H4 to F1 Conversion Over Stamping a New F1 - Suggestions


pm87

Recommended Posts

My wife has recently been accepted for a MS degree in 2 prestigious US universities. I am on H1B here and she is on my dependent status (H4) - both valid thru March 2018.

 I have some questions about her change of status and would appreciate your suggestions:

 1) Is going back to India, getting F1 stamped and coming back a riskier option as I am already here and she already has a H4 Visa? They might tell her that she has intentions to stay here because of me.
 2) If her F1 gets denied for some reason, can she still travel back on H4?
 
The reason for considering the F1 stamping over filing for Change of Status (COS) is that the process takes too long and the course is only 2 semesters long. There is a possibility that she will not get an answer till the end of the course! Also, banks in India do not disburse loan money till you show them the F1 visa stamp. We have checked with 3-4 banks. Only I-20 doesn't suffice.

 
 I would appreciate any help from all of you.

 Thanks and Regards
 PM

Link to comment

The chances of getting a F1 visa are dependent on the caliber of the college concerned. So she should be able to get the F1 visa or reapply for the H4 visa if that visa is stamped CWOP as the first step in the F1 Interview. H4/H1 is not an Immigrant visa. Should you guys overthink the situation you will make mistakes. Just have her go and apply for the F1 visa.

Link to comment

Thanks for the response.

How is CWOP first step for F1 stamping? Wouldn't it be like that when she goes for the F1 interview, once she gets the verbal confirmation and they keep the passport for stamping (processing) can they cancel any previous visas?

Please help me understand the process.

Thanks and Regards

PM

Link to comment

It has very often been reported by people that existing visas are cancelled without Prejudice as a first step.. That does not alter the fact that she has no choice but to apply. Multiple visas are allowed though certain combinations are not. Is it such an imposition to reapply and get a guaranteed H4 visa in case something goes wrong? Only one way to find out. Have her report after getting the visa what they did to her H4 visa.

Link to comment

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.