Conversion from H4 to F1

[pvkprasad]

Hello,

 

My daughter is pursuing her undergraduate degree from University of Texas, Austin from the College of Liberal Arts, presently on a H4 visa. She will be aging out Jan 2021 (next year) ,so I believe she will need to convert to F1 before she turns 21. Reading up I believe the options are

1. File paper work with USCIS for status change to F1 - the processing time may be 6-12 months

2. Obtain I-20 from her school and travel abroad, apply for F1 visa and travel back. 

The school mentioned that the paperwork with USCIS has to be filed within 30 days of obtaining her I-20. 

 

Q1- Is there a similar restriction if she intends to travel out of US to obtain her F1 visa?

Q2 - As long as she get a visa appointment at an embassy and she has her I20, her she can apply for the visa under option #2 above? i.e, she will not need to wait for 6-8 months to convert?

Q3 - If she gets the status change approval from USCIS (option#1) does she still need to travel out of the US , obtain her F1 visa and then only join her school or can she continue to stay in the US keeping the USCIS approval with her till she travels out of the US before obtaining the F1 visa?

Q4- Given that I am already living , working in the US on H1B and have filed for Green card too, if she chooses to go ahead with option #2, is she at a significant risk of her application to be rejected by the consulate? I don't think there should be any issue from an education institution perspective as UT Austin is a reputed school, right?

 

Thanks in advance. Your responses will be a big help for me to plot the proper course for getting her conversion done properly within the available time- really appreciate it!

 

Regards

Prasad

[pvkprasad]

Can one of the forum gurus please chime in the best way to get the information I am seeking?

 

thanks in advance.

[sourya]

Hello Prasad, 

I am in similar situation for my Daughter. Could you please share the latest visa situation with your D? I am specifically looking for your findings on Q4 (Risk on F1 stamping in India due to parents being in USA). Since these kids live most of their life in USA, Visa officer would be highly inclined towards anticipating that they will continue living in USA after education.

Thanks for your help! it really means a lot for us.

Sourya