F-1 Student 2010 Filers

[Sponge 0]

im 23 now. i have grades back in the states. i graduated from high school there so i plan on going back to the same city and have my high school send my stuff. yeah i hear that the jobs on campus don't really pay much. hmmm its all so confusing. thanks for the help! =]

what does OPT/RFE mean? sorry im new to this!

OPT stands for Optional Practicum Training, letting an F1 student work for about a year, usually for the sake of experience in a related field, although there is no enforcement on that.

RFE stands for Request For Evidence, meaning there is something USCIS wants from you to prove some aspect of your application that they feel you did not prove or demonstrate well enough after they have started processing your application. It is unwelcomed because it delays your application significantly.

[icepeck 1]

Hello,

I just received a text msg and an email from USCIS regarding my EAD.-- on May 6, 2010, we ordered production of your new card. Please allow 30 days for your card to be mailed to you. If we need something from you we will contact you........

I thank you all for your support.

[Amanda South 0]

OPT stands for Optional Practicum Training, letting an F1 student work for about a year, usually for the sake of experience in a related field, although there is no enforcement on that.

RFE stands for Request For Evidence, meaning there is something USCIS wants from you to prove some aspect of your application that they feel you did not prove or demonstrate well enough after they have started processing your application. It is unwelcomed because it delays your application significantly.

If I apply for my F1 Student visa and OPT to work for a year, what happens after that one year is over?

Will I be able to start working of campus?

[SweetApple08 2]

If I apply for my F1 Student visa and OPT to work for a year, what happens after that one year is over?

Will I be able to start working of campus?

During OPT you can work of campus doing something that is related to your degree. After your OPT is over then you have to decide what you want to do: 1. go back home, 2. apply to another school or 3. change your status to work visa or green card (if that's possible somehow). After OPT or completion of degree you have 60 days Grace Period to decide what to do.

Edited May 8, 2010 by SweetApple08

[Amanda South 0]

During OPT you can work of campus doing something that is related to your degree. After your OPT is over then you have to decide what you want to do: 1. go back home, 2. apply to another school or 3. change your status to work visa or green card (if that's possible somehow). After OPT or completion of degree you have 60 days Grace Period to decide what to do.

Oh ok thanks. I would want to continue school there and probably end up getting married.

Since you entered as a F-1 then got married, did you have to leave the country like the fiance one or were you able to work your paperwork in the US?

[Sponge 0]

Oh ok thanks. I would want to continue school there and probably end up getting married.

Since you entered as a F-1 then got married, did you have to leave the country like the fiance one or were you able to work your paperwork in the US?

My wife did not have to leave, but we did fill out the I-131 as she intends to go home to visit family.

But no, there is no need to go back to your home country as far as I know.

[zicomania 1]

From F-1

03/03/2010...Day 1 Application for I-485,I-130,I-765 mailed to Chicago Lockbox

03/04/2010....Day 2 Package Delivered to Chicago lockbox

03/12/2010....Day 8 Check Cashed

03/15/2010....Day 11 Received NOA x3 in the mail (Dated 3/11/2010)

3/19/2010.... Day 15 Biometric Fingerprint Appointment received (Appointment date 4/6/2010)

3/22/2010.....Day 18 Biometric done Walk in

5/5/2010......I-765 EAD Expedite

5/7/2010......I-765 EAD Card Production Order mail

5/8//2010.....Interview Letter Received for (June 8)

[Jscoope 0]

Received my interview letter today. Was in NYC for a few days with my wife and my parents (they came over for her masters graduation ceremony), came back and it was in the mailbox! Appointment is for June 9th!

[SweetApple08 2]

Oh ok thanks. I would want to continue school there and probably end up getting married.

Since you entered as a F-1 then got married, did you have to leave the country like the fiance one or were you able to work your paperwork in the US?

I got married 2006 and I was advised to not leave the country (because I had applied for my I-130 petition, my spouse is a green card holder). If my spouse was a USC then it would not be e problem they would have given me my GC shortly after marriage. I am just now applying for my green card based on marriage to an LPR (this took about 4 years). So it does depend on the spouse if he/she is LPR or USC on how fast you can get that working permit.

[besaangel 18]

Hello,

I just received a text msg and an email from USCIS regarding my EAD.-- on May 6, 2010, we ordered production of your new card. Please allow 30 days for your card to be mailed to you. If we need something from you we will contact you........

I thank you all for your support.

Received my interview letter today. Was in NYC for a few days with my wife and my parents (they came over for her masters graduation ceremony), came back and it was in the mailbox! Appointment is for June 9th!

[fagos 0]

Hi!

I am an F-1 student and I've applied for AOS based on marriage to a USC. I am anxiously waiting for the biometrics appointment... I want to do it by June 11 since from June 14 till the end of the summer I will be in Seattle doing my CPT internship. My I-485 was lastly touched on 05/07/2010 (3 days after my NOA) while my I-130, I-765, and I-131 were lastly touched on 05/19/2010. I wonder if this means that they sent me the biometrics appointment letter on 05/19/2010... Also I noticed that on the I-797C of my I-485 I have an alien number when I never had one. Does anyone know if they automatically assign you one the moment you file I-485?

[samurai18 0]

Hi!

I am an F-1 student and I've applied for AOS based on marriage to a USC. I am anxiously waiting for the biometrics appointment... I want to do it by June 11 since from June 14 till the end of the summer I will be in Seattle doing my CPT internship. My I-485 was lastly touched on 05/07/2010 (3 days after my NOA) while my I-130, I-765, and I-131 were lastly touched on 05/19/2010. I wonder if this means that they sent me the biometrics appointment letter on 05/19/2010... Also I noticed that on the I-797C of my I-485 I have an alien number when I never had one. Does anyone know if they automatically assign you one the moment you file I-485?

Im not sure if that means that your biometrics letter has been sent, but you should expect it in the mail, it'll come.

You do get assigned an Alien number as soon as USCIS receive and review your file. So, yes the A number on your I-797C is your Alien number.

[ninnie 0]

Hey guys. Just got my interview approved today. yay.

I posted my testimony on the march filers.

Good luck everyone!

[fagos 0]

Im not sure if that means that your biometrics letter has been sent, but you should expect it in the mail, it'll come.

You do get assigned an Alien number as soon as USCIS receive and review your file. So, yes the A number on your I-797C is your Alien number.

Thanks samurai18 for your answer.

[icepeck 1]

I found these tips somewhere on this website and I just wanted to share them with everyone who is sweating bullets over their upcoming interview.

Worried about that scheduled marriage-based green card interview? Not sure what to expect from your examiner?

• Your burden is to prove (1) your believability (hint: being prepared is important!); and (2) genuineness of your marriage, as evidenced by children if any, joint tax returns, bills at a common living address, cross life-insurance policies, co-mingling of financial assets, wedding and other photos, and length of the relationship. USCIS relies on documents, documents, documents.

• Producing few documents may mean trouble. If you and your spouse live in different cities, you should produce airline itineraries, emails, exchanged cards, photos, and any other viable written documentation of your "commuting marriage."

• If the foreign spouse paid the American spouse to marry and be sponsored for the green card, then the green card will be denied. If there is a big age difference between spouses, expect to be grilled. If either spouse has been married multiple times, expect the same.

• According to the Field Adjudicator's Manual consulted by examining USCIS officials, the following are signs of a "sham marriage:" Large disparity of age; inability of petitioner and beneficiary to speak each other's language;vast difference in cultural and ethnic background;family and/or friends unaware of the marriage; marriage arranged by a third party; marriage contracted immediately following the beneficiary's apprehension or receipt of notification to depart the United States; discrepancies in statements on questions for which a husband and wife should have common knowledge; no cohabitation since marriage; beneficiary is a friend of the family; petitioner has filed previous petitions in behalf of aliens, especially prior alien spouses.

• If the alien spouse’s English is poor, take a translator.

• If the alien spouse has been arrested or convicted of a crime, don’t even think about attending the interview without procuring certified copies of all relevant police and court records and having them carefully examined by an experienced immigration lawyer. USCIS will require you to produce those same certified criminal records. So you might as well complete this task early!

• Men should wear slacks and collared shirts. Women should wear dresses of appropriate style and length or pant suits.

• Take all your identification documents, including the foreign spouse’s EAD and passport. Take an original and legible photocopy of all proof-of-marriage documents so you can put your hands on them quickly if asked, without fumbling.

• Leave cell phones and other electronic devices in your car.

• Early-morning appointment? Good sign. The USCIS examiner will have lots of other appointments. He will want to get you out the door. Most MBGC interviews end happily after less than 15 minutes.

• Afternoon appointment? Potentially a bad sign. The examiner may have spotted holes in your pre-filed paperwork or other defects. Could be a lengthy interview.

• Your attitude is the most important thing you will take into your interview. Preparation breeds confidence breeds optimism, enhancing your approval chances. This is not the same as plastering a smile on your face or ostentatiously holding hands.

• Listen carefully to the examiner. If you do not understand a question, ask the examiner to repeat it. Do not guess at answers. Do not volunteer information.

• At the start of the interview, you and your spouse will be sworn in. The examiner may turn on a video camera. He or she will ask you to be seated.

• Your examiner may or may not disclose his or her name. Get it! Ask politely. Have the examiner repeat the name if you did not hear it. Write it down or commit it to memory! This will be critical if your green card is denied.

• Young examiners may feel they have the most to prove. They may be overly-zealous, discourteous or even hostile. This is the exception. If it happens, shrug it off. Don’t get angry! To the contrary: Take a breath, stay calm, pause, and consider your answers even more carefully. Remember: Examiners have big caseloads and big pressure. They must make important decisions quickly. And they are often lied to.

• Expect the first minutes of your interview to be devoted to “housekeeping.” The examiner will ask for ID documents and may ask either spouse to confirm entries on the I-130, I-485 and G-325A forms. So memorize the most important info on those forms before the interview. Most critical: Date of your marriage, date of spouse’s admission into the U.S., and dates you began living together at your current and any earlier addresses.

• If the alien spouse is a Middle East male, expect tough questioning or worse.

• If you and your spouse are separated during the interview, you have a credibility problem. Typical treatment: The examiner may point to a wall calendar and ask both spouses (separately) how they spent the last seven days and where they spent the last seven nights. Either spouse may be asked to write down the other’s name and/or the name of the spouse’s parents, with correct spelling.

• If an examiner is convinced that the primary purpose of a marriage is to secure a green-card, he may accuse the U.S. spouse of “committing a crime” by filing green card paperwork for the foreign spouse. The trouble will “go away” if the spouse withdraws the I-130 petition. Or, the examiner may threaten an “ICE investigation.” Don’t give in to this bullying – and you should welcome an ICE investigation if your marriage is genuine.

• If the examiner approves the green card, the alien spouse’s passport will be stamped. Expect the green card to arrive by mail about two weeks later – unless the alien spouse remains tied up in lengthy “security checks” or USCIS lacks your correct address. The latter is your responsibility.

• If the examiner denies the green card, you will have the chance to renew the application before an immigration judge.

Good Luck to you all!!!!!