will I-140 affect F1 status
- Thread starter lobowang
- Start date
hardworker
Registered Users (C)
Should not be a problem
Hi Srikanth and others,
I was in the same boat and my attorney did not foresee any problem. My wife is still going to school here and she is on F1 status. I filed my I140/485 (concurrent) in November last year and got our EAD's (both) in the first week of Jan this year. I am still waiting on the I-140 approval....
I-140 has got to do nothing with the wife's status. All that matters for the I-140 stage is immaculate documentation of your firm's financial state and your academic/work experience. Keep in mind that had there been NO concurrent filing, you would never have given your wife’s status to BCIS at the I140 stage.
I agree that F1 visa is not dual intent (unlike H1) - What this boils down to is that if your wife were to leave the country after applying her I-485 (adjustment of status), she would automatically forego her F1 status (meaning, she would have to use the advanced parole to enter the US on her return)
The lawyers are using caution because of this - If your wife were to go to India while your I-140 is being processed and God forbid if the I140 were to get denied, then that jeopardizes her situation. You (as an H1 visa holder) would be fine coz you are legally entitled to stay here till the expiry of your H1 (H1 being a dual intent purpose)
I think there is no need to get panicky if you are not planning to leave the country for the next 1 year.
Best Wishes,
Hard Worker
Hi Srikanth and others,
I was in the same boat and my attorney did not foresee any problem. My wife is still going to school here and she is on F1 status. I filed my I140/485 (concurrent) in November last year and got our EAD's (both) in the first week of Jan this year. I am still waiting on the I-140 approval....
I-140 has got to do nothing with the wife's status. All that matters for the I-140 stage is immaculate documentation of your firm's financial state and your academic/work experience. Keep in mind that had there been NO concurrent filing, you would never have given your wife’s status to BCIS at the I140 stage.
I agree that F1 visa is not dual intent (unlike H1) - What this boils down to is that if your wife were to leave the country after applying her I-485 (adjustment of status), she would automatically forego her F1 status (meaning, she would have to use the advanced parole to enter the US on her return)
The lawyers are using caution because of this - If your wife were to go to India while your I-140 is being processed and God forbid if the I140 were to get denied, then that jeopardizes her situation. You (as an H1 visa holder) would be fine coz you are legally entitled to stay here till the expiry of your H1 (H1 being a dual intent purpose)
I think there is no need to get panicky if you are not planning to leave the country for the next 1 year.
Best Wishes,
Hard Worker
Hi hardworker..Thanks for sharing the information.
OK...My wife has just graduated. She is getting into her OPT from May26th instant.
You are saying that your wife is still going to school and you already have EAD. That's great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In my situ, should I do concurrent filing with her as dependant in my case? (Yeah, we will not leave the country).
I am in a corporate environment and you know in corp. environment, the attorneys are so particular and they are more afraid of what might happen to their reputation and the reputation of the corporation than about the employee situation. (My attorney has said that it would risky...they did not say they cannot do it....)
Because they said that it is risky, I am trying to consult and seek opinions. This is something we need to carefully tread so that we do not repent later. (Also, within the legal parameters, we want to take advantage of the OPT and EAD advantages..She is getting some good offers..)
Please reply to this and give me more hope..
Thank You.
OK...My wife has just graduated. She is getting into her OPT from May26th instant.
You are saying that your wife is still going to school and you already have EAD. That's great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In my situ, should I do concurrent filing with her as dependant in my case? (Yeah, we will not leave the country).
I am in a corporate environment and you know in corp. environment, the attorneys are so particular and they are more afraid of what might happen to their reputation and the reputation of the corporation than about the employee situation. (My attorney has said that it would risky...they did not say they cannot do it....)
Because they said that it is risky, I am trying to consult and seek opinions. This is something we need to carefully tread so that we do not repent later. (Also, within the legal parameters, we want to take advantage of the OPT and EAD advantages..She is getting some good offers..)
Please reply to this and give me more hope..
Thank You.
F-1
Hi,
I was in the same boat and according to the lawyer, upon filing for 485, F-1 status is automatically lost. I have confirmed this from multiple attornies. To be more specific, F-1 is not like H-1B or H-4. If the spouse on F-1 files for 485, that automatically overrides F-1 status and the applicant is supposed to be an adjustee form there on and not on F-1.
If you guys want to be absolutely hassle free, it is not advisable to work on OPT after filing for 485. One should apply for EAD based on AOS and then work on that OPT.
One thing is there may not be some authority to enforce that an AOS applicant does not work on OPT. But a risk free thing would be to aplly for EAD along with AOS and then work on EAD.
I have asked this exact question in a chat at murthy.com and she said what I wrote above. Following the attorny's advice, my wife did not even apply for OPT. She was graduating about the time when we were filing for our AOS. We filed for her EAD directly.
Hope this helps
Hi,
I was in the same boat and according to the lawyer, upon filing for 485, F-1 status is automatically lost. I have confirmed this from multiple attornies. To be more specific, F-1 is not like H-1B or H-4. If the spouse on F-1 files for 485, that automatically overrides F-1 status and the applicant is supposed to be an adjustee form there on and not on F-1.
If you guys want to be absolutely hassle free, it is not advisable to work on OPT after filing for 485. One should apply for EAD based on AOS and then work on that OPT.
One thing is there may not be some authority to enforce that an AOS applicant does not work on OPT. But a risk free thing would be to aplly for EAD along with AOS and then work on EAD.
I have asked this exact question in a chat at murthy.com and she said what I wrote above. Following the attorny's advice, my wife did not even apply for OPT. She was graduating about the time when we were filing for our AOS. We filed for her EAD directly.
Hope this helps
hardworker
Registered Users (C)
F1--->H1
Hi Sv20/Srikanth,
Thanks for sharing the details. Like I wrote in my earlier note, the point that my attorney made (in November 2002) was if the F1 visa holder were to leave the country after filing AOS (I485), that is when they would lose their status. My wife is still going to school and on F1 visa (working for 20hrs/week) and did not use her EAD yet. Using the EAD would also lead to her losing the F1 status.
Srikanth - My neighbours were in the same boat. She got her OPT and she started her work. Then her husband filed their AOS and she got her GC EAD. All she had to do was to update the records at work with her GC EAD.
All said and done, it is the attorney who can best advise us on the case. The rules are changing everyday and the past experiences may be irrelevant to the current situation. (Like, I just read an article yesterday - The immigration service centers are NOT issuing EAD's now until the I140 is approved) This was not the case for me - We had our EAD's within 6 weeks of the concurrent filing.
Also Srikanth, Concurrent filing is mainly I140 and I485. To apply for EAD you will need to fill out I1765 and for Advanced Paroled, it is I131.
Best Wishes,
Hard Worker
Hi Sv20/Srikanth,
Thanks for sharing the details. Like I wrote in my earlier note, the point that my attorney made (in November 2002) was if the F1 visa holder were to leave the country after filing AOS (I485), that is when they would lose their status. My wife is still going to school and on F1 visa (working for 20hrs/week) and did not use her EAD yet. Using the EAD would also lead to her losing the F1 status.
Srikanth - My neighbours were in the same boat. She got her OPT and she started her work. Then her husband filed their AOS and she got her GC EAD. All she had to do was to update the records at work with her GC EAD.
All said and done, it is the attorney who can best advise us on the case. The rules are changing everyday and the past experiences may be irrelevant to the current situation. (Like, I just read an article yesterday - The immigration service centers are NOT issuing EAD's now until the I140 is approved) This was not the case for me - We had our EAD's within 6 weeks of the concurrent filing.
Also Srikanth, Concurrent filing is mainly I140 and I485. To apply for EAD you will need to fill out I1765 and for Advanced Paroled, it is I131.
Best Wishes,
Hard Worker