hk415

Got my approval notification for EAD/AP on Nov 08. Waiting for the card to arrive

13 hours ago, GCPhD said:

Hi Jojo92122

 

I have an issue about extension of my I-20 and would be really thankful if you can give me an answer for that. I am a PhD student and my I-20 will be expired less than two months. My I-140 has been approved but my I-485 is still pending. I also got my EAD card but I have not used it yet as long as my I-20 is valid. I need a couple of months more to complete my degree. 

 

I talked with my lawyer and he told me that if I extend my I-20 that would be an act of "willful misrepresentation" because I already filed my I-485. He also mentioned that if I extend my I-20 I will certify this at the first page of Form I-20:

 

"I certify that I seek to enter or remain in the United States temporarily, and solely for the purpose of pursuing a full program of study at the school named above..."

 

which clearly is a misleading act because by filing I-485 my intend was to not remain in the US temporarily. But, people in the DSO in my school say that it is better to extend my I-20 for safety and backup! If they terminate my SEVIS there is no way I can get it back in the case of denial of my I-485 (which is very low). 

 

Do you think it is okay if I extend my I-20? Does this really an act of "will full Misrepresentation" if I do not use the benefit of my I-485 application which is working on my EAD card!

 

Thank you so much.

 

I went through a similar issue recently and i have filed AOS in second week of july. I chose not to renew my i20 to be safe as it does require you to sign on i20 which states you will return after completion of the program of study and signing it might be a misrepresentation. My DSO and my lawyer had a conversation together about this as the DSO initially suggested me to extend my i20 but lawyer said not to. After that conversation DSO left the decision to me and also said given the recent August rules with student visas she can't recommend me to extend my i20 and it would still be a 50-50% chance of whether IO notices and brings it up during the interview. And i chose not to extend it. Since i have a pending i485 application i was still able to register for classes even though my i20 expired. You may also be able to work (as a grad assistant) since you got your EAD. 

3 minutes ago, ANOR said:

HI hk415, thank you. Yeah until now I haven't received/seen any status change. Just to make sure I'm doing it correctly in regards to status tracking, do you just go to USCIS website and type in receipt number for status tracking? Thanks again.

I used that intially but now i am using an iphone app called uscis case status and its great and notifies you with any new case status changes. 

On 8/6/2018 at 2:34 PM, ANOR said:

Does anyone know the average timeline from biometrics done until next case status? I did biometrics walk-in on Jul 31st 2018, which was a few days earlier than scheduled. I am seeing other timelines, most people get status update within 3-5 days, wondering how this works. Thanks for sharing. 

I had my biometrics done yesterday(08/06) and got a notification this afternoon(08/07) from the app saying my case status changed. Checked the status and it said fingerprint review is completed and the application is being looked at right now. I guess it varies based of city but mine was done in Pittsburgh if that helps any. Hang in there, hopefully yours won't take long.

Hello, Me and my husband have filed for my AOS in second week of July and my i20 expires this summer. I am a PhD student and still have about two semesters left to finish it. My lawyer suggested not to extend i20 as signing it might conflict my intentions but my school is suggesting me to extend it so i have a status to fall back to if my AOS gets denied.

Does anybody have any suggestions? Can i register as a student after my i20 expires as AOS applicant ?