NationStates Jolt Archive

hi Im a senior in high school and will be going off to college this fall. I am currently a holder of a H4 visa and would like to work this summer and throughout college. I heard that in order to do that you have to transfer from an H4 to F1, what are the advantages and drawbacks of that, and is there another way?

Also, my family has applied for a green card.. I've heard a F1 would eliminate me from the green card process is this true?

hi Im a senior in high school and will be going off to college this fall. I am currently a holder of a H4 visa and would like to work this summer and throughout college. I heard that in order to do that you have to transfer from an H4 to F1, what are the advantages and drawbacks of that, and is there another way?

No. There is no workaround for that.

A H4 is a dependant visa and you CANNOT be gainfully employed in this status. And I strongly advise you to avoid the temptation to work illegally (like many do).

Converting to F1 is a big step and not to be trifled with. For starters you maybe denied F1 because you can be susptected to be a potential immigrant (and your family/spouse who sponsored you H4 would point to that) and that could be grounds for VISA denial.

However if you can successfully convert to F1, you can work as part of your CPT (curriculum practical training) which is for one semester and can be extended to another. And then there is the OPT (optional PT) which you can take on after you graduated.

It depends on how important working now is for your career. If an internship is that vital for your career, then I guess you should take a shot at changing H4 to F1, but you really need to consider the risk of rejection.

OTOH, an F1 and a higher studies degree can make you eligible for the 20K H1 visa quota which is a better bet than the 65K normal quota.



Also, my family has applied for a green card.. I've heard a F1 would eliminate me from the green card process is this true?

I don't think so. I hope you know that there is a huge backlog in family sponsored GC and it would take many years to get a GC through that process (than through a company sponsored GC).

I think its a company sponsored GC... does that not include the whole family?

I think its a company sponsored GC... does that not include the whole family?

In that case yes.

When you said "my family has applied for a green card", I assumed that your family has citizenship and has applied for a green card for you.

You might wanna hang around some forums which are dedicated to immigration issues. They have a wealth of information.