OPT Denied. MTR Pending. Need to know a couple of things

[cracker1991]

Hi,

 

I'm a student who recently graduated from an accredit university in Illinois. I graduated in may 16, 2013 and I filed for OPT. My case got denied because my school forgot to provide me with OPT endorsement or put it in the SEVIS system. My sevis profile no longer includes the option to add OPT. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I was unable to receive the decision of denial from USCIS until July 19th. After which, I was given the choice to file for MTR.

 

I spoke to an immigration attorney and he suggested I file MTR and file a new I-765 Application for OPT with I-290B.

 

In the application, I provided a statement from the school saying that the missing papers were due to miscommunication between me and the school and that they are willing to endorse me for OPT as soon as the option is available in sevis.

 

I have also included records of emails showing that my DSO was actually ignorant of the fact that she was supposed to give me the updated I-20 even though I met with her on several occasions.

 

I also got a letter from a congresswoman saying that this was not my fault and I should not be penalized and that they hope to see me able to apply for OPT and proceed my life like I had planned it. The congresswoman had said that they think that I would be great in the workforce in this country and that I'm a good moral character. 

 

Now i've done all this to stay with my GF who i have been dating for 3 years. Our plan was for me to work while she finished her last year so that we can get married afterwards. However, due to the reasons above, it seems that we are running into a roadblock that is threatening to separate our lives.

 

When I got the decision, my GF was not in the country, and she still is not in the country. She will not be back until november 10th, 2013. When she does, we are planning on getting married a legal faithful marriage so that we are able to live our lives together and stay together. I have questions about this though:

 

1. Would I be able to file for GC marriage after my MTR decision is made and was denied again ? I heard that once that decision is made, I can no longer apply for anything else and must leave the country, even if we get married.

 

2. I'm estimating that by the time the MTR decision comes out, it will be November 20th, which marks 5 months of me overstaying in the country. Would I be able to come back again on H1B visa/ F-1 master/ tourist visa? will I run into issues considering that my reason for overstay are very straightfoward ? (MTR)

3. If i were to cancel the pending MTR, would I be able to overstay and wait until she is back in the country so that we get married ? (Provided that I do not get deported)

 

4. When does "overstay" start counting for someone who applied for OPT? is it from the date of graduation or date of initial denial of OPT ?

 

Please understand that Im not trying to break any laws here. I just would like to get married to my GF and live with her happily. I was put in this stressful situation because my school

 

Thank you for understanding and/or responding