Maintaining Status: F2 to H1B COS selected - F1 OPT petition not selected - 2016

USA H1B Visa
1

Hello,

My wife is on F1 OPT (I-20 valid till Aug 10, 2016; and OPT-EAD valid till Aug 25, 2016). Her petition was not selected in the lottery this year. My petition was selected and is under processing for F2 to H1B COS. My wife is planning to join another school and start CPT most probably in early September (Fall 2016 session).

I am confused on how to maintain status during COS approval:

Does my wife need to request her new school for issuing I-20 for me while my F2 to H1B COS is approved?Is USCIS going to send RFE for my COS petition about how I will maintain status, given my wife’s I-20 expires in August? (I know this question is very speculative but I’d love to hear views)Thanks for your time!

Cheers!F2-F1-Couple

2

  1. Yes, your wife should do that

  2. Yes, USCIS can issue RFE asking for proof of maintenance of status b/w Aug and Oct. If (1) gets resolved, then it can be submitted as response to RFE.

3

Thank you so much Saurabh.

A follow-up question: If the dates of fall-16 session are later (1-2 weeks) than OPT EAD expiry dates, then is the F1/F2 status maintained during this 1-2 weeks gap time? (Given new I-20s have been issued and SEVIS transferred)

Cheers!
F2-F1-Couple

4

Once her OPT ends, she gets 60 day grace period. As long as the new course starts within this timeframe, she should be fine.