H4-->F1,OPT eligibility

[ssat19]

HI all,

 

I am doing my master in CS from University 'A',I started on fall 2014 as full time student(Taking 3 courses/9 credits) on H4 .I took 4 courses(12 credits) on Spring 2015.I have only 3 more courses left.I appiled for,COS  to  F1 visa on december 24 and my application is still processing @ Vermont.It shows it may take around 5 or 6 months for COS approval.

 

I was planning to graduate by summer.by taking remaining courses,but i am not sure about my F1 approval.I talked with my ISO office and they told me it is better to take courses on fall 2015 and skip summer semester as we are not sure about approval.

 

I am planning to skip summer semester and take fall semester. My questions are

 

1)If my F1 gets approved on May,june or July and I skipped the summer semester ,will I be in status,I have read somewhere you need to take classes on the semester ur F1 get approved

 

2)AS per my college, only requirement is ,student needed to be full time student for 2 semester(h4 or f1) ,and then you can apply OPT if ur visa status in F1.But if i miss summer semester,will it affect my OPT?(I have been a full time student in all other semester)

 

3)Is there anything i need to pay attention to or ask my ISO people? 

 

Thanks!

Jay

[jairichi]

1. You will considered to be illegally present in US.

2. Check the actual requirements of OPT by talking with your DSO.

[ssat19]

@Jairici,

 

Thanks for the reply!.

 

Can you just explain how will I become illegal?

If  F1 get approved before may 26,which is my start date of college I can start on F1 and join summer semester else I will have to join on Fall semester?as the class has already started. Is that the case you are talking?

 

Thanks!

Surya

[jairichi]

@Jairici,

 

Thanks for the reply!.

 

Can you just explain how will I become illegal?

If  F1 get approved before may 26,which is my start date of college I can start on F1 and join summer semester else I will have to join on Fall semester?as the class has already started. Is that the case you are talking?

 

Thanks!

Surya

If you start attending classes in Summer after approval then you are fine. But, if you defer to Fall then how will you be considered a student on F1 visa?

[VIsaUSA15]

processing @ Vermont.It shows it may take around 5 or 6 months for COS approval.

 

Hi Jay,

 

I am also on same boat. Could you please let me know , how did you find it will take 5-6 months. So, that I can act accordingly.

 

Thanks in advance!!

[jarvindkumar]

Hi,

My wife came to the US on H4 and later joined for her Masters in HealthCare Administration in one university in March 2014.

We applied for her CoS (Change of Status) to F1 in July 2014. In September 2014 we got RFE and received the F1 in Dec 2014.

She will be graduating in May 2015. As per the OPT requirement from USCIS we have to be on F1 for at least one academic year. As per the guidance from the University we should have completed at least 3 quarters on F1. Since the F1 was issued in Dec 2014 she is on F1 for 2 and a half quarters now. She had no breaks between any quarters and she did not have any CPT.

 

Could anyone please advise if she will get OPT once applied after completing her course in June 2015?

or is there any other options available for her to legally continue here in the US?

 

Thanks.

[mraje]

HI all,

 

I am doing my master in CS from University 'A',I started on fall 2014 as full time student(Taking 3 courses/9 credits) on H4 .I took 4 courses(12 credits) on Spring 2015.I have only 3 more courses left.I appiled for,COS  to  F1 visa on december 24 and my application is still processing @ Vermont.It shows it may take around 5 or 6 months for COS approval.

 

I was planning to graduate by summer.by taking remaining courses,but i am not sure about my F1 approval.I talked with my ISO office and they told me it is better to take courses on fall 2015 and skip summer semester as we are not sure about approval.

 

I am planning to skip summer semester and take fall semester. My questions are

 

1)If my F1 gets approved on May,june or July and I skipped the summer semester ,will I be in status,I have read somewhere you need to take classes on the semester ur F1 get approved

 

2)AS per my college, only requirement is ,student needed to be full time student for 2 semester(h4 or f1) ,and then you can apply OPT if ur visa status in F1.But if i miss summer semester,will it affect my OPT?(I have been a full time student in all other semester)

 

3)Is there anything i need to pay attention to or ask my ISO people? 

 

Thanks!

Jay

 

 

Hi Jay,

 

I am also on same boat. Could you please let me know , how did you find it will take 5-6 months. So, that I can act accordingly.

 

Thanks in advance!!

 

Just FYI, I am aware of a COS H-4 to F-1 case filed on Dec 11 2014 (Vermont) that received a decision on April 14th 2015. So keep your fingers crossed!

 

Good luck!

[rakeshswarankar]

Could you please tell me what are the financial aid I can show for H4 to F1 COS?

In past 3 month i did not have 28K$ consistently but my spouse is working in USA with decent salary. We just got help from brother in law. 

We have flat in India and mutual funds investment, Can we show them this property for financial aid?

 

[jairichi]

Could you please tell me what are the financial aid I can show for H4 to F1 COS?

In past 3 month i did not have 28K$ consistently but my spouse is working in USA with decent salary. We just got help from brother in law. 

We have flat in India and mutual funds investment, Can we show them this property for financial aid?

USCIS requires you to have consistent flow of funds in your account and not one huge deposit of $$. Also, your immovable assets in India will not be of much help as they will not expect you to fund your studies by selling that.

[rakeshswarankar]

USCIS requires you to have consistent flow of funds in your account and not one huge deposit of $$. Also, your immovable assets in India will not be of much help as they will not expect you to fund your studies by selling that.

Thank you jairichi. Is it possible to my financial aid in following way.

1. 10K$ in my spouse US account, 3 month bank statement and bank letter.

2. 10K $ in my spouse India's bank account along with bank letter and 3 month bank statements.

3. 15K$ in my brother in law's US account along with 3 month bank statement and bank letter as my sponsor.

 

Total 35K$

 

Along with these documents i will give my spouse salary slip and my sponsor salary slip. Will these documents sufficient or not for financial aid? Please give your valuable suggestion and knowledge.