Adjusting from Tourist to STudent. Please help :(

[Boiler 46,277]

This  is a classic third part question where the details may, or may not be important.

 

Wonder why she has a B2, the reason mentioned makes no sense.

[jkstark 97]

1 minute ago, Hopeworld said:

I believe that's what they told her. She didn't apply for ESTA she applied for a real tourist visa and it seems  it's only 3 months per year.

 

Upon her first entry, she will use the tourist visa BUT at that time she will have an approved STudent F1 visa.
She was thinking of coming beginning of april, after 2 months it will be LESS than 30 days before school starts.

 

If we goes to mexico and tries to come back in after 30 minutes using her Student visa (showing all proof documents), I'm not sure why would it be an issue?
If she has an approved Student visa and is going to be in the country for at least a year and study I don't see why TSA would have any right to refuse re-entry :/

 

 

Interestingly, though AoS from a B to F visa is potentially possible (though "irregular"), a similar change of status from ESTA to F status is *not* possible.

 

Going to Mexico for a short visit won't count as having left unless she is a Mexican resident (similarly for Canada).  Any return after that will be viewed as a continuation of the first visit, even if there is a separate visa.  That is the way the rules are written, though they may not make a lot of sense in this particular scenario.

 

Also - the TSA has nothing to do with it...  The questions is with the US CBP, and whether they will allow the entry or not, and whether they (and further the USCIS) will consider the status to have changed.  The risks of having an overstay are very real if she continues to stay on the F visa, believing that there was a valid status change; it may not be viewed that way by the authorities...

[WeGuyGal 1,052]

4 minutes ago, Hopeworld said:

I believe that's what they told her. She didn't apply for ESTA she applied for a real tourist visa and it seems  it's only 3 months per year.

 

What B2 limits visit to 3 mos per year? 

[Crazy Cat 42,563]

1 minute ago, Hopeworld said:

I believe that's what they told her. She didn't apply for ESTA she applied for a real tourist visa and it seems  it's only 3 months per year.

 

Upon her first entry, she will use the tourist visa BUT at that time she will have an approved STudent F1 visa.
She was thinking of coming beginning of april, after 2 months it will be LESS than 30 days before school starts.

 

If we goes to mexico and tries to come back in after 30 minutes using her Student visa (showing all proof documents), I'm not sure why would it be an issue?
If she has an approved Student visa and is going to be in the country for at least a year and study I don't see why TSA would have any right to refuse re-entry :/

 

 

Go back and reread the answers you have been given.  She can not be in 2 different statuses in the US at one time.  The visas are not statuses.  United States law dictates that traveling to Mexico and Canada will not reset her overstay date.

[TNJ17 1,329]

Hmmm... no she can’t do that. Tourist visas are for tourism purposes. If she’s going to school she needs to enter on a student visa. Her i94 will reflect her status as she entered. There is a reason why there are different types of visas. Plus there are several things she can do while on a student visa that she’s not allowed to do if she entered on a tourist visa. 

[geowrian 22,338]

9 minutes ago, Hopeworld said:

I believe that's what they told her. She didn't apply for ESTA she applied for a real tourist visa and it seems  it's only 3 months per year.

Seems odd.

Quote

If we goes to mexico and tries to come back in after 30 minutes using her Student visa (showing all proof documents), I'm not sure why would it be an issue?
If she has an approved Student visa and is going to be in the country for at least a year and study I don't see why TSA would have any right to refuse re-entry :/

Travel to Canada and Mexico are special (unless somebody is a resident there, then it hits an exception to the rule).

TSA won't care. CBP determines entry.

 

9 minutes ago, jkstark said:

The only other thought here would be for her to contact the US Embassy in Stockholm and see what their advice would be as well.  There *are* cases where B visas can go through and AOS to F visas, but there are lots of rules around that, and many potential pitfalls.

COS* Changing from one non-immigrant status to another is COS. Changing from one non-immigrant status to permanent resident is AOS.

/pedantic

Edited March 7, 2018 by geowrian

[jkstark 97]

COS... Gotcha.

 

Another resource that would be helpful to your friend would be the international programs office at the school where she will be attending.  They will have people there who are extremely well versed with the law in regard to entry and travel in the US for foreign students, and I have found in the past that they are generally speaking extremely helpful in trying to figure things out and can give good advice.

 

I suspect that most of them will state that it is not recommended...

 

Note also that the change of status will probably result in a fee of approx $370 to be payable to USCIS, if it is even possible.  Leaving the country (technically, north America) and then returning might be just as cost effective...

[Crazy Cat 42,563]

I know what I would do.  I would just enter and exit on each visa as it was intended.  Keep it simple, straight forward, and legal....just my 2 cents.

[Going through 5,671]

28 minutes ago, Hopeworld said:

I believe that's what they told her. She didn't apply for ESTA she applied for a real tourist visa and it seems  it's only 3 months per year.

 

Upon her first entry, she will use the tourist visa BUT at that time she will have an approved STudent F1 visa.
She was thinking of coming beginning of april, after 2 months it will be LESS than 30 days before school starts.

 

If we goes to mexico and tries to come back in after 30 minutes using her Student visa (showing all proof documents), I'm not sure why would it be an issue?
If she has an approved Student visa and is going to be in the country for at least a year and study I don't see why TSA would have any right to refuse re-entry :/

 

 

No one is guaranteed right of entry into the US except for US citizens.  People with valid visas in hand have been denied before at POE, as evident here in these forums.

Edited March 7, 2018 by Going through

[Boiler 46,277]

1 minute ago, missileman said:

I know what I would do.  I would just enter and exit on each visa as it was intended.  Keep it simple, straight forward, and legal....just my 2 cents.

Me too, a few days on a beach in Mexico would be a plus.

[Coco8 1,042]

1 hour ago, Hopeworld said:

I see no reason why she has to LEAVE the country I mean surely she can just adjust the status (worse case go to mexico and come back using her student visa).

She MUST leave the country and come back so that her F1 because valid in a way. 

 

She CANNOT go to Mexico or Canada because the i-94 number does not change if you go to these two countries.

 

She can go somewhere else close by. I had a J1 for a 1-month program that ended in early August and I had an F1 that started mid-August. I had to go to the Bahamas for 3 days and come back to the US to leave my J1 status and start my F1 status.  When I got into the US with the J1, I already had the F1 on my passport. 

 

Before she does anything, she should consult with the office for international students at her college/university (the one in the US). They should know about how this works. Your friend also should consider that moving to the US is very expensive (for her August start date, she'll have to rent an apartment -- some places require double deposit for international students -- and buy furniture and supplies), plus the trip to some other country to re-enter with the F1, etc. Plus, spending 3 months in the US without working. From my own experience, preparing everything to move to study and leaving my friends and family was stressful enough and starting from zero in a new city was pretty expensive.

 

Edited March 7, 2018 by Coco8

[Boiler 46,277]

2 minutes ago, Coco8 said:

She MUST leave the country and come back so that her F1 because valid in a way. 

 

She CANNOT go to Mexico or Canada because the i-94 number does not change if you go to these two countries.

 

She can go somewhere else close by. I had a J1 for a 1-month program that ended in early August and I had an F1 that started mid-August. I had to go to the Bahamas for 3 days and come back to the US to leave my J1 status and start my F1 status.  When I got into the US with the J1, I already had the F1 on my passport. 

 

Before she does anything, she should consult with the office for international students at her college/university (the one in the US). They should know about how this works. Your friend also should consider that moving to the US is very expensive (for her August start date, she'll have to rent an apartment -- some places require double deposit for international students -- and buy furniture and supplies), plus the trip to some other country to re-enter with the F1, etc. Plus, spending 3 months in the US without working. From my own experience, preparing everything to move to study and leaving my friends and family was stressful enough and starting from zero in a new city was pretty expensive.

 

People flagpole all the time.

[Coco8 1,042]

3 minutes ago, Boiler said:

People flagpole all the time.

Flagpole?

 

10 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Me too, a few days on a beach in Mexico would be a plus.

No, going to Mexico does not work for changing visas. It has to be some other country.

 

Edited March 7, 2018 by Coco8

[GEOntificator 282]

1 hour ago, Hopeworld said:

Hi,

 

my friend is a Swedish citizen who got approved for a Tourist visa for USA. She can come and stay for 3 months.

She also got approved for a STUDENT (F1) visa, her school starts June 25th but with a student visa she can only come 30 days prior school starting.

So she was thinking coming in April VIA HER TOURIST VISA, stay for 2 months and then just start school. She has her student  visa

I see no reason why she has to LEAVE the country I mean surely she can just adjust the status (worse case go to mexico and come back using her student visa).
She's worried USCIS will believe she came on a tourist visa and overstayed, but how can they not know she has a student visa as well?

 

Someone told me that border control might not even let her in on a tourist visa when they see that she also has a valid active Student visa :S

Any advice I would greatly appreciate, thank you so much!

A friendly advice would be to just wait and enter with F-1 visa when the time comes. Unless it is absolutely necessary for her to travel, there is no need to risk a college degree. If it is only for leisure then she will be putting a lot at stake. 

[Coco8 1,042]

22 minutes ago, jkstark said:

Note also that the change of status will probably result in a fee of approx $370 to be payable to USCIS, if it is even possible.  Leaving the country (technically, north America) and then returning might be just as cost effective...

 

Change of status in the US is when you want to apply for a new status. It would be as applying for the F1 again. Plus, it takes at least 6 months so it would be pretty silly to go that route.