Recd F1 Approval. Going to home country from stamping. Experts Please Help
Dec 6th 2002, 2:49 am
#1
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 118
Recd F1 Approval. Going to home country from stamping. Experts Please Help
Arrived in US in 2000 on F2 (Husband on F1). Soon after Husband transferred to H1 and myself on H4.
In Aug 2002 i got admission in a university and applied to Veromont INS for a Change of Status I-539 from H4 to F1. I recd my Approval Notice that month with a stamped I-20 and received my social security number too. I have been employed part time on campus since then.
I am planning to go to India in 3 weeks time to visit my family and also get my visa stamped. I had a some specific questions regarding this:
1. Will I have to apply for a new F1 there and go through the approval process again? I have already got approval from the Vermont INS center and have also got my social security number.
2. Am I elligible for Drop Box faicility or will I have to go for an interview. If so why?
3. My sponsor for my education is not my husband but a family friend. Will this cause a problem? I will be taking supporting bank statements showing my husbands bank statement too showing funds for more than one year. But the name on my I-20 is the family friend.
Please help. Thank You
In Aug 2002 i got admission in a university and applied to Veromont INS for a Change of Status I-539 from H4 to F1. I recd my Approval Notice that month with a stamped I-20 and received my social security number too. I have been employed part time on campus since then.
I am planning to go to India in 3 weeks time to visit my family and also get my visa stamped. I had a some specific questions regarding this:
1. Will I have to apply for a new F1 there and go through the approval process again? I have already got approval from the Vermont INS center and have also got my social security number.
2. Am I elligible for Drop Box faicility or will I have to go for an interview. If so why?
3. My sponsor for my education is not my husband but a family friend. Will this cause a problem? I will be taking supporting bank statements showing my husbands bank statement too showing funds for more than one year. But the name on my I-20 is the family friend.
Please help. Thank You
Dec 6th 2002, 4:50 am
#2
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Recd F1 Approval. Going to home country from stamping. Experts Please Help
On Fri, 06 Dec 2002 03:49:41 +0000, bostonbelle wrote:
> Arrived in US in 2000 on F2 (Husband on F1). Soon after Husband
> transferred to H1 and myself on H4.
>
> In Aug 2002 i got admission in a university and applied to Veromont INS
> for a Change of Status I-539 from H4 to F1. I recd my Approval Notice
> that month with a stamped I-20 and received my social security number
> too. I have been employed part time on campus since then.
>
> I am planning to go to India in 3 weeks time to visit my family and also
> get my visa stamped. I had a some specific questions regarding this:
>
> 1. Will I have to apply for a new F1 there and go through the approval
> process again? I have already got approval from the Vermont INS
> center and have also got my social security number.
The approval from Vermont was only for the change of status, and ends the
minute you leave the US. You need to apply for an F-1 visa at a consulate,
and the process will be exactly the same as for somebody who plans to go
to the US for the first time. Unfortunately, that means that there is a
risk that your visa might get denied (if it does, most likely for
suspected immigrant intent). The second risk is that it can take a very
long time to get a visa. Fortunately, India is not on the list of
countries that require a security check, but it is still possible that the
consular officer decides to check you anyway. If this happens, expect it
to take at least two months to get your visa.
Since 9/11, my recommendation is to think twice before travelling out of
the US if you need to get a visa abroad.
Incidentally, you also have the option of returning to the US as an H-4
and then studying with that visa instead of an F-1. Studying is perfectly
legal for an H-4 (although you cannot accept even on-campus work). If the
F-1 visa is denied for suspected immigration intent, simply apply for an
H-4 visa (or use the existing one if you already have one). The H-4 does
not have this problem, and it would be easier to get for you. You could
even go one step further and apply for both visas at the same time. It
will probably confuse the consulate a bit (hint: write a cover letter
explaining that you plan to use the F-1 for the time being, but want to
have the H-4 in case your plans change), but it is perfectly legal to have
both an H-4 and an F-1 visa in your passport at the same time. You would
have to declare at the airport which of the two you want to actually use.
But since both allow studying, that should not be an issue.
> 2. Am I elligible for Drop Box faicility or will I have to go for an
> interview. If so why?
I am not very familiar with the policies in India, but your F-1
application would essentially be a routine one, so I expect that whatever
other F-1 applicants can do, you can also do. In other words, my guess is
that you can use the drop box.
> 3. My sponsor for my education is not my husband but a family friend.
> Will this cause a problem? I will be taking supporting bank
> statements showing my husbands bank statement too showing funds for
> more than one year. But the name on my I-20 is the family friend.
If the family friend is in India, this will be great and help tremendously
with establishing ties to India and your intent to return. If the family
friend is in the USA, the reverse is true, and it may hurt your case.
> Arrived in US in 2000 on F2 (Husband on F1). Soon after Husband
> transferred to H1 and myself on H4.
>
> In Aug 2002 i got admission in a university and applied to Veromont INS
> for a Change of Status I-539 from H4 to F1. I recd my Approval Notice
> that month with a stamped I-20 and received my social security number
> too. I have been employed part time on campus since then.
>
> I am planning to go to India in 3 weeks time to visit my family and also
> get my visa stamped. I had a some specific questions regarding this:
>
> 1. Will I have to apply for a new F1 there and go through the approval
> process again? I have already got approval from the Vermont INS
> center and have also got my social security number.
The approval from Vermont was only for the change of status, and ends the
minute you leave the US. You need to apply for an F-1 visa at a consulate,
and the process will be exactly the same as for somebody who plans to go
to the US for the first time. Unfortunately, that means that there is a
risk that your visa might get denied (if it does, most likely for
suspected immigrant intent). The second risk is that it can take a very
long time to get a visa. Fortunately, India is not on the list of
countries that require a security check, but it is still possible that the
consular officer decides to check you anyway. If this happens, expect it
to take at least two months to get your visa.
Since 9/11, my recommendation is to think twice before travelling out of
the US if you need to get a visa abroad.
Incidentally, you also have the option of returning to the US as an H-4
and then studying with that visa instead of an F-1. Studying is perfectly
legal for an H-4 (although you cannot accept even on-campus work). If the
F-1 visa is denied for suspected immigration intent, simply apply for an
H-4 visa (or use the existing one if you already have one). The H-4 does
not have this problem, and it would be easier to get for you. You could
even go one step further and apply for both visas at the same time. It
will probably confuse the consulate a bit (hint: write a cover letter
explaining that you plan to use the F-1 for the time being, but want to
have the H-4 in case your plans change), but it is perfectly legal to have
both an H-4 and an F-1 visa in your passport at the same time. You would
have to declare at the airport which of the two you want to actually use.
But since both allow studying, that should not be an issue.
> 2. Am I elligible for Drop Box faicility or will I have to go for an
> interview. If so why?
I am not very familiar with the policies in India, but your F-1
application would essentially be a routine one, so I expect that whatever
other F-1 applicants can do, you can also do. In other words, my guess is
that you can use the drop box.
> 3. My sponsor for my education is not my husband but a family friend.
> Will this cause a problem? I will be taking supporting bank
> statements showing my husbands bank statement too showing funds for
> more than one year. But the name on my I-20 is the family friend.
If the family friend is in India, this will be great and help tremendously
with establishing ties to India and your intent to return. If the family
friend is in the USA, the reverse is true, and it may hurt your case.
Dec 6th 2002, 3:43 pm
#3
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 118
Can we still go Canada to get the visa stamped?
Can we still go to Canda to get our visa stamped at the US consulate if we are not a canadian citizen?
I want to go there to get my F1 stamped. How difficult is it and if u are rejected does this mean that we cannot enter US again but have to go t our home country which in my case is India?
My H4 stamp is not valid now as my husband has changed his job after we got it stamped.
Also is ther any place in the US where we can stamp our passport?
I want to go there to get my F1 stamped. How difficult is it and if u are rejected does this mean that we cannot enter US again but have to go t our home country which in my case is India?
My H4 stamp is not valid now as my husband has changed his job after we got it stamped.
Also is ther any place in the US where we can stamp our passport?
Dec 7th 2002, 7:32 am
#4
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Recd F1 Approval. Going to home country from stamping. Experts Please Help
On Fri, 06 Dec 2002 16:43:41 +0000, bostonbelle wrote:
>
> Can we still go to Canda to get our visa stamped at the US consulate if
> we are not a canadian citizen?
Yes. You need to make an appointment at the consulate. The Department of
State Web site has a page describing how to do that. There is a fee for
making the appointment.
> I want to go there to get my F1 stamped. How difficult is it and if u
> are rejected does this mean that we cannot enter US again but have to go
> t our home country which in my case is India?
If the visa is denied, you would indeed have to go to India. I would give
it a 50% chance of success.
> My H4 stamp is not valid now as my husband has changed his job after we
> got it stamped.
Are you saying that your husband is no longer an H-1B, or is he still an
H-1B but for a new employer?
As long a she is still an H-1B, your H-4 visa is valid. The employer
listed on the visa is just for information purposes and is NOT legally
binding. You will need a copy of your husband's petition for the new
employer, though.
>
> Can we still go to Canda to get our visa stamped at the US consulate if
> we are not a canadian citizen?
Yes. You need to make an appointment at the consulate. The Department of
State Web site has a page describing how to do that. There is a fee for
making the appointment.
> I want to go there to get my F1 stamped. How difficult is it and if u
> are rejected does this mean that we cannot enter US again but have to go
> t our home country which in my case is India?
If the visa is denied, you would indeed have to go to India. I would give
it a 50% chance of success.
> My H4 stamp is not valid now as my husband has changed his job after we
> got it stamped.
Are you saying that your husband is no longer an H-1B, or is he still an
H-1B but for a new employer?
As long a she is still an H-1B, your H-4 visa is valid. The employer
listed on the visa is just for information purposes and is NOT legally
binding. You will need a copy of your husband's petition for the new
employer, though.
