Student visa expiry/renewal

[babybabeto14 10]

 

Hello,

 

I'm trying to help my cousin who is currently here in the states with a student visa. Unfortunately it will expire soon. My question is, is it possible to renew a student visa while here? Or no? I'm not exactly sure how they work.

He spoke to a lawyer, the lawyer told him if he leaves once it's expired obviously he can't come back. Also told him that once it expires he probably should stay and finish. That made me confused because isn't that illegal??

 

Thanks in advance. 

[Coco8 1,042]

First, if your cousin has questions about his student visa, he should talk to the international advisors in his university/college, not to a lawyer. They should have an office for international students.

 

Second, there are two parts to the "student status". One is the i-20 form which gives you status as a student and is usually valid for the X years that the course work lasts. The i-20 it is valid as long as one is a full-time student and does not do anything wrong. This form has to be signed by one of the international advisors before leaving the country and shown to come back to the US. Think of this as the i-130 form. 

 

Then, there is the F-1 stamp. The F-1 stamp lasts as long as the consulate wants to. Sometimes it can be 1 year or 2 years or 4 years. The visa is just for entering the US. If the F-1 expires one can stay in the US as long as the i-20 is still valid. If he has to leave the country, then he will have to go home to renew the F1 to come back. To renew the F1 he will have to tell the international advisors so that they can review his material and sign his F1. He might have to take a letter from the university if he has a scholarship or something like that. 

 

If his F-1 is expiring, he can go after it expires to renew. Usually, if you renew it relatively soon after it expires, you can avoid doing an interview at the consulate. But he should check online because it varies from consulate to consulate.

 

Again, he should talk to his international advisor and figure it out himself. That is why they are there. Or he can post on VJ.