F1 student apply to green card

[18971]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Georgia

I and my wife are both F1 student. I will finish my study in 3 years and she will graduate next year. She is considering taking job offer now. The company said they will sponsor for the green card process. My questions are as follows.

Is it possible for F1 student to apply for the green card while he/she is still studying.In other words, can company file ETA 750 now while she is still in school. Is this legal? Since the law regarding student vias recently changed (like SEVIS), I am worried that this will terminate our visas.

Assumming that everything goes fine, when she is filing I-485 (adjustment of status), will our F1 visas be void?. If they are void, what happen after she start woring with EAD, the I-485 is denied ? Can we still stay in U.S.A as F1 and F2?

What is difference between getting H vias and Green card. Since most of the international student get H1B first, and they apply for the green card. why they didnot apply for green card first, then they do not need H1. This makes us doubt that there is something wrong to apply to green card directly.

Last question. I and my wife will move into new apartment in August. This unit is under government bond program for low income family. I wonder whether this will affect our green card processing.

I tried to find the answer myself by web surfing, but I could not find the specific answer. Please, give me some advice.

 

[ImmigAttyLana]

No, typically, no employer will file for the green card for you right away without first going for the H-1B because the green card process takes a long time (2-4 years) and during that time, unless you have another means of valid employment authorization, you cannot work for this employer. Therefore, the proper route is to first obtain the H-1B and only once that is approved start the permanent residence process.

By the time you are ready for the adjustment of status, you will likely be out of the F-1 process and on your H-1B, so the question about whether the F-1 status will be void is irrelevant.

As for the housing, that should not affect your ability to proceed with the permanent residence process.

Please let me know if you have any additional questions or need further assistance with this process.

 

[18971]

Thank you and one more question

Thank you Lana. For the first question, I think there was misunderstanding. Our case, the employer did not want my wife to start working right away. They want to hire her after her graduation which will be next May. So they will apply for green card now, and they expect that she will get the work permit by her graduation. Even though the greed card process takes 2-4 years, they said getting a work permit will only takes about 1 year. Until to get the work permit, since she has a F1, I think there is no problem for her to stay. When she got the work permit, she will have filed the adjustment of status, is't it legat to stay to work. If not, since I will be still F1, can she stay as F2? If this works, there is no reason to get the H vias. right?

I think our case is similar to hire a oversea's worker. My understanding is that the work can start woring once they got a work permit even the green card processing is not over.

Thanks again.

 

[ImmigAttyLana]

But on what basis are they getting the work permit if the labor certification is still pending????

 

[18971]

Thanks Lana. I don' t quite understand why the labor certificate would be pending. I heard if company do the RIR, it only takes couple of month to get the labor certificate. Does it matter if the future work in the states as students? If there is no problem to get a labor certificate as foreign student, then file I-140 and I-485 simultaneously. Since work permit can be filed with I-485, it only takes another couple of months to get the work permit. Did I misunderstand something?

 

[ImmigAttyLana]

Show me where the process takes a few months. In theory, this is how it should work, but in reality it takes at least a year and in many casesd much longer than that to get even an RIR approved. Besides, keep in mind the requirements for the labor certification which she will not have met until after graduation, which means they cannot be stated on the application and it makes the application very, very weak and probably not approvable for most job classifications where a degree is typically required and where the US workers will have such a degree. Again, you are coming up with a solution to your immigration matter without giving any regard to the actual practice of how this is done. Do you really think that all the other people out there are doing it the wrong way and you are the only one with the right idea?!

 

[18971]

First of all, this is not my idea. The company and their lawyer explained this idea to me. Since this is not the normal procedure that I know of, I just want to verify this one with other experts. That's all I want. I did not say that this is the right, and all other people are doing wrong at all. The company said that since not many companies will support a green card process without going to a H1 process, most of the applicant can not take this procedure, not because this procedure has problems. I just try to see what are the possible problems they did not tell me.

 

[ImmigAttyLana]

All right, then. What degree does she currently have, if any, and what is the job position? Then ask the employer and their attorney how they plan to file a labor certification application if there is yet no degree that has been attained or no appropriate degree for the position for which the labor certification is to be filed.

 

[18971]

She already have an advanced degree and the she is going to a professional school. The position is related to the current degree, but the degree she already had is also related to the job. I guess I should have posted the detailed situation. Sorry for confusing.

Thanks.

 

[ImmigAttyLana]

Well, in that case it may be possible to do what you are suggesting, but the degree she is currently pursuing will IN NO WAY be able to be used as a criterion for the labor certification if the labor certification application is submitted before she attains that degree. And, again, if the typical person--US or not--HAS the degree she is currently pursuing prior to applying for the position for which she would be applying, then it makes sense to wait until she completes this degree, since she will not be playing on an equal field with the potential US applicants and her labor certification application can fail on this basis precisely.

 

[leovietnam]

F1 to Green Card for Master Computer Science

Hi,

I will have Master Computer Science this December and I already file for OPT. I will receive OPT on this Dec.

My company want to sponsor for me green card and I want to start application Now. Is this possible? I see that the priority date is for EB-2 in my situation is current.

Can I do that? Is that possible that I can receive the work permit before next December b/c my OPT will expire on next Dec and they will not extend to 17 month because I am on green card process?

Any risk and please give me your phone number or web site b/c I want to find some imm lawyer for my case.

Thanks

 

[abbas81]

F1 to greencard

Dear Lana how are you,

i have a quick question and before i ask u that i wanna tell u how much we appreciate ur help to all of us here thank you soo much ..

My question was i Student (F1) got married to a Citizen and have applied for my greencard and have also went for the Biometric, like a month ago ...

My question is right now, do i HAVE to be still a Full Time student in school since my papers are in process for Greencard or will that really matter, as of me going out of status with my F1 and causing issue with the Greencard process.

I have taken 2 courses right now and was abt to take 2 more in FLEX II, which started on 10/20/08 and i totally missed out to register and i cant register anymore, so i am stuck with just 2 courses which makes me Not a full time and not in F1 status anymore as soon as the International student office finds out soon.

Can I not worry abt staying in F1 Fulltime student anymore as my greencard is in process or i better do something and get those 2 classes and be a fulltime Student.

THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH

 

[evcalyptos]

Can I not worry abt staying in F1 Fulltime student anymore as my greencard is in process or i better do something and get those 2 classes and be a fulltime Student.

You can go on vacation if you want; you aren't required to maintain your F-1 studies once your I-485 has been accepted.

 

[leon5261]

F1 student

I am a full time undergrad student (F1) right now and will graduate in 2011. I was wondering, how do I obtain a green card after I graduate? What are the methods?

 

[candg918]

You cannot just decide you want a GC and apply. There are two processes by which a GC application can be filed for you: family and employment. Go to the USCIS website as they are described there. After you have done this research, if you still have questions then post back starting a new thread.