mbhutani2005

Hi:

I entered US in 2002 on F1. I had applied for a 3yr MS degree. I got my
Passport(Visa) stamped for 5 years(Expires 2007). 1 year into the
degree program, I quit to take up a job offer and even got my H1 done.
I have been working since almost 3 years. I haven't left the country
since 2002 (Still have F1 visa on my passport)

Now I want to quit my job and pursue my full time studies - maybe in a
diff Univ.

Presuming my admission gets approved (high probability), I will get an
I-20. Do I need to leave US and go to Canada/India and get new F1
stamped. Can I not just quit from my job and go to school directly for
my graduate studies with the I-20? What options do I have?
Do I need to apply for any change of status, or will that be done
automatically(Univ updates INS?)?

Thank You,
Mitu

Kevin Keane

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You have two options:

- - leave the USA and apply for a new F-1 from Canada or India, just as you
suggest.

- - remain in the USA, and use the I-20 to file a change of status to F-1. You
need form I-539.

You CANNOT stay in the USA just based on the I-20 alone.

In either case, you will have to convince USCIS or the consulate that you
will return to your home country after graduation. That might be difficult
given your history. My guess is that this would be a bigger problem at a
consulate, so I would recommend you go with the I-539.

[email protected] wrote:

    > Hi:
    >
    > I entered US in 2002 on F1. I had applied for a 3yr MS degree. I got my
    > Passport(Visa) stamped for 5 years(Expires 2007). 1 year into the
    > degree program, I quit to take up a job offer and even got my H1 done.
    > I have been working since almost 3 years. I haven't left the country
    > since 2002 (Still have F1 visa on my passport)
    >
    > Now I want to quit my job and pursue my full time studies - maybe in a
    > diff Univ.
    >
    > Presuming my admission gets approved (high probability), I will get an
    > I-20. Do I need to leave US and go to Canada/India and get new F1
    > stamped. Can I not just quit from my job and go to school directly for
    > my graduate studies with the I-20? What options do I have?
    > Do I need to apply for any change of status, or will that be done
    > automatically(Univ updates INS?)?
    >
    > Thank You,
    > Mitu

- --
Please visit my FAQ at http://www.kkeane.com before asking a question here.
It may answer your question. Remember, I am strictly a layperson without
any legal training. I encourage the reader to seek competent legal counsel
rather than relying on usenet newsgroups.
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mbhutani2005

Thanks Kevin.

So if I choose option 1 (i.e; go to canada for stamping), I just leave
US with my I-20, take an appoinment at US Consulate in Canada, and then
hope to get stamped there ..rt? Do i need to fill out any form or
inform INS about my intentions to leave job before I leave US?

What if my F-1 gets rejected. Can I just re-enter on my H1 and continue
my job - as if nothing happened -- or will I have to fly back to India
-- forever :(

-Mitu


Kevin Keane (see Web site for email) wrote:
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    > You have two options:
    > - - leave the USA and apply for a new F-1 from Canada or India, just as you
    > suggest.
    > - - remain in the USA, and use the I-20 to file a change of status to F-1. You
    > need form I-539.
    > You CANNOT stay in the USA just based on the I-20 alone.
    > In either case, you will have to convince USCIS or the consulate that you
    > will return to your home country after graduation. That might be difficult
    > given your history. My guess is that this would be a bigger problem at a
    > consulate, so I would recommend you go with the I-539.
    > [email protected] wrote:
    > > Hi:
    > >
    > > I entered US in 2002 on F1. I had applied for a 3yr MS degree. I got my
    > > Passport(Visa) stamped for 5 years(Expires 2007). 1 year into the
    > > degree program, I quit to take up a job offer and even got my H1 done.
    > > I have been working since almost 3 years. I haven't left the country
    > > since 2002 (Still have F1 visa on my passport)
    > >
    > > Now I want to quit my job and pursue my full time studies - maybe in a
    > > diff Univ.
    > >
    > > Presuming my admission gets approved (high probability), I will get an
    > > I-20. Do I need to leave US and go to Canada/India and get new F1
    > > stamped. Can I not just quit from my job and go to school directly for
    > > my graduate studies with the I-20? What options do I have?
    > > Do I need to apply for any change of status, or will that be done
    > > automatically(Univ updates INS?)?
    > >
    > > Thank You,
    > > Mitu
    > - --
    > Please visit my FAQ at http://www.kkeane.com before asking a question here.
    > It may answer your question. Remember, I am strictly a layperson without
    > any legal training. I encourage the reader to seek competent legal counsel
    > rather than relying on usenet newsgroups.
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    > =HyTg
    > -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

Kevin Keane

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[email protected] wrote:

    > Thanks Kevin.
    >
    > So if I choose option 1 (i.e; go to canada for stamping), I just leave
    > US with my I-20, take an appoinment at US Consulate in Canada, and then
    > hope to get stamped there ..rt? Do i need to fill out any form or
    > inform INS about my intentions to leave job before I leave US?

Correct.

    > What if my F-1 gets rejected. Can I just re-enter on my H1 and continue
    > my job - as if nothing happened -- or will I have to fly back to India
    > -- forever :(

That depends on a number of factors. It seems that you never left the USA
since you changed to H-1B status, and therefore never got an H-1B visa. In
this case, you indeed cannot return to the USA, and would have to travel to
India straight from Canada.

If you do have a valid unexpired H-1B visa in your passport, you can use
that to return to the USA and resume your job, just as you suggest.
Obviously, that assumes that the consulate does not invalidate the H-1B
visa (whether or not they do that mostly depends on why they deny the F-1
in the first place).

    > -Mitu
    >
    >
    > Kevin Keane (see Web site for email) wrote:
    >> You have two options:
    >> - - leave the USA and apply for a new F-1 from Canada or India, just as
    >> you suggest.
    >> - - remain in the USA, and use the I-20 to file a change of status to
    >> F-1. You need form I-539.
    >> You CANNOT stay in the USA just based on the I-20 alone.
    >> In either case, you will have to convince USCIS or the consulate that you
    >> will return to your home country after graduation. That might be
    >> difficult given your history. My guess is that this would be a bigger
    >> problem at a consulate, so I would recommend you go with the I-539.
    >> [email protected] wrote:
    >> > Hi:
    >> >
    >> > I entered US in 2002 on F1. I had applied for a 3yr MS degree. I got my
    >> > Passport(Visa) stamped for 5 years(Expires 2007). 1 year into the
    >> > degree program, I quit to take up a job offer and even got my H1 done.
    >> > I have been working since almost 3 years. I haven't left the country
    >> > since 2002 (Still have F1 visa on my passport)
    >> >
    >> > Now I want to quit my job and pursue my full time studies - maybe in a
    >> > diff Univ.
    >> >
    >> > Presuming my admission gets approved (high probability), I will get an
    >> > I-20. Do I need to leave US and go to Canada/India and get new F1
    >> > stamped. Can I not just quit from my job and go to school directly for
    >> > my graduate studies with the I-20? What options do I have?
    >> > Do I need to apply for any change of status, or will that be done
    >> > automatically(Univ updates INS?)?
    >> >
    >> > Thank You,
    >> > Mitu

- --
Please visit my FAQ at http://www.kkeane.com before asking a question here.
It may answer your question. Remember, I am strictly a layperson without
any legal training. I encourage the reader to seek competent legal counsel
rather than relying on usenet newsgroups.
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mbhutani2005

What if I decide to go on F1 in the same University which is stamped on
my Passport/Visa. As I mentioned, when I got the Visa stamped (2002),
it was for 5 years and I haven't left US since I first entered. My H1
has only been a change of status. If I get an admit/I-20 from my old
Univ, can any of these 2 things happen?

1.> I leave for Canada with I-20 from RIT(Name of University which was
stamped on my Visa(2002) -Valid for 5 years), and then I can just skip
going to Consulate .. rt? - because I already have the Visa stamp with
that Univ name on it + I will have the I-20 to support my admission at
the port of entry. Will this work? Will they know that I am currently
on H1 and create problems?

2.> Once I enter US, can I choose to join another university.

Kevin Keane

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It doesn't matter if it is the same or a different university, the answer
would be the same.

[email protected] wrote:

    > What if I decide to go on F1 in the same University which is stamped on
    > my Passport/Visa. As I mentioned, when I got the Visa stamped (2002),
    > it was for 5 years and I haven't left US since I first entered. My H1
    > has only been a change of status. If I get an admit/I-20 from my old
    > Univ, can any of these 2 things happen?
    >
    > 1.> I leave for Canada with I-20 from RIT(Name of University which was
    > stamped on my Visa(2002) -Valid for 5 years), and then I can just skip
    > going to Consulate .. rt?

Yes, you could. That would also work with a different university. And you
are right, I did miss this possibility. I hadn't realized that your F-1 was
still valid.

    > because I already have the Visa stamp with
    > that Univ name on it + I will have the I-20 to support my admission at
    > the port of entry. Will this work? Will they know that I am currently
    > on H1 and create problems?

Your H-1 is irrelevant here. Even if they know, it shouldn't cause a
problem, although they might ask questions.

    > 2.> Once I enter US, can I choose to join another university.

You would have to talk to the university to get a SEVIS transfer.

- --
Please visit my FAQ at http://www.kkeane.com before asking a question here.
It may answer your question. Remember, I am strictly a layperson without
any legal training. I encourage the reader to seek competent legal counsel
rather than relying on usenet newsgroups.
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