Moving from I-140 to F1

I

I140toF1

New Member
I am planning to go to a prestigious US business school for a 1 year MBA.

My question is which of the following will be the best course of action from an immigration perspective? Upon graduation,

1) File for I-140 with my employer (I am bearing all costs)> resign after I-140 approval> apply for F1

2) File for I-140 with my employer with Premium Processing (I am bearing all costs) > resign after I-140 approval > apply for F1

3) Do not file for I-140 > resign > apply for F1

4) File for I-140 > take 1 year Leave of Absence > apply for F1

5) Any other better path?
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Here's my bio:


Business School Begins/Ends: mid-June 2011/May 2012
MBA Type: 1 Year Full Time.

Job: Big 4 consulting company for last 5 years

Prior Education: Masters degree from a top US University. Undergrad from a top Indian Institute

Location: US for past 7 years

Visa: H1B. 6 years will be completed in Oct 2012. Currently visa expires in Jan 2012. I will have some extra time as I spent some time vacationing and working in India for 2 months while on H1.

Green Card Process Status: PERM approved (EB3) in Feb 2011. Unable to decide if I should file I-140.

At the end, what I want is
1) the option to join a new company after graduation
2) do not get 'stuck' due to insufficient time remaining on H1
3) leverage any opportunity to keep my current priority date

I will really appreciate some guidance regarding my situation. Please let me know if more information is needed.

Thanks,
I140toF1
 
Hi,

Talk to a lawyer and go over all the options. I think there are knowledgeable persons in this forum but a professional opinion while costly is the best option. My gut reaction to your situation would be to find a solution that will help you get the MBA and green card in the next 2-3 years. Could you do the MBA, part time?

I think you go ahead and file the I-140. The priority date is your to keep forever. And with an approved I-140 and I-485 pending for 180 days you can extend H1b beyond six years (http://immigrationroad.com/green-card/ac21-portability-change-jobs.php and http://www.immihelp.com/visas/h1b/h1b-visa-extension-beyond-6-years.html).

So, you could try this:

Apply for I-140 (not sure if there is a premium process for this) now (March 2011). Let's say it gets approved in 5 months. So in Aug 2011, you will be able to calculate the 180 day mark.

Then apply for MBA, start in Jan 2012, if possible. Graduate in Jan 2013, find a new job. I think the crucial thing, is to figure out coming back to H1 in 2013, after you become F1.
 
Re:

Thanks tux78,

I did not clarify earlier but I already have the admission offer and cannot defer it to next year.

I spoke with an attorney and he advised that an "F1 will not be stamped on my passport if I have filed for an I-140". He also said that a COS is possible within US but if I have to travel outside, it will be difficult getting in.

With that, I think I may be better off not filing I-140 now. The drawback is that my priority date will be in 2012 or 2013 as opposed to Jan 2011.

Thoughts? Any body who knows about filing for F1 after I-140?

Thanks
 
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