USCIS recently announced new guidance that will immediately benefit foreign students studying in the United States on an F-1 student visa.
Prior to the policy update, F-1 students were subject to a “bridging” requirement. USCIS previously only approved a change of status request to an F-1 visa applicant up to 30 days before their program start date. The bridging requirement caused persons trying to change status to F-1 to file extensions of their underlying non immigrant status (normally a visitor) while the request for the F-1 remained pending. The B-2 would serve to bridge the gap between when the application was filed and the 30-day mark before the program start date. The bridge was necessitated in large part because the government was taking an extremely long time to process change of status cases.
USCIS acknowledged the issues caused by the above when it recently announced that aspiring students seeking to change status to F-1, will no longer be required to file any additional change of status applications while the adjudication of the F-1 is pending. Provided that the application is in order, USCIS will grant the change of status to F-1 effective on the day of the change of status approval, which means it may happen well before the program start date. Students and schools alike benefit from these positive administrative changes and we commend USCIS for doing so,
Wilner & O’Reilly is a multi-state law firm exclusively dedicated to the practice of immigration law. During these uncertain times, we at Wilner & O’Reilly are closely monitoring all immigration changes so that we can provide individuals with the up-to-date information they need. For individualized advice on your immigration situation, please feel free to contact us. We offer free consultations at our offices in Orange, Riverside, Fresno, Sacramento, and San Francisco, California; Salt Lake City and Orem, Utah; and Boise, Idaho.
ABOUT AUTHOR(S)
DANNY CHRISNEY – ASSOCIATE ATTORNEY
Danny Chrisney is an associate attorney at the Wilner & O’Reilly Fresno office. The son of a Guatemalan immigrant, he speaks fluent Spanish and Portuguese. He studied at Brigham Young University where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics with a Minor in Portuguese. Danny received his Juris Doctor degree from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University where he graduated with Highest Pro Bono Distinction. Danny was also the Student Direct of the LDS Immigration Initiative from 2017-2018, a joint-project between ASU Law and the Welfare Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, where law students are able to get hands-on experience helping the immigrant community with intake consultations every month at locations in Mesa and Phoenix, AZ. In his personal life, Danny enjoys collecting vintage electronics and music, and travelling with his family. Danny currently resides in Clovis, CA with his wife and children.
RICHARD M. WILNER – FOUNDING PARTNER
Richard M. Wilner is a founding member of Wilner & O’Reilly, APLC, and is Board Certified by the State Bar of California as a Specialist in Immigration and Nationality Law. He is admitted to practice law in the State of California and before the U.S. District Courts for the Central, Northern and Southern Districts of California, the Northern District of Texas, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court. Mr. Wilner has received the coveted Martindale-Hubbell AV Rating, the highest legal and ethical rating that one can receive from one’s peers in the legal community. Similarly, he has been awarded the title of Super Lawyer from 2007 to the present. He is best known for his work in advising Fortune 500 companies, middle and small market businesses, entrepreneurs and foreign nationals of extraordinary ability in athletics, arts, and sciences in the complex area of U.S. Immigration and Nationality Law.
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