I have a rather obscure question

D

daviduk

Registered Users (C)
Hello people this is my first post, I studied in the US and came back in july this year after completing my degree, although from what I've learnt over the past few months I seem to be in a predicament

Basically my father is a US citizen, naturalised etc and when that had taken place he applied for me which was approved. at the time i was studying in NY (started in jan 2000) so we just waited on it, and i never really thought much of it.

anyway my I-20 / student visa ran out in may of this year which gave me 60 days to leave the country, that of which i complied with too. the problem is in my last semester, after spending 4 an a half years studying for my degree, i was unwell for a final and failed it. i ended up receving a w grade (withdrawal) and had to take another course to graduate

so my student visa ceased on the 17th of may but i needed to take one class to graduate -that of which i did, i ended up doing a summer session for the month of june and was still able to leave the US in the designated time on my i-20/student visa

i recently obtained my diploma and its states i graduated on the 31st august 2004

the problem is my i-20 as ive said ran out in may so i studied for one month (summer session 1) to complete my degree past the date on the i-20

my problem is my fathers petition for me has become current so package 3 is on its way and i know that when you enter the info on the DS-230, - Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration it asks where you have studied and on it i will have to say i graduated in august even though my last class was at the end of june

im really worried because i desperatley want to go back and i also have my gf there

please could anyone be of assistance in the matter, its a bit of a funny one i know, i havent come across anything like it when reading numerous forums related to immigration

basically will me studying for the month of june past my i-20 expected graduation date stop me from going back to the states/being approved for a family visa/green card

thank you

dave
 
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yes that can definitely be done i have alot of evidence to cover that

my problem is will they use me studying for that extra month to graduate against me

the State Dept. Cable On Section 222(g) (June 1999)

http://www.shusterman.com/222g.html

states that as long as i leave by the time my visa is up it should be ok

i just want reassurance but i suppose i will only get that if i i do speak to a lawyer
 
daviduk said:
my problem is will they use me studying for that extra month to graduate against me
Click to expand...

All 224g does is state that if you overstay your I-94, then your visa stamp becomes invalid and you must get a new one in your home country.

What I was worried about earlier (when I misread your first post) was that you had overstayed by 180 days and the 3 year bar would kick in. Since you were good and any overstay was short, there should be no problem with you getting an immigrant visa.
 
thank you for that - its what i hoped to hear

i realise it may cause complications so i'll just have to deal with it

:-|
 
David,

Yes, you may want to consult a lawyer.

My personal opinion is that you are not in trouble whatsoever and here is my reasoning why:

- The purpose of I-20 and student visa is to give you a legal status while you study in the US. It is not a requirement to study, it's a requirement for a student to enter the US and remain here legally during the course of the study.

- There is nothing illegal about going to a school without valid I-20. There are many foreign students studying at US schools without I-20. They either have a different legal immigration status, such as H4, J-2 etc. or they don't have a legal imm status at all.

I don't think you have done anything unlawful. The most important thing is that you left the US when you were supposed to and that you didn't overstay. The fact that you went to school during that 60 days is fine. As soon as you didn't engage in illegal employment it's all good. You could have attended an American Culinary Academy to learn how to prepare an authentic Thanksgiving meal and it would have been all fine ;)

Now remember, I'm just another fella from the Internet but I honestly think you have nothing to worry about.

Good luck, David!
 
I-20 Issue

David,

I do not think that you have over stayed. Regardless of what I-20 or I-94 says, you are in status as long as you are a full time student. INS does not require you to be a full time student in summer and therefore, you are OK. You can call you college and ask the International Student Advisor to mail you a letter saying that you were never out of status during your study. His/her signature will be enough proof that have not been in US illegally.

Good luck and relax. Just make sure you have your paperwork ready.
 
EricNeesGC said:
Good luck and relax. Just make sure you have your paperwork ready.
Click to expand...

Either way, being out of status for <180 days isn't an issue for the consular interview. So long as he can clearly document leaving the US in July, he's fine.
 
Thank You all for the information provided, my girlfriend has been over from NY for the past week which has reinforced my love for her :p and makes me want to be able to return to the US for good.

I have about 20 pages of information to show them if needbe including a bank statment with the flight purchase on it, baggage tickets as well as bank statements at this end showing incomings from august onwards, which is when I started working.
 
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