In May, I went out of F1 status in my school in Chicago, IL. I applied for reinstatement and extension of F1 status in June, 2013. The average processing time for form I-539 is 2.5 months at the Vermont Service Center where my application was filed. It has been 2.5 months now and I still haven’t received an update from them as of now.
My approved OPT (Optional Practical Training) started in July and I was told that I cannot work while my reinstatement is pending. The main problem is that my OPT expires on Sept 30th and I am not sure if I will receive my reinstatement before that. [b]My question is, am I allowed to start work right now on my OPT as I wait for my reinstatement result? Also, is there any way that I can expedite my reinstatement process or learn what is going on?[/b] I have been told that if I receive my reinstatement after my OPT ends, I will have to leave the country.