Student studies completed/need to stay

[Merrikk74]

Let me start off by thanking anyone that might be able to help us. I have a really good friend that is here on a F1 student visa. He has been here 2 1/2 years and will be finishing his studies this summer hence he will have to return home in July. His DOS end date is in 2012. They have a family based application in for over a year now and we are desperate to find a way for him to stay without having to return home. My biggest question is if he puts in for a work Visa can he stay while it is being processed since his DOS is not up? Can he just do a change of status/ can he stay while that is being processed? I keep getting conflicting processing wait times for work visas.
Thank you for any suggestions.

[kabkaba]

F1 students are allowed 60 days after their last day of class. I assume this period gets over in July (the school's DSO will know).
If so H1 Visa is not an option for continuous stay since new H1 kicks in on Oct 1 and not before. However, he can leave and return on Oct 1 (short duration) and having immigrant petition will not affect traveling ability on H1 visa. For that he will need a qualifying job with a qualifying employer. Read more in Visas section of this site.
Another way to maintain status is to continue studies by transferring to another school or program.

[Merrikk74]

If he applied for change of status will being in staus matter since the form is pending since the DOS is ok?
Is the starting validity date Oct 1st for ALL H 1 visas? This is all so confusing.

[kabkaba]

If change of status request is received by USCIS while he is in status, he is allowed to stay while it is pending. However, if it is denied, illegal stay is counted from the day last status ended (last day of classes + 60 days in case of F1 students). Also, if new status start date falls after last status end date, USCIS will not approve change of status.
If H1 petition is filed by a for-profit organization, it is subject to cap. Current year's cap is over and next year begins on Oct 1 so any new H1 petition by a for-profit firm cannot start before Oct 1. (However, it can be filed up to 6 months before start date).

[nancymervin]

For the full duration of their study period the J-1 visa students are allowed to remain in the US. If they are enrolled in their course of study on a full time basis they are authorized to remain thereafter during their Academic Training period. Maintaining a valid DS-2019 (Request J-1 SEVIS Document Form) is an additional requirement. Students must leave the United States within 30 days grace period after program end date. During this grace period applicants could travel within the US and make arrangements for returning home but they cannot leave and re-enter US during this time.