Please help: Will f-1 overwrite i485 pending?

C

cantsee

Registered Users (C)
I need your help desperately.

My husband's I-485 case has been transfered to local Chicago office and he is still waiting. (I, primary applicant, have got passport stamped.)

Now he is enrolled in a full-time Ph.D. program. Because we did not renew our EAD on time, he is under the risk of paying out-of-state tuition. We are wondering if he could go to Canada or Mexico to get an F-1. But the international student service officer told him that getting an F-1 means he is throwing away his 485 pending status and eventually his GC. Is this true? Can he get an F-1?

You input is deeply appreciated!

Cantsee:confused:
 
Your husband cannot get an F-1 visa unless he withdraws his I-485 petition and even then it would be rather questionable.

An F-1 visa is by definition a non-immigrant visa and all of non-immigrant visas (with the exception of H1 and L1) are incompatible with immigrant intent. By applying for adjustment of status your husband has clearly demonstrated his immigrant intent. So right now he is simly NOT eligible for an F-1 visa. Even if he withdraws I-485 application, he would have a heavy burden of proving that he no longer intends to immigrate to the U.S. before he could get an F-1 visa.

That is why on all visa application forms there are questions about whether you have a pending application or ever applied for a PR status.

So

1) the university will most likely refuse to issue him an I-20

2) even if they do issue an I-20, no consulate would actually give him an F-1 visa because of his pending I-485

3) you cannot simply go to Canada or Mexico to get a visa stamp: you need to make an appointment several months in advance

4) it is concievable that even trying to apply for an F-1 visa could screw up your husbands pending I-485 application.

The bottom line is: forget about F-1.
 
Thanks a lot! Another question:

My husband wants to go back to school full-time and the campus is 2 hours drive away from where I live. So we maintain two apartments. My lawyer told me that INS may deny his 485 at the interview if we have two different address. I am thinking we can put two of us at my address but there will be problem explaining how he goes to school that's 150 miles away.

Another concern: He is on educational leave now and his H-1B will expire January 2003. We are worried that if his employer doesn't renew his H-1B during his leave (6 months starting from now) and his 485 got denied, he will be out of status.

We need you ideas and suggestions. Thank you so much!!

Cantsee
 
Even if you did not renew EAD on time, does your husband have a EAD now. If yes, then why worry about F1 etc? If he does not have EAD, then he might be able to get a renewed EAD from your local INS office. Some INS office renews EAD on the same day. You might want talk to your attorney to see if that is an option.

Good Luck
aka1
 
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