Out of status on F-1

[washburn20 0]

Hi guys! I need your help on this one, your advice would be greatly appreciated. I student visa is going to expire on this saturday 1/3, and I'm not gonna be able to file before that because I still need my i-693 filled out by a civil surgeon and still haven't gotten my appointment yet. Anyway I'm afraid I'll have to be out of status for a couple of weeks so I can gather all the documentation and forms.

I know I shouldn't leave the country until I finally get the greencard since i've overstayed my visa they could deny re-entry. Is there any other problem I would have, is it being out of status for 15 days a big deal when filing?

I'd like some info about this and you can share if you had similar stories, thank you so much for posting this forum has been really helpful for me so far!!

[Lili 3]

We need a bit more info...

You are getting out of status in January due to not attending school or because your degree is over? Do you know that you have two months grace period after graduating?

Also, being out of status is forgiven when aos based on a marriage to US citizen. If it were me, I would file the paperwork on time and send the I-693 when RFE'd. This way you don't accrue any overstay.

[washburn20 0]

HI Lili, thanks a lot for your response!

I was studying english for 10 weeks, I have a F-1 visa good for 1 year but i decided to only go for 10 weeks and thats what i paid for. I was done on december 19th and after that i got 15 days for vacations and then I'm soupose to go back to my country. We decide to get married during my vacation and since we both want to live in the states we decided to file for AOS so I can get a greencard. (my wife is USC)

I got to new york september 26th and around october I moved in with my girlfriend whom I met before in argentina since september 2007. We have plenty of evidence, pictures with my family and her family, flights together, hotel reservations, both our names on conract lease, bank accounts, bills, etc.

Like I said I don t have time to fill out the i 693 before i get of status on my f-1 (even though it s good until september 2009 if i don t pay for school i get out of status)

Don't you think that instead of getting a RFE i could be denied for not filling out the i 693? If I do get denied do I loose all the money I paid for filling? Would I be able to file again?

Thanks a lot!!!!!

[aravis227 1]

They won't flat out deny you for it. They will either refuse to process it and return the incomplete petition back to you saying you need to resubmit with all required paperwork OR they will send you an RFE (request for evidence) stating that they need the petition. From what Lili said, it sounds like you have a bit of a grace period before you're completely out of status. I agree with what Lili said...send in the petition this week without the I-693, then wait for USCIS to send you a request for it...they receive a lot of petitions without that form and they just RFE for it (K1s and K3s are iffy on whether they need them or not...so a lot of people just don't include them).

[Lili 3]

You would not be denied for missing out to fill the I-693, you would just get RFE'd for it.

About the grace period in your case, I am not sure. Did you attend some kind of ESL program that just ran for 10 weeks?

Edited December 28, 2008 by Lili

[washburn20 0]

You would not be denied for missing out to fill the I-693, you would just get RFE'd for it.

About the grace period in your case, I am not sure. Did you attend some kind of ESL program that just ran for 10 weeks?

Yes exactly, ESL program for 10 weeks. So instead of 60 days grace period, I get 15 days. So according to what you guys say I would only get a RFE for missing out the I-693 form. So I'd rather do that than get out of status and miss the opportunity to travel to my country before I get the greencard. Alright that makes sense to me, any other advice will be very appreciated. Thanks!!!! I'll keep you updated with the whole process.

[PrayTilSomnHapns 0]

They won't flat out deny you for it. They will either refuse to process it and return the incomplete petition back to you saying you need to resubmit with all required paperwork OR they will send you an RFE (request for evidence) stating that they need the petition. From what Lili said, it sounds like you have a bit of a grace period before you're completely out of status. I agree with what Lili said...send in the petition this week without the I-693, then wait for USCIS to send you a request for it...they receive a lot of petitions without that form and they just RFE for it (K1s and K3s are iffy on whether they need them or not...so a lot of people just don't include them).

really hope you can help.

i was an f1 student, and got married during that time. i've since graduated and i'm just now filing my aos and other paper work. on i485 it asks what my current status is. since i'm no longer f1, what do i put there?

Thanks so much.