When I completed my year of OPT, I emailed my school and this was the correspondence:
Response:
I'm not entirely sure what this means.
I called my embassy and the lady on the helpdesk said yes the 5-month rule applies since its a new i20 so I have to schedule an F1 visa again.
I really do not want the hassle of applying for a new F1 Visa, scheduling an interview, or doing the interview drop box if the embassy DOES NOT control admission into the US. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) does. They are a part of Homeland Security. Fully separate from Department of State and embassies.
I thought the CBP doesn't care if you continue to use a valid visa. Their response for the last decade plus has been, "a valid visa is a valid visa".
Would it be sufficient to notify my school before I receive the i20 that I have a renewed F1 visa? Also, on my renewed visa there is an annotation with my practical training date on it. Would this affect my arrival at the US port of entry?