change status

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hi. i got my rn license last year , my status is f2 and i have no ssn. now i just take the admission of the nursing department for rn-bsn program of my husband's university. i get to change my status from f2-->f1 these days. but i hear there's a news about recapture provision for 61,000 schedule a visas. :banghead:

if i change my status right now, may i find a job and apply my green card when i study as an international student with my f1 visa? and it will cost me 3 months to change my status, if the eb3 schedule a is recaptured at this time, what should i do? can i apply my green card?

thanks. i really need your suggestion.

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They used 61,000 visas just last year, there is not an unlimited supply of them. And the 61,000 is for the dependents as well, so there are many more that already have pending petitions and are just waiting for a visa to be available for them.

With not having even started the initial process and have approval on the I-140, there is absolutely no way that you will have chance at one of those visas if they were to become available. There are already 800,000 with pending petitions from last summer that would get one of these, as well as all of those that have been waiting.

You are also looking to go thru the AOS processing, we do not see that opening for several years, with the retrogression in place, the government is not even accepting the I-485 now and without that being accepted, you are at a standstill.

You can study with the F-2, and there is no reason to change status at this time. You can find an employer just as easy with the F-2, but again the issue is that there are no visas and many ahead of you in line, we have been under the retrogression since October, 2006.

Please take the time to do some reading here.

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Thank you , suzanne4.

I know I won't have the chance to take the green card even if the retrogression is lifted this time. But I may have the chance to apply my 140 and 485. Until I submit my 485, I will be in pending status. That's my understanding, am I right?

As a student holding F1 visa, can I submit 140 and 485? As I know, F1 belongs to non-immigration visa, and some friends told me that you can't just jump from non-immigration visa to GC, so is that legal that I submit my GC application while I am in my F1 status?

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I recently did the change of status for my son from F-2 to F1. He was able to study in highschool with the F-2, but for college, for degree seeking classes, he needed the F-1.

With F-2 status he would only have been able to take non degree seeking classes, personal enrichment classes, or audit. If you are going to pay for classes they might as well be towards your BSN. The change of status process took less than take 90 days, but that is the prudent time to expect and to plan your issues by. Good luck, whatever you decide to do, and congratulations on your RN degree!

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
Thank you , suzanne4.

I know I won't have the chance to take the green card even if the retrogression is lifted this time. But I may have the chance to apply my 140 and 485. Until I submit my 485, I will be in pending status. That's my understanding, am I right?

As a student holding F1 visa, can I submit 140 and 485? As I know, F1 belongs to non-immigration visa, and some friends told me that you can't just jump from non-immigration visa to GC, so is that legal that I submit my GC application while I am in my F1 status?

485 is not being accepted at the moment and no idea when it will be again. 485 is AOS and will allow you to work whilst waiting, without it all you r employer can do is file I140 which will not allow you to stay in the US and work.

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Thank you , suzanne4.

I know I won't have the chance to take the green card even if the retrogression is lifted this time. But I may have the chance to apply my 140 and 485. Until I submit my 485, I will be in pending status. That's my understanding, am I right?

As a student holding F1 visa, can I submit 140 and 485? As I know, F1 belongs to non-immigration visa, and some friends told me that you can't just jump from non-immigration visa to GC, so is that legal that I submit my GC application while I am in my F1 status?

You cannot submit the I-485; they will not even accept it from your attorney now, that is where you have a big issue.

You can submit only the I-140. And that will not give you a pending status either. Not unless the government is accepting the I-485 and they are not doing that.

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I recently did the change of status for my son from F-2 to F1. He was able to study in highschool with the F-2, but for college, for degree seeking classes, he needed the F-1.

With F-2 status he would only have been able to take non degree seeking classes, personal enrichment classes, or audit. If you are going to pay for classes they might as well be towards your BSN. The change of status process took less than take 90 days, but that is the prudent time to expect and to plan your issues by. Good luck, whatever you decide to do, and congratulations on your RN degree!

Actually depends on the program and the school.

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My attorney said you could file I-140 and stay here with F-1 status, attending full time and everything except working. Is that right? He said that would place me on the

"waiting line", which I know could be years. Is this accurate? Can I be in F-1 with

I-140 filed, waiting for a time to file I-485?

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Actually, I don't think so. It will let you into the 'waiting line' until you file your 485. But I'm not sure. Maybe we need to listen to Suzzane4

My attorney said you could file I-140 and stay here with F-1 status, attending full time and everything except working. Is that right? He said that would place me on the

"waiting line", which I know could be years. Is this accurate? Can I be in F-1 with

I-140 filed, waiting for a time to file I-485?

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Filing of the I-140 at this time when there are no visas available is not a good idea as it can then be misconstued that you had dual intent.

Does not matter when the I-140 is actually filed, nothing can be done without the I-485 being available and it does not really put you ahead in the line as it does not matter when the time comes for it to be submitted.

I am not an immigration attorney but if wishing to go the AOS route, would just make sure that all papers are in order when the time comes. Without the I-485 being accepted, it is rather a moot point at this time.

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I agree with with Suzanne 100%.

For those intending to do AOS, it is risky to file for just the I-140, esp. if coming from a tourist visa and even from student visa and stating that it is for AOS when one cannot know exactly when the I-485 (AOS) can be filed. Many argue to file the I-140 ASAP to get a priority date but that only holds true for those who intend to undergo consular processing but for AOS, it is not.

Think of this way. If you file an I-140 intended for AOS (w/o concurrently filing the I-485) and if you are coming from a student visa or a tourist visa and then your validity to legally stay has expired and you need to go back home because retrogression has not been lifted yet, the next time you board a plane going back to the US you may not be allowed to go enter at the point of entry as the filing of the I-140 intended for AOS already proves dual-intent.

That is why many lawyers prefer concurrent filling of the I-140 and I-485

Another argument is that although it is theoretically possible to change your intention from AOS to CP, I just found out that not all consulates or embassies allows that, w/c pretty makes it that once you state an I-140 is for AOS it is stuck there for sure if it so happens that the consulate or embassy you belong to does not allow that.

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