H1b to F1 visa

[ACollege2019]

Hi All,

I have a typical situation - My employer have re-filed my H1b petition as earlier one got denied (I have valid I94). I am yet to receive decision for the H1b petition. My employer also filed for my PERM and it was approved last week. I can now start my I140 processing (I am thinking of doing that in premium).

I also applied for admission in masters programs in a few universities in USA. I am yet to receive admission decision. However when I talked to immigration teams in colleges, they suggested 'change of status' (from h1 to f1) may take longer - close to an year if I am applying within USA. They are suggesting to go to India (my home country) and apply for F1 from there. 

Now my question is, should I apply for I140 or not? If it gets approved, will the chances of my F1 getting approved from India reduces? 

If I don't apply for I140 and go for F1 stamping from India and my F1 is denied, I will not be able to get back to USA since my H1b decision is still pending. 

Any suggestions or any pointers will be really helpful.

Thanks in advance!

[JoeF]

The F1 does not allow immigration intent. A pending or approved I-140 shows immigration intent, though, so once an I-140 is filed it is pretty much impossible to get an F1.