Hi Guys,
I entered the US for the first time in July 2004 as a minor with my family to seek refuge from political persecution. We entered the country under a B-2 tourist visa and filed for political asylum in Novemeber of the same year. Even though asylum was never granted, the application was pending and we kept renewing our EADs. In 2008, my father was appointed as a diplomat and to be recognized as a Diplomat by the State Dept, we had to withdraw our application for asylum and apply for the A1 visa. Our attorneys at that time failed to bring to our attention that upon withdrawal of our political asylum we will be left out of status, as our original I-94 had expired three years prior, and as we could not return to our home country to apply from there due to fear of our lives, we were left in a predicament. Our new attorney managed to grant an extension to the original B-2 visa which expired on June 11 2010.*
During this extension period, I set out to apply to colleges and receive my I-20. However due to a mixup, a mistake admitted by the university for my I-539 application to F1 status, was filed a week after the deadline. The university provided supplementary evidence indicating that it was their fault for untimely filing, which was sent with the application.*
A whole year passed during which I was frantically trying to get word from the Vermont service center as to the status of my case. Since it was pending continuously, and as I had no intention of breaking the law and working illegally, I had been doing absolutely nothing since graduating high school in 2009. Frustration came into play and I decided to return to my home country, Sri Lanka, in September of last year. In December, I received word that my I-539 had been denied on the grounds of untimely filing. A motion to reconsider was immediately filed reiterating additional evidence from the University stating that it was their mistake which resulted in the delay, but to no avail as that too was denied.*
Upon studying everything, it is my understanding that I have incurred a 10 year bar due to being *unlawfully present from June 2010 to Sep 2011. As I pretty much grew up in the US, I would like to return there for school. How soon can I reapply for an F-1 visa and I know I probably have to file the I-601 waiver concurrently. Any idea on how long the wait time is? And what prerequisites are required? I would even like to just visit back as a tourist as I have tons of friends and family back there that I would like to visit from time to time. Any help to steer me in the right direction will be greatly appreciated!
I entered the US for the first time in July 2004 as a minor with my family to seek refuge from political persecution. We entered the country under a B-2 tourist visa and filed for political asylum in Novemeber of the same year. Even though asylum was never granted, the application was pending and we kept renewing our EADs. In 2008, my father was appointed as a diplomat and to be recognized as a Diplomat by the State Dept, we had to withdraw our application for asylum and apply for the A1 visa. Our attorneys at that time failed to bring to our attention that upon withdrawal of our political asylum we will be left out of status, as our original I-94 had expired three years prior, and as we could not return to our home country to apply from there due to fear of our lives, we were left in a predicament. Our new attorney managed to grant an extension to the original B-2 visa which expired on June 11 2010.*
During this extension period, I set out to apply to colleges and receive my I-20. However due to a mixup, a mistake admitted by the university for my I-539 application to F1 status, was filed a week after the deadline. The university provided supplementary evidence indicating that it was their fault for untimely filing, which was sent with the application.*
A whole year passed during which I was frantically trying to get word from the Vermont service center as to the status of my case. Since it was pending continuously, and as I had no intention of breaking the law and working illegally, I had been doing absolutely nothing since graduating high school in 2009. Frustration came into play and I decided to return to my home country, Sri Lanka, in September of last year. In December, I received word that my I-539 had been denied on the grounds of untimely filing. A motion to reconsider was immediately filed reiterating additional evidence from the University stating that it was their mistake which resulted in the delay, but to no avail as that too was denied.*
Upon studying everything, it is my understanding that I have incurred a 10 year bar due to being *unlawfully present from June 2010 to Sep 2011. As I pretty much grew up in the US, I would like to return there for school. How soon can I reapply for an F-1 visa and I know I probably have to file the I-601 waiver concurrently. Any idea on how long the wait time is? And what prerequisites are required? I would even like to just visit back as a tourist as I have tons of friends and family back there that I would like to visit from time to time. Any help to steer me in the right direction will be greatly appreciated!