URGENT HELP NEEDED- Change of status from B1/B2 to F1 with NO EOS

[desi_guy]

Hi,

My sister came to US on 3rd April and she got 3 months stay till 3rd July with "NO EOS" written on her I-94. She was here last time from September 2005 till Feb 2006. I am on H1B.

Now she plans to study here and take admission in one of the professional institute. She has a 10yr multiple entry B1/B2 visa on the passport.

My question is : - Can she change the status from B1/B2 to F1 even though her I-94 has NO EOS written on it. However I-94 does not talk anything about COS.

So is it possible or advisable to file the papers??

Also there is one more problem ... she has to go back to India in November....so if i file papers and her application is approved .... Will she have to get F1 stamped on the passport or she can travel on the change of status papers??? If she has to get F1 stamped what are the chances???

What is more advisable filing for F1 now or take I-20 back to India right now and file for F1 in december from India???

PLS REPLY URGENTLY AS HELP IS NEEDED .... WOULD APPRECIATE ANY HELP.

 

[sgsnathan]

I didn't understand the last part about filing for F1 now or filing for H1 in December in India. Is your sister intending to study here or just wanting to move here and live here? If her intention is to study, obviously she has to get an F1 student visa. If the school gives her admission and she gets a valid I-20, you can try to change the status, but it may not be easy unless she has "prospective student" mentioned on her current visa. In either case, any time you travel outside the country, you need a valid visa to re-enter the country since you are an alien. So in your sister's case, if she plans to travel to India in December, she WILL need to get the F-1 visa stamped on her passport to come back to the US.

As for what her chances of getting an F1 visa at a consulate, I don't think anyone can predict that. As long as she has good finances to support herself and she can manage to convince that she isn't planning to immigrate and has admission to a good school, it shouldn't be too hard.

Now, if she is applying for H1 visa and it is approved, it is a different story. I am guessing that you know it yourself since you are an H1 visa holder.

 

[desi_guy]

Sorry that was a typo mistake.. i corrected it...i meant take the I-20 back to india and file F1 from there in december.

My question is now since she has NO EOS on I-94....

1. Is it possible to change the status to F1 since I-94 does not say anything about COS??
2. The F1 or duration of the course she intends to enroll in is 1 year...and in case she goes back to India in november..she has to get the passport stamped with F1 OR she can travel back on B1/B2 with the change of status papers valid for a year.

 

[sgsnathan]

Like I mentioned above, it would be easier for her to do a COS if she entered the country as a prospective student, but you can give it a try. I don't think the fact that she has "NO EOS" on her current I-94 would have any effect on the decision of the USCIS. If she changes her status by applying for COS, her B1/B2 visa will no longer be valid. So she will need to get the F-1 visa stamped on her passport to re-enter the country. (The only time you can travel and enter the country with some kind of paper document is when you are travelling on an advance parole. You either need to have a visa, GC, or be a USC in all other cases.).