Change of status from H4 to F1:

[Bramaresh]

Need suggestion on the following please:

My son is in US on H4 studying in college, will be aging out in June 2020 (reachign 21 years), our PD is not yet current, we have completed I-485 interview for AOS.



Question:
I am thinking of applying F1 for my son to change status from H4 to F1 while he is in US.

Can F1 be applied while the applicant is in US?

Assuming the course begins in the month of Sep 2020 and we applied for change of status in May 2020,
would the approval be received just a month before course begin date?
if yes, can the applicant still stay in US while the F1 is being approved even though he turns 21 years of age in June 2020 ???

TIA

[newacct]

He cannot get F1 when he has immigrant intent, which he has as he is doing AOS.

He can stay in the US for as long as AOS (I-485) is pending.

[Bramaresh]

On reaching 21, he will no more be dependent and that makes him ineligible for AOS automatically. My understanding is that he cannot even stay here unless he obtains a different type of visa.

[newacct]

On reaching 21, he will no more be dependent and that makes him ineligible for AOS automatically. My understanding is that he cannot even stay here unless he obtains a different type of visa.

Not immediately at age 21. He will not age out as a derivative beneficiary for immigrating until age 21 + the length of time the I-130/I-140 was pending.

[isthisdone]

Why bother when it is not broken? H4 works for now and your ward has all the benefits that are crucial. Change of status is not guaranteed and don’t expect it to arrive like I-20, say like 10 days before the anticipated start of the program.

[Bramaresh]

True and agree with your comments, but my situation is that it just took 10 days to approve my I-140 through premium processing from my current employer, which means as per CSPA Act we can just add 10 days which is not helpful in my case.

Btw, do you know if the latest I-140 approval date is considered for such calculation?
My previous employer was processing my GC and I had approved I-140, that took about 3 months time to approve in normal process. When I joined my current employer, it was withdrawn by old employer.

I am assuming the latest I-140 approval time through which I had applied for I-485 is what will be considered to be added beyond 21 years of age?


Is my understanding correct?

TIA