Sachin

I am F-1, applying for J-1.

F-1 OPT Status expires 1/1/04, the J-1 application will go out this week. If
I leave the US (anywhere except canada/mexico) will I be allowed re-entry
after 1/1/04?

Also, if I don't leave, am I legal till the J-1 comes through?

Am I also right in assuming that I cannot work between 1/1/04 and the date
of the J1 coming through?

thanks
-sachin

Sylvia Ottemoeller

"sachin" <*remove*[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

    > I am F-1, applying for J-1.
    > F-1 OPT Status expires 1/1/04, the J-1 application will go out this week.
If
    > I leave the US (anywhere except canada/mexico) will I be allowed re-entry
    > after 1/1/04?

Yes, on this condition: you obtain a J-1 visa stamp at a consular post, and
enter the U.S. in J-1 status. Your leaving the U.S. (even to Canada or
Mexico) constitutes an abandonment of the I-539. Even if the I-539 is
approved later because USCIS does not figure out that you left, that
approval would not be a valid approval.

    > Also, if I don't leave, am I legal till the J-1 comes through?

Yes, if the J-1 start date on the DS 2019 is no later than 1/2/04.

    > Am I also right in assuming that I cannot work between 1/1/04 and the
date
    > of the J1 coming through?

You are right about that.