Urgent! I-485 or F1?

[mm611]

my situation:
H4, full time student of graduate school
Filed I-140 on August 2, 2002
preparing I-485 documents and plan to file I-485 this week

But:
my husband's company announced laid off today and will reorganize it's engineer team within next couple weeks.

I have two choices:
1. I apply F1 right away before filing I-485 so we will not out of status in case my husband lost his job(maybe next week)
2. file I-485 ASAP without considering the F1

Which way should we go?
Any help is appreciated.

[immi007]

485/F1

There are pros and cons if you file 485.

If you are filing 485, you will be considered in status as long as 485 is pending. The risk is two folds here. It should take >180 days for 485 case (which mormally is the case). The second thing is the interpretation of AC21 and it is not clear, but you may go with the attorney (like @#%$ @#%$) who has a broader view of AC21. Baically you will need to rely on the interpretation that your case was pending for >180 days (which mostly happens), and before the apporval comes, you will have found a job in the same or similar category (another AC21 unclear thing). (This is assuming that even next week, after or before the layoff your spouse will get an employment letter to file with 485!)

On the other hand, if you apply for F-1, you (or your spouse) will have to go through the whole LC/140 processs once the new job is found and the co,. agrees. THe only help from the previous application would be the Priority Date which is already current so there not much help at least for now.

So, it comes to how much risk you want to take versus how much time you have on H1/4.

[pipress]

Re: 485/F1

U can file for both ...

[immi007]

pipress - no!

pipress, You can not file both together. Read the explanation above.

[immi007]

pipress

What I wanted to say is F-1 is non-immigrant intent visa. 485 is a clear intent for immigration. The F-1 will be rejected if you file it after 485.

[mm611]

Thank you immioo7

1.What I'm worrying about is that in case my husband was laid off and his company notified INS, how long will it take for INS to deny our application? If the decision will be done in a short time, then there's no sufficient time for my husband to find a new job in such a terrible economy, and we'll out of status.

2.If I apply F1 right now, and file our I-485 a couple of days later(there @#%$'t a lot of time for us to delay the I-485 filing), then I'll keep in F1 status and in case our I-485 was denied, my husband can change his visa to F2. There're almost two years for both of us to find a new job and that will be a considerable safe period.

3. If I applied F1, should I give some additional documents to INS when we file I-485? I know if I changed status, I have to give the info to the INS, but in this case, I just applied F1, not yet get approved.

BTW, our H1/H4 was granted last March, so there's more than four years remains.

[immi007]

f1

First, are you going to get the employment offer letter to file with the 485? Without this nothing is possible.

- If you can get the letter, why the co. would inform INS?

- If you can't get the letter, there is no point in considering the option of applying for 485. Just go for F-1, and your hubby will have to find a new job, and go through the GC process again.

[mm611]

yes, we can get the employer letter

My husband asked the HR manager to write a E/letter last Friday and he said he will mail it to our lawer directly(by the way, the lawer was hired by my husband's company). Probably the lawer already got it.

Do you mean that after I-485 was filed, say some day in next week, my husband's company will not be interested to tell INS that they are not going to support our GC application(suppose my husband was laid off some day one month later?)

[immi007]

letter

Of course, your husband knows the best whether the co. will tell the INS or not. But waht I am saying is, if they are ready to give the letter in the first place, why in a month they will go through the paperwork of informing INS that that letter is not supported now? The easiest way to do is not ot provide a letter and save the hassle with the INS.

If you are lucky enough to get the letter, the co. must be sympathetic, and there is a chance to convince the HR that it will be helpful if they do not inform the INS. THe letter does not bind/oblige them that they HAVE TO provide you a job. It is for the future job. Your hubby can try to convince the HR that the 485 process will take more than 8-10 months. He can use AC21, and will find a similar job. Worst case, the co. is still open to decline the job at the time of 485 approval. So, in short, try to:

1. Get the letter. (amke sure with the lawyer). There are case that co. says they sent a letter to the alwyer, and they didn't.

2. If you get the letter, and face possible layoff, try to convince co. NOT TO withdraw I-140 as explained above.

If this is possible, hope 485 will take mor than 180 days (normally it does), and find a simialr job!

All the best,

[mm611]

Thanks a lot

immi007,thank you very much for your help!