Class2012 wrote:
I believe there are many who will need to convert their visa from H1 to F1.Let's use this thread to discuss those details.
Few questions that I have.
1.I did my MS here and used my OPT for few months.Can I get another OPT after MBA? I heard different opinions on this.
2.If I go back home(India),can I save the time on H1 visa?
3.How easy is getting CoS while in USA?
1) It's a complex question! Here are some good quotes:
Dartmouth (
https://www.dartmouth.edu/~ovis/updates/f1/optfaqs.html):
"Q: Am I eligible for more OPT if I progress to another degree program?
A: Yes. If you begin a new degree program at a higher level (i.e. Bachelor to Masters or Masters to Ph.D.) program, you will become eligible for an addition block of 12-months of OPT as outlined above. You are, however, only eligible for one period of 17 month OPT-extension."
From USCIS website (
https://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/ ... f3d6a1RCRD)
"Note that to be eligible for an OPT extension the student must currently be in an approved post-completion OPT period based on a designated STEM degree. Thus, for example, a student with an undergraduate degree in a designated STEM field, but currently in OPT based on a subsequent MBA degree, would not be eligible for an OPT extension."
From a law firm blog (
https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/f1-to ... 28491.html):
"Normally, you can get 12 months of OPT at the end of each LEVEL of education - meaning you could get a year of OPT at the end of a U.S. Bachelor's degree and then again at the end of a U.S. Master's degree.
However, you would not get a second year at the end of another course of study at the same level - another Master's program. You may be able to get back the seven months of this OPT that weren't used at the end of the second Master's, if you can convince USCIS that it wasn't used.
As long as you don't spend a year or more abroad between now and switching back to H-1B, you have 3.5 year left on H-1B once you switch back at the end of the second Master's, PLUS any time spend abroad during the last 2.5 years or those 3.5 years that can be recaptured, PLUS - if you start a green card case and have something on file before the beginning of the sixth year of H-1B time - additional time until processing of the immigrant visa petition and any required prerequisites (such as a PERM case) is complete and an immigrant visa is available for you such that an Adjustment of Status case can be filed."
What I gather from that is:
- If you already used some OPT for previous master's degree (such is my case with a one-year Masters of Engineering), you are not eligible for new 12 months after the MBA.
- Since MBA degree is not part of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics) fields, we are not eligible for extensions, even with a previous STEM degree
- However, you can use remaining H1-B time. The catch here is that to transfer your H1-B, the new job needs to be very similar to the one that issued it to you. I want an MBA to change my career... ha ha ha.
- On a somewhat separate note, I previously did research into studying full-time with a pending I-485 and I-140 approved. What I found out was that as long as my company agrees to continue sponsoring me and gives me an offer letter to come back after completion of my studies on hand, it is possible to go to school and finish getting the green card there. Maybe.
Final advice: MARRY AN AMERICAN.