H1B - F1: How do you play this game?

Pre-term starts on August 04.classes start on Aug 27

Planning to quit on July 30.....

....My file was sent to USCIS y'day...

congrats ...

School Starts Aug 1st...
Getting off payroll 7th July
Going on leave...30th June

I think I'm covered..also, I had the international office vet the dates..

Knowing you KK- I was sure you knew about it but "just in case".

Oz or KK- do you guys have a sample of the letters sent to USCIS? If you can, could you guys PM me a copy?

ahem...
post468416.html#p468416

Thanks for reminding though....the process was kinda funny with me...I had to coax the letter from HR even before I sent in my resignation. T'was fun...

sure will send ..

added this to knowledge vault, thanks KK.

Hello all,

So what do you guys think, does the school you are going to have any influence on the visa decision? Do you think it is easier for people going to HBS to get visa, in comparison to people going to South Georgia University for example? ... I was just wondering ... because everyone on this forum seems to think it is easy to get visa for grad schools and that almost everyone gets the visa approved, and I know many people (from different countries) that get denied student visas, but most of these people tried to go to some no-name school.

A friend of mine was rejected the VISA for an MS degree multiple times on grounds that he was a potential immigrant
He finally gave up and is now in Australia doing his PhD. One's loss is someone else's gain

That said, I've yet to come across a person whose VISA has been denied after securing admission to an MBA program. It'd be wrong for me comment on the school reputation's link to VISA issuance since most internationals who'd be here on an F-1 VISA, tend to apply to schools that show promise in terms of career prospects/ROI and such. It is no surprise then that the programs tend to be reputed almost by default.

What "official" reasons were those friends given for the VISA rejection?

i got my visa approved at the chennai consulate today... Was asked only 2 questions about my MS degree from the US and my MS thesis topic....Went real smooth and super fast...Had my appt at 7.45AM and was out of the consulate by 8.15....Very very few F1 visa rejections this year....
Also, IMHO, the schools reputation matters A WHOLE LOT for F1 visa approval. For example, consider a Harvard MBA admit with no funding and a no name school MBA or MS admit with no funding. Once the visa officer sees the Harvard name on the I20, he would have already approved the visa in his mind and will talk to the student in an almost awestruck tone and will not bother him too much abt his financial resources just because its Harvard ( and the potential earning power of the candidate after his graduation)...On the contrary, a no name school person will get grilled abt his financial resources, his family background etc....Just my 2 cents, since I have seen such experiences posted on various forums....

Hey oz/kk - did you guys get the COS receipt?

Not yet...I've been told that it takes anywhere between a week to 3 weeks for the receipt notice to be issued.
The actual "approval" comes in based on the on-going processing times at the USCIS center where your CoS petition has been filed. For most East coast schools i believe it is the center in Vermont.

Now had I filed it myself..I would've had to send it to the one in Laguna Niguel, CA. It is local and also quicker...

This is where the school allowing me to start classes on a pending CoS petition comes in handy...
How far along are you guys?

Not yet, I have sent my file on May 28..will update once i get it

East coast, the center is Vermont - Current waiting time is around 4-5 months
But i heard cases on murthy.com forums where some H1 to F1 COS came in less than 3 months ...

My cheque was cleared and the back of the cheque has my EAC number..I should be getting the receipt by mail next week

howz it going for you guys...

I have not applied yet. Ross sort of recommended we do so late June/early July.

I've got the receipt number too...
The actual receipt, I think will be sent to the international office since they were the ones who filed it.

Actual receipt is sent to the applicant's address....I received it y'day