F-1 REINSTATEMENT

[yanki2332 0]

hi I am seeking help and advice on as to what I should do in my case.

1. I came to the US in AUG 2009 on an F1-Student visa during that year my parents in Ghana won the DV visa lottery for DV2009. So when the letter came my name was there as a beneficiary but I was in The US so the consular advice him to file for me when he gets here.

2.My mom(Green Card holder) applied I-130 for me on December 2010(My priority date) and the petition was approved on May 4,2011.

3.She filled I-485 in November 2013 since I was in F2A. I went through the whole process(biometrics & interview- mind you interview was good and officer said everything looked good)

4. May 2014 I received a decision letter from USCIS denying my application for the following reasons and I quote from the letter

"Generally, to qualify for adjustment under INA 245, an applicant must:

• Be inspected and admitted or paroled into the United States
• be eligible to receive an immigrant visa;
• be admissible to the United States for permanent residence: and

Have an immigrant visa immediately available at the time the application is filled.

USCIS says I-130 was filed on DEC 2010 and approved MAY 2011. SEPTEMBER 20111 I turned 21 and at that point they automatically converted me to F2B.

They went on to say they considered me eligible for Child Status Protection Act; "Given your priority date as DEC 6 2010 a visa became available on April 1 2013. At that time my age was 22yrs,6months and 17 days. The petition was pending for 4months and 28 days. So after CSPA my age is 22years, 1month and 20 days.

Then they went on to say my student status was terminated in January 2014. But I have been in the US taking classes in my school since my I-20 does not expire till May ,2015.

I went to my school's DSO to have my I-20 renewed so I can renew my drivers license and he explained to me that I have to file for re-instatement to F1 status with USCIS;

Well my mom becomes a citizen in 2 weeks and I want to know how this will affect my reinstatement and how can it help me to get my green card.

I am scared if I apply for re-instatement to F1 they will deny it and process me for deportation since they asked me to leave a year ago.

what options do I have??

[Boiler 43,429]

How come you are out of status? What happened?

[NancyNguyen 1,657]

How was your F1 revoked? Did you quit school? I-20 is not your authorization of stay, your authorized staying is D/S aka duration of your school, you quit school then you need to leave.

There is no way you can reinstate inside the US once your status has been terminated, let alone you are out of status

Forget about adjusting status (aka having interview inside the US) because you need to keep your status valid (not even a day out of status) to AOS inside the US.

[yanki2332 0]

I was out of status due to acedemic suspension but I still took classes at a local community college

[Boiler 43,429]

Lawyer time, you can not adjust as you have no status to adjust from. Not sure how F1 reinstatement works or even if it is possible as you clearly have immigrant intent.

And you have been out of status for a year.

Otherwise you are looking at applying in your home consulate with probably a ban needing a waiver.

[Boiler 43,429]

How were you able to go to Community College? Do they not need an I 20?

[yanki2332 0]

I had taken classes there before so I was in their system and just registered

[Boiler 43,429]

http://www.fit.edu/isss/reinstatement.php

Does not seem reinstatement is possible.

[canadian_wife 1,791]

It sounds like you were granted an i20 for one school, failed out, and began attending a separate school yes? If that is the case, your current F-1 visa, which you say is valid until May 2015, is in fact NOT valid as it appears you never received a new I20 for your community college.

Get a lawyer, you've complicated your case quite nicely

good luck

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

Agree I20's are tied to a specific school and the validity of your F1 visa is based on an active I20 , which school 1 terminated when you were no longer attending. When your mom gets her citizenship you be an adult child not an immediate relative. Time to consult a good lawyer

[teshah 33]

How was your F1 revoked? Did you quit school? I-20 is not your authorization of stay, your authorized staying is D/S aka duration of your school, you quit school then you need to leave.

There is no way you can reinstate inside the US once your status has been terminated, let alone you are out of status

Forget about adjusting status (aka having interview inside the US) because you need to keep your status valid (not even a day out of status) to AOS inside the US.

I beg to differ. A student who has been out of status can apply for reinstatement within the US. My F1 student status was terminated in Oct 2012. I went against my school's advise of going back to my home country and applying from there. I applied for reinstatement on my own, without consulting a lawyer, while in the US in Nov 2013, more than a year of being out of status and I got my status reinstated. If you've been out of status for only one semester, then you are allowed to apply from within. Any period longer than that, you need to justify and prove your case.

Edited April 3, 2015 by teshah