawyer and shell out a few hundred bucks.
 
Yes, Your lawyer is correct. Once you have your I485 pending, you have to give up your F-1 since F-1 is a NON-immgration status. You can't have both of them.

Since you don't have your EAD card and I-20, you cann't receive any pay now. But you can get paid once you receive your EAD card. You can work through your advisor to pay you in all after getting your EAD card.

Good luck.

PLL
 
Thanks u guys all. Here is some more info. I got

I got some latest info. from the univ. officer about my status
Firslty, I would like to give my great great thanks to all u guys around who have kindly and timely answered my questions. May God bless you guys and wish u will have a good luck in ur application.
Just yesterday, I talked with an officer in the international student office. I was a little surprised by his answers. He told me he called the local INS and got some info, which said I still can keep my F-1 status as long as I reinstate my F-1 status with a new I-20. Certainly, I have to follow all the regulations for an F1 student. Even though it sounds like a little "unreasonable" based on my understanding and the posts from this forum, I decided to follow his advices to apply for the renewal of my I-20. Based on the officer's opinions, I still can stand as an F1 student when my I-485 got denied. But for me, I still have some worry about whether my reinstatement as an F1 will affect my I-485 processing. If my I-20 renewal got denied, that's not a big deal. But if this renewal application could affect my immigration status, I would rather not do it. I'm sorry I will bother you guys again. Please give some comments on this and great thanks here. Have a nice day.
 
peaceinheart,

As some of the earlier posts here mentioned, your F1 is NOT a dual purpose visa (unlike H), which means you CANNOT be on F1 and AOS at the same time. When you applied for AOS you effectively gave up your F1 status, which is a good thing, since the EAD that you get based upon AOS has no restrictions unlike the F1 EAD/OPT.

Here is what you should do:
1. Talk to your wife's lawyer to clarify your status. (In most cases your school immigration counselor is not an immigration lawyer and while competent enough to handle I-20 cases, might not know the finer points of law. The less said about INS advice the better).
2. Apply immediately for EAD based upon 485, if you don't get it within 90 days take the receipt and get an iEAD.
3. Make sure you don't earn any money unless you have a valid work permit (that money will come back to haunt you if INS decides to check your paystubs).

Good luck!
 
F1 and I-485

I am currently in the same position. I am maintaining my F1 and going to apply I-485 family based. Does it mean that I have to give up my F1 right now? I would rather maintain my F1 until I-485 processing is complete.


Question I have is how long does it take for an I485 to be approved when you category is current from the date you apply. I am in eastern region.

Thanks in advance
 
definatelty

u need either EAD or F1 to work as RA

My spouse was in similar situatuin...Fortunately she had EAD...

I had spoken to Lawyer, he had said that verification of employment verification lies with the employer......this conversation happened during the transition from F1 --> Adjustment of status for my spouse and I was not sure whether she is still on F1 on her.......

Infact she had replied now she can ever work at McDonalds!!!!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top