International Student Forum/ Message Board

Hi,
I am a non-US citizen, and have been in the US for close to 6 years on a H1B work permit. I was hoping to apply to US B-schools this fall, but I am concerned about the fact that I have very little time left on my H1. I was hoping to get some candid advice here on whether it would be prudent to think that US employers would expedite my Green card process here post-MBA, as soon as my OPT period is complete (assuming my F1 is approved).

Is it better to stay out of the US between now and next fall (at least 1 year), so that my H1 resets?

Please do help me out with your honest opinion.

Thanks!

Thanks for visiting our site. You pose an interesting question, but one for which it is difficult to give a definite answer.

You are certainly welcome to apply for admission to an MBA program. I was not very clear on your "dates" such as when your H-1b expires and for what semester are you hoping to start the MBA. I assume you are almost at the end of your H-1b and you are hoping to start an MBA program next January or Fall?

Right at this point, I cannot see a reason why an employer would expedite your Green Card, but that all depends on your qualifications and their needs. hard to say at this point.

You need to be admitted to a Masters program, and show that you have full financial support and then the university can provide the appropriate documentation for you to either apply for a change of status from H-1b to F-1, or you can use it to apply for F-1 status if you are back in your home country.\

The important thing to remember as you are either doing a change of status or applying for the F-1 visa from home...you should not mention your desire to continue working eventually or your desire to get a Green Card. If the Consular Officer in any way suspects you are trying to come to, or stay in, the US to work and are trying to use the F-1 to try and do this, they will very likely deny your visa.

I hope that information helps.

Jim

Thanks, Jim, for your response.

I am trying to apply to programs that begin in Fall 2011. As of today, I have 6.5 months left on my 6 years of H1. I'm trying to figure out if I need to stay outside the US as much as possible in the next few months before the H1 expires, so that I can "save" as many months as possible for later. If I get an F1 VISA, I will have 1 year of OPT, but beyond that period is what I'm worried about. In case I use up most of H1 now (say, I only have 2-3 months left), would I be too much in a soup when my OPT expires? I'm trying to figure out how employers in the US would typically handle this situation. I realize a lot of this is subjective (how well I perform, internships if any, how I'm able to network, etc), but I'm trying to see if I can do anything NOW to prevent an unfortunate VISA situation later.

Thanks again!

I am not aware of the "system" working the way you describe it.

Once you leave your H-1b emplyment, your status ends. You can not "save" the months for later. Each visa status application is totally separate. In other words, what you uise or don;t use while on the current H-1b status should not affect future status applications, as long as you maintained your valid H-1b status by maintaining full-time employment at the company specified on your H-1b paperwork.

There is a the possibility that when you apply for your F-1 visa to come to school, there could be some questions about why you are trying to come back again and what your long term plans are. As long as you can show a logical educational progression, and a reasoning for wanting to pursue this next degree, you shoul dbe get the visa, although there are no guarantees. If the consular officer has any indication that you are just trying to come back to stay as long as you can or to work, they will probably deny your visa application.

You are correct in that it is difficult to predict what will happen after your next degree, but yes, you should be able to get OPT and then it will just depends on your qualifications, experience, and job availability in your field of study at that time.

Jim