Muslim Egyptian, F1 visa granted in 2014, renew while visa still valid?

[MohamedAl 0]

Hello and thanks for this forum, 

-2014 Visa granted for Ms in Engineering 
-Program finished now enrolled in phD, with new I-20 
-Visa expires October 2018 

Going back to Egypt this summer, should I risk renewal while it is still valid, or come back to the US and stay on I-20 as there has been a lot of noise around the new administration and student visa? 

And in the case that I don't renew it, should I apply for an I-539, and whether its denial would lead to a loss of status that would invalidate the current I-20 

Thank you very much.

 

Edited June 1, 2018 by MohamedAl

[Coco8 1,042]

I would not risk it. If you were from another country it would not be a problem, but for you, it could be risky. Also, you can renew before it expires, but (if I remember correctly) there is a limit on how early you can do it. Doing it 5 months before it expires could be too early.

 

I don't understand why you want to do a  I-539?

 

You can be in the US with an expired F1. What matter is the i-20. The only issue is that you won't be able to leave the US because you won't be able to get back unless you renew the visa. 

 

 

[MohamedAl 0]

11 hours ago, Coco8 said:

I would not risk it. If you were from another country it would not be a problem, but for you, it could be risky. Also, you can renew before it expires, but (if I remember correctly) there is a limit on how early you can do it. Doing it 5 months before it expires could be too early.

 

I don't understand why you want to do a  I-539?

 

You can be in the US with an expired F1. What matter is the i-20. The only issue is that you won't be able to leave the US because you won't be able to get back unless you renew the visa. 

 

 

Because I wold like to go back in the future

[Coco8 1,042]

6 hours ago, MohamedAl said:

Because I wold like to go back in the future

I don't think you understand what I-539 does.

 

Can you explain more as to why you want to do the I-539 and what you think it does.