Tweet
Hey!
I've posted here once before and posting again. I was a student at Athens Technical College in GA. Completed my Associate's Degree in Electromechanical Engineering and decided to pursue a degree in Welding since I'd already taken a few Welding classes to fulfil my 12 credit hours per semester clause of my F-1 visa. Was put into Interdisciplinary Studies program by the school's administration since Welding was on a diploma level and I could only be enrolled in degree programs. Well quarter of the way through 2021 I heard through the grapevine that Athens Tech had lost their ability issue I-20s and could not host international students anymore. Inquired about this with administration, they said they had got everything sorted out and I could continue with classes. Got an email from a fellow international student saying that he had received a letter from USCIS saying otherwise. I didn't receive a letter or any other form or correspondence through mail or email. Inquired with administration again and they said everything was in order and to sign up for classes for the next semester. Well, on the day I was supposed to pay my fees I was told that I couldn't enroll for the next semester since the school couldn't issue I-20s anymore. And lo and behold, the issue had never been settled or taken care of and my I-20 had been in limbo for a couple of moths now. I was told to try and transfer to a different school and continue my studies.
I tried to transfer to a different school, got accepted and enrolled. Now, the DSO at the new school was told by immigration that my SEVIS records could not be transferred from the old school due to a couple of red flags. First one- Was the issue that I was enrolled at a school that could not issue I-20s, this was the issue that I mentioned above. Second- I had a wreck in late 2015 and had to take a couple of semesters of reduced course load in 2016, for which I submitted all the required paperwork and was approved by the school. Turns out, the school never turned in this paperwork to USCIS and so USCIS say me as being out of status for those couple of semesters. I was told to go get all my records from Athens Tech, so I went to them and I was told that all my records with the school had been deleted and they could not access my records on SEVIS anymore. I was handed a bunch of hard copies of all my records and that's all they had. I submitted all this paperwork to SEVIS and USCIS, and me and the DSO from the new school tried our best to get my I-2o reinstated. However, I was given a conditional/temporary I-20. Problem with that was i could not get my driver's license renewed so I couldn't get to school because public transport did not go anywhere near the school either. Also, I would have to go to school for a year while my case was considered by USCIS to re-instate my I-20 with no certain outcome. If the re-instatement was denied, I would once again have to quit school mid-studies. After having considered all my options, I decided to leave the country to not be in violation or on bad terms with USCIS.
Now my concerns are what issues will I face because of this fiasco as far as my future plans to visit or study in the US go?
I've posted here once before and posting again. I was a student at Athens Technical College in GA. Completed my Associate's Degree in Electromechanical Engineering and decided to pursue a degree in Welding since I'd already taken a few Welding classes to fulfil my 12 credit hours per semester clause of my F-1 visa. Was put into Interdisciplinary Studies program by the school's administration since Welding was on a diploma level and I could only be enrolled in degree programs. Well quarter of the way through 2021 I heard through the grapevine that Athens Tech had lost their ability issue I-20s and could not host international students anymore. Inquired about this with administration, they said they had got everything sorted out and I could continue with classes. Got an email from a fellow international student saying that he had received a letter from USCIS saying otherwise. I didn't receive a letter or any other form or correspondence through mail or email. Inquired with administration again and they said everything was in order and to sign up for classes for the next semester. Well, on the day I was supposed to pay my fees I was told that I couldn't enroll for the next semester since the school couldn't issue I-20s anymore. And lo and behold, the issue had never been settled or taken care of and my I-20 had been in limbo for a couple of moths now. I was told to try and transfer to a different school and continue my studies.
I tried to transfer to a different school, got accepted and enrolled. Now, the DSO at the new school was told by immigration that my SEVIS records could not be transferred from the old school due to a couple of red flags. First one- Was the issue that I was enrolled at a school that could not issue I-20s, this was the issue that I mentioned above. Second- I had a wreck in late 2015 and had to take a couple of semesters of reduced course load in 2016, for which I submitted all the required paperwork and was approved by the school. Turns out, the school never turned in this paperwork to USCIS and so USCIS say me as being out of status for those couple of semesters. I was told to go get all my records from Athens Tech, so I went to them and I was told that all my records with the school had been deleted and they could not access my records on SEVIS anymore. I was handed a bunch of hard copies of all my records and that's all they had. I submitted all this paperwork to SEVIS and USCIS, and me and the DSO from the new school tried our best to get my I-2o reinstated. However, I was given a conditional/temporary I-20. Problem with that was i could not get my driver's license renewed so I couldn't get to school because public transport did not go anywhere near the school either. Also, I would have to go to school for a year while my case was considered by USCIS to re-instate my I-20 with no certain outcome. If the re-instatement was denied, I would once again have to quit school mid-studies. After having considered all my options, I decided to leave the country to not be in violation or on bad terms with USCIS.
Now my concerns are what issues will I face because of this fiasco as far as my future plans to visit or study in the US go?
Comment