Intened change from B1 to F1
Jun 9th 2002, 8:59 pm
#1
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Joined: May 2002
Posts: 8
Intened change from B1 to F1
Hello,
My close friend is coming to the US on B-1 visa. She intends to improve her English and to spend here some time between 6 and 9 months) and take some classes at a college or some other kind of school. Therefore she thinks of changing her B1 visa to F1 in order to get into college.
The question is if she should report the intend of studying to the INS officer at the port of entry? She didn't mention it at the time she applied for the tourist visa so I'm wondering if it may be a
good idea.
Another question is what will happen to the multiple entry tourist visa she has? Will it be voided?
The very last question: I am not sure how the F-1 visa works. Does it allow the bearer to travel outside the US?
Regards,
Ricky67
My close friend is coming to the US on B-1 visa. She intends to improve her English and to spend here some time between 6 and 9 months) and take some classes at a college or some other kind of school. Therefore she thinks of changing her B1 visa to F1 in order to get into college.
The question is if she should report the intend of studying to the INS officer at the port of entry? She didn't mention it at the time she applied for the tourist visa so I'm wondering if it may be a
good idea.
Another question is what will happen to the multiple entry tourist visa she has? Will it be voided?
The very last question: I am not sure how the F-1 visa works. Does it allow the bearer to travel outside the US?
Regards,
Ricky67
Jun 10th 2002, 8:20 am
#2
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Intened change from B1 to F1
On 9 Jun 2002 21:20:03 GMT, ricky67 <[email protected]> wrote:
>Hello,
>
>My close friend is coming to the US on B-1 visa.
I think you mean B-2, tourist, B-1 is for business visitors.
>She intends to improve her English and to spend here some time between 6 and 9
>months) and take some classes at a college or some other kind of school. Therefore
>she thinks of changing her B1 visa to F1 in order to get into college.
>
>The question is if she should report the intend of studying to the INS officer at
>the port of entry? She didn't mention it at the time she applied for the tourist
>visa so I'm wondering if it may be a good idea.
INS proposed regulations that not only suggest but *require* this, otherwise, the F-1
would be denied. I don't think this regulation has gone into effect yet, though.
>Another question is what will happen to the multiple entry tourist visa she has?
>Will it be voided?
Not at all. The only thing that would get voided is her B-2 status. The visa is
completely irrelevant after she arrives in the US, and thus would remain valid.
>The very last question: I am not sure how the F-1 visa works. Does it allow the
>bearer to travel outside the US?
The answer is related to my previous answer. Let me explain the difference between
the visa and status. It may be a bit lengthy but should clarify the situation. In
short, if I answer your question literally, I'd be misleading your friend.
This is actually a pretty frequently asked question.
The visa is what she received at a consulate abroad; it is a stamp or sticker in your
passport. She takes her passport with this visa to the airport. At the airport, the
INS inspector looks at her visa and passport and gives her something completely
different, namely a status (symbolized by the I-94 form that she fills out on the
flight). From then on, until she leaves the US, the visa does not matter any more.
Period. The only thing that matters is her status. As a matter of fact, she could
arrive in the US on the very last day that the visa is valid, and may still get a B-2
status for six months, or however long. So she would be allowed to stay past the
expiration date of her visa - again, this is possible because the visa stamp is
completely and utterly irrelevant inside the US. As soon as she leaves the US, she
surrenders the I-94, usually to the airline, and loses her status at the same time.
On her next trip, the visa again is important at the arrival airport, and then again
becomes irrelevant.
Now for her changing status in the US from B-2 to F-1: in that case, all that would
change is her status, but her visa would remain the same. Once the change of status
is approved, INS would send her a new I-94 form to indicate the new status. They
would NOT send her a new visa, and nothing will be stamped into her passport. And
this is the answer to your question: she would not be able to travel because in order
to do that, she'd need a new visa - but all that she got is a new status. Of course,
she could take the approval notice for the change of status to a US consulate abroad
and apply for an actual F-1 visa. With that, she could travel again.
Finally, no rule without an exception: she CAN travel to Canada or Mexico or some
Caribbean islands, and return under the following conditions:
- she is not from certain "terror-sponsoring" countries (Iraq, Iran, Lybia, Syria,
Cuba, North Korea, and one or a few more that I can't remember)
- her trip was shorter than 30 days
- she did not leave Canada or Mexico or the island for a third country
- she did not apply for a visa at a US consulate during her trip
Ingo
I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. For reliable advice, please consult
with a professional immigration attorney.
For further information, check the following frequently-requested links.
For many questions, you may find answers at
http://travel.state.gov/visa_services.html (Department of State)
or http://ins.usdoj.gov (INS).
For consular policies and visa reciprocity fees, find your consulate in
http://travel.state.gov/links.html
For visa denial and suggestions what to do about them, see
http://travel.state.gov/visadenials.html
For DOL Online Labor Certification: http://workforcesecurity.doleta.gov/
For information on affidavit of support for marriage to US citizens (I-864), go to
http://travel.state.gov/i864gen.html and http://travel.state.gov/checklist.html
For information on entering the US as a K-1: http://www.k1poelist.com/
For poverty levels, see http://aspe.os.dhhs.gov/poverty/00poverty.htm
For information on H/L/O/P visa extensions at Dept. of State in St. Louis, MO, see
http://travel.state.gov/revals.html
For non-official information, check:
(When using these sites, and any Web sites, please watch out for privacy, as I do not
know all site operators.)
http://www.visalaw.com http://www.shusterman.com http://www.immigration.com
http://members.aol.com/MDUdall http://www.murthy.com/ http://www.richw.org/dualcit/
(dual citizenship FAQ) http://www.ilw.com http://www.srs-usvisa.com
http://www.getusavisa.com http://greencard-lottery.virtualave.net/
http://www.jcvisa.com (H-1B) http://www.h1bresources.com (marriage and fiancee)
http://www.kamya.com/misc/ (marriage and fiancee)
http://www.mindspring.com/~docsteen/...o/visainfo.htm http://www.workpermit.com
This is not an endorsement of any of these Web sites. I am not affiliated with any of
the Web site owners and do not receive nor accept payment in return for listing them,
and typically don't even know them.
(if believe you have a good immigration-related Web site and want your Web site
listed here, please e-mail me).
>Hello,
>
>My close friend is coming to the US on B-1 visa.
I think you mean B-2, tourist, B-1 is for business visitors.
>She intends to improve her English and to spend here some time between 6 and 9
>months) and take some classes at a college or some other kind of school. Therefore
>she thinks of changing her B1 visa to F1 in order to get into college.
>
>The question is if she should report the intend of studying to the INS officer at
>the port of entry? She didn't mention it at the time she applied for the tourist
>visa so I'm wondering if it may be a good idea.
INS proposed regulations that not only suggest but *require* this, otherwise, the F-1
would be denied. I don't think this regulation has gone into effect yet, though.
>Another question is what will happen to the multiple entry tourist visa she has?
>Will it be voided?
Not at all. The only thing that would get voided is her B-2 status. The visa is
completely irrelevant after she arrives in the US, and thus would remain valid.
>The very last question: I am not sure how the F-1 visa works. Does it allow the
>bearer to travel outside the US?
The answer is related to my previous answer. Let me explain the difference between
the visa and status. It may be a bit lengthy but should clarify the situation. In
short, if I answer your question literally, I'd be misleading your friend.
This is actually a pretty frequently asked question.
The visa is what she received at a consulate abroad; it is a stamp or sticker in your
passport. She takes her passport with this visa to the airport. At the airport, the
INS inspector looks at her visa and passport and gives her something completely
different, namely a status (symbolized by the I-94 form that she fills out on the
flight). From then on, until she leaves the US, the visa does not matter any more.
Period. The only thing that matters is her status. As a matter of fact, she could
arrive in the US on the very last day that the visa is valid, and may still get a B-2
status for six months, or however long. So she would be allowed to stay past the
expiration date of her visa - again, this is possible because the visa stamp is
completely and utterly irrelevant inside the US. As soon as she leaves the US, she
surrenders the I-94, usually to the airline, and loses her status at the same time.
On her next trip, the visa again is important at the arrival airport, and then again
becomes irrelevant.
Now for her changing status in the US from B-2 to F-1: in that case, all that would
change is her status, but her visa would remain the same. Once the change of status
is approved, INS would send her a new I-94 form to indicate the new status. They
would NOT send her a new visa, and nothing will be stamped into her passport. And
this is the answer to your question: she would not be able to travel because in order
to do that, she'd need a new visa - but all that she got is a new status. Of course,
she could take the approval notice for the change of status to a US consulate abroad
and apply for an actual F-1 visa. With that, she could travel again.
Finally, no rule without an exception: she CAN travel to Canada or Mexico or some
Caribbean islands, and return under the following conditions:
- she is not from certain "terror-sponsoring" countries (Iraq, Iran, Lybia, Syria,
Cuba, North Korea, and one or a few more that I can't remember)
- her trip was shorter than 30 days
- she did not leave Canada or Mexico or the island for a third country
- she did not apply for a visa at a US consulate during her trip
Ingo
I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. For reliable advice, please consult
with a professional immigration attorney.
For further information, check the following frequently-requested links.
For many questions, you may find answers at
http://travel.state.gov/visa_services.html (Department of State)
or http://ins.usdoj.gov (INS).
For consular policies and visa reciprocity fees, find your consulate in
http://travel.state.gov/links.html
For visa denial and suggestions what to do about them, see
http://travel.state.gov/visadenials.html
For DOL Online Labor Certification: http://workforcesecurity.doleta.gov/
For information on affidavit of support for marriage to US citizens (I-864), go to
http://travel.state.gov/i864gen.html and http://travel.state.gov/checklist.html
For information on entering the US as a K-1: http://www.k1poelist.com/
For poverty levels, see http://aspe.os.dhhs.gov/poverty/00poverty.htm
For information on H/L/O/P visa extensions at Dept. of State in St. Louis, MO, see
http://travel.state.gov/revals.html
For non-official information, check:
(When using these sites, and any Web sites, please watch out for privacy, as I do not
know all site operators.)
http://www.visalaw.com http://www.shusterman.com http://www.immigration.com
http://members.aol.com/MDUdall http://www.murthy.com/ http://www.richw.org/dualcit/
(dual citizenship FAQ) http://www.ilw.com http://www.srs-usvisa.com
http://www.getusavisa.com http://greencard-lottery.virtualave.net/
http://www.jcvisa.com (H-1B) http://www.h1bresources.com (marriage and fiancee)
http://www.kamya.com/misc/ (marriage and fiancee)
http://www.mindspring.com/~docsteen/...o/visainfo.htm http://www.workpermit.com
This is not an endorsement of any of these Web sites. I am not affiliated with any of
the Web site owners and do not receive nor accept payment in return for listing them,
and typically don't even know them.
(if believe you have a good immigration-related Web site and want your Web site
listed here, please e-mail me).
