B2 to F1 Visa while I130 pending

[spider-man 0]

I am a permanent resident, and my wife is currently visiting on a B2 visa. Our I130 petition has been pending for 8 months now. She is a medical graduate and is strongly interested in enrolling in a medical prep course in a few months. She has done medical observerships in the US before we got married.

With 1 month left till her i-94 expires, she has an i-20 in hand from a prep center. If she was to apply for a B2 to F1 conversion, I understand she will be allowed to stay here until a decision is made on her application. At least until 180 days. But if her application is denied, will she accumulate overstay from the date of the i-94 expiry? I understand she won't accumulate unlawful presence, which is not the same as overstay. If she does accumulate overstay, will that negatively impact her i-130 application? And in case the i-130 is approved in the next month or so (which seems unlikely at this point ), then will any potential overstay negatively impact any future decisions made by USCIS regarding her immigration. 

Thanks

 

Edited June 17, 2017 by spider-man

[Roel 7,193]

If you're a green card holder then it takes about 2 years or more for the spouse visa to get approved.  Not sure why you thought its going to be approved in a month. And the overstay will not be forgiven for your wife since you're not a USC. She needs to keep legal presence all the time in the US until the I-130 is approved.  Seems unlikely for her so imo best thing is for her to go back to her country and wait there. 

 

You should read this http://www.alllaw.com/articles/nolo/us-immigration/can-green-card-holder-get-visa-for-spouse.html

Edited June 17, 2017 by Roel

[Coco8 1,042]

Can't she go back to her country to get the F-1 stamp? 

 

You can change status from B2 to F1 while in the US, but I am not sure how long they take to go through the petition. It could be worse than going to her country. 

 

https://www.uscis.gov/working-united-states/students-and-exchange-visitors/students-and-employment/special-instructions-b-1b-2-visitors-who-want-enroll-school

 

Additionally, if she is a medical graduate from another country, you cannot do medicine in the US unless you take that exam to be a doctor in the US. So if she has any intention of practicing medicine, she should start studying for the exam (which is very hard) and then apply for a residency in the US. 

 

[Boiler 46,124]

Was her entry annotated that she would be seeking to adjust to a F?

[spider-man 0]

15 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Was her entry annotated that she would be seeking to adjust to a F?

Not specifically. But she did mention her past medical observerships and future intention to enroll in more observorships during her visit to the officer at the time of Entry.

[spider-man 0]

31 minutes ago, Roel said:

If you're a green card holder then it takes about 2 years or more for the spouse visa to get approved.  Not sure why you thought its going to be approved in a month. And the overstay will not be forgiven for your wife since you're not a USC. She needs to keep legal presence all the time in the US until the I-130 is approved.  Seems unlikely for her so imo best thing is for her to go back to her country and wait there. 

 

You should read this http://www.alllaw.com/articles/nolo/us-immigration/can-green-card-holder-get-visa-for-spouse.html

I am hoping for the i-130 petition to be approved in a month or two, not the whole visa process. At the time I filed, I was expecting the i-130 approval to only take 4-5 months. 

[Coco8 1,042]

19 minutes ago, spider-man said:

I am hoping for the i-130 petition to be approved in a month or two, not the whole visa process. At the time I filed, I was expecting the i-130 approval to only take 4-5 months. 

How would that change anything? She still has to leave. She has 1 month left and you want her to stay longer than that!

 

To me, she has chances to get an F-1 if she goes back to her country and process it. She still has a long way to go for the green card. If she overstays she won't be able to visit you again, she won't be able to get an F-1, and she will have to wait until you get citizenship to process an IR-1 because as the other person mentioned, overstay is not waived for spouses of PLR.

 

Edited June 17, 2017 by Coco8

[geowrian 22,338]

Yes it's possible. I personally would not suggest it because if the COS is denied (which is certainly possible), she will likely be given a very short grace period to leave the country. Failure to do so would result in unlawful presence, which is not ignored for a spouse of an LPR.

 

I think it's pretty clear what is going on here, and it is understandable but unlikely to work. You don't want to be separated from your wife. So she visited and are you now trying to find another way for her to stay since she likely won't be able to visit again for a period of time (due to what I'm assuming is an extended stay on the tourist visa).

Edited June 18, 2017 by geowrian