Stop going to school [F-1] after applying for green card?

J

JohnNicols

Registered Users (C)
Hi.

If I [an international student on F-1 in California] & my wife [who is a US Citizen] apply for my green card [adjustment of status] and work permit, can I stop going to my school immediately while the paperwork is being processed by the INS [right after we mail it]? Can I stay legally in the US while the whole paperwork/procedure is in progress and not go to school?

If it is possible, is there a standard procedure for that or do I simply stop going to school? It seems the school or their officers know nothing about such information.

Any advice or info on this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
 
I would recommend continuing school for 3-4 months, that's how long the process takes these days. Why risk your GC if you can hold it off for couple of months
 
When I was waiting for my greencard I was under- enrolled but it was because it was my final undergraduate semester to graduate. However, I notified the international office about my greencard application and they asked to see the approval notice for I-130. The fact is, you're no longer eligible to fall under f-1 status since you officially expressed immigration intent. In my wife's state, I was eligible to pay in-state tuitions because she's a resident..it may be the case in your state too, on the basis of being a spouse of a resident of that state.

I agree with the answer above me to wait maybe a couple if months since at your interview it may raise some concerns that you dropped out of college right after applying for a greencard. And will draw attention to your intentions.

Just my $0.02
 
Technically you can stop attending school right after the I-485 is filed. But dropping out so quickly after the filing looks bad and could set you up for a bad interview. I would advise you to keep attending at least until the interview.

Once you file the I-485 and get the receipt, notify the International Student Office at your school so they can update your status in the system.
 
Thanks everyone! I talked to my lawyer who said that I can stop going to school anytime since I am filing for AOS, so I kind of wanted to verify 2 more questions with you please:

1 : What do I tell my international student office after the I-485 is filed? Do I tell them something like "I have filed the I-485 form & am applying for adjustment of status so please update your records to show that."

I am trying to see if I can make it easier, in terms of terminology and language, to let my ISO [international student officer] know about it, regardless of me stopping school immediately.

2 : Does applying for AOS & GC mean that my intent is to live here for longer amounts of time? Would that mean that if I stop going to school, or pause it for the semester [withdraw], it will not look bad at the interview since I am applying for the AOS/GC already and am showing intent for permanent residency?

Thank you! I really appreciate your help on this.
 
JohnNicols said:
Thanks everyone! I talked to my lawyer who said that I can stop going to school anytime since I am filing for AOS,
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Which is legally true. But don't forget that marriage-based AOS cases are often viewed with suspicion, because there is a high level of fraud in such cases. You quitting school in the middle of the semester after the tuition has already been paid raises the suspicion that you didn't really come to the US to attend school; the F-1 was just a pretense to get into the country and get married to a US citizen and immigrate. Now you have the interviewer biased against you, and it goes downhill from there.
1 : What do I tell my international student office after the I-485 is filed? Do I tell them something like "I have filed the I-485 form & am applying for adjustment of status so please update your records to show that."
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Yes, bring the I-485 receipt and say what you just wrote. You could make it more explicit by saying "green card" instead of "adjustment of status".

2 : Does applying for AOS & GC mean that my intent is to live here for longer amounts of time? Would that mean that if I stop going to school, or pause it for the semester [withdraw], it will not look bad at the interview since I am applying for the AOS/GC already and am showing intent for permanent residency?
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See my first paragraph in this post.
 
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Hi everyone! :)

Ok, so I applied for the green card and yesterday received the receipt notices in the mail that the USCIS has received the documents. I am very happy.

So I have a question please: do you have any suggestion so to what I can do to withdraw from school at the moment? Is there a procedure to it, or do I simply go to my ISO [international student advisor], show them the receipt notice? Or do I have to wait for the "approval" notice? [is "approval" notice different than the receipt notice?]

Thank you!
 
JohnNicols said:
Hi everyone! :)

Ok, so I applied for the green card and yesterday received the receipt notices in the mail that the USCIS has received the documents. I am very happy.

So I have a question please: do you have any suggestion so to what I can do to withdraw from school at the moment? Is there a procedure to it, or do I simply go to my ISO [international student advisor], show them the receipt notice? Or do I have to wait for the "approval" notice? [is "approval" notice different than the receipt notice?]

Thank you!
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Yes, the receipt notice and the approval notice are two different things. They are both printed on the same form I-797C, but the approval notice states "Welcome to the United States," and is received about a week after being approved.

You can show your ISO the receipt notice that you received for the I-485. They should update SEVIS that you have applied for adjustment of status. However, as others have mentioned don't drop out of school right now, because its half-way through the semester and it makes you look bad at the interview. If your application goes according to the USCIS processing goal, you should be done during the summer. Also, if you do leave school right now you would be simply sitting around doing nothing, because you would not be allowed to leave the US and would not be allowed to work in the US until you receive an EAD or your GC.
 
JohnNicols said:
So I have a question please: do you have any suggestion so to what I can do to withdraw from school at the moment? Is there a procedure to it, or do I simply go to my ISO [international student advisor], show them the receipt notice?
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Take your I-485 receipt (and student ID, passport, and I-20 in case they need to see any of those), go to the international student advisor, explain your situation and they'll update the system accordingly. They might take a copy of the I-485 receipt.
 
JohnNicols said:
Thanks everyone! I talked to my lawyer who said that I can stop going to school anytime since I am filing for AOS, so I kind of wanted to verify 2 more questions with you please:

1 : What do I tell my international student office after the I-485 is filed? Do I tell them something like "I have filed the I-485 form & am applying for adjustment of status so please update your records to show that."

I am trying to see if I can make it easier, in terms of terminology and language, to let my ISO [international student officer] know about it, regardless of me stopping school immediately.

2 : Does applying for AOS & GC mean that my intent is to live here for longer amounts of time? Would that mean that if I stop going to school, or pause it for the semester [withdraw], it will not look bad at the interview since I am applying for the AOS/GC already and am showing intent for permanent residency?

Thank you! I really appreciate your help on this.
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Hello! I would like to know what was your outcome. Did you have any problems with your green card process when you stopped attending school?
I applied for change of status and received the receipts and want to know if I need to register for classes this semester? My attorney told me technically not but my advisor tells me I still need to register full time until green card approved.
 
Dayane2487 said:
Hello! I would like to know what was your outcome. Did you have any problems with your green card process when you stopped attending school?
I applied for change of status and received the receipts and want to know if I need to register for classes this semester? My attorney told me technically not but my advisor tells me I still need to register full time until green card approved.
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With the current policy, if your AOS application was denied, you would be referred to an immigration judge (the beginning of your removal proceeding process) UNLESS you have another status to fall back too. So, technically, you don't have to go to school anymore, and your F-1 status would be terminated as a result. So, in my opinion, it's better to maintain your F-1 status because you never knew what would happen in the interview.
 
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