F-2 to F-1 conversion in India.

[pgsangam]

Hi,

I will appreciate any of your opinions on my specific case.

I am on F-1 STEM extended OPT (expiring in Oct 2012). My wife is on F2, presently in India. She is planning to pursue her MS starting this Spring (Jan 2012) and has received an admit (no funding) very recently. Since she cannot pursue full time study on F2, she has to get converted to F1.

One way for her to get converted to F-1 would be to go to the Chennai consulate while she is in India. However, the big question is if her F1 gets rejected, will her currently valid (upto 10/12) F2 visa get canceled also?

If the above is a possibility, then we are thinking of giving up this admit and defer/reapply for the next semester. Do you think it is worth giving up the admit considering the risk above?

Thanks in advance!!

[kabkaba]

There is always a risk of denial in F1 Visa application. There is also a smaller risk that F2 will also be canceled. She can travel to US in F2 status and apply for change of status to F1 for the next semester. However, whenever she leaves the US after that point she will have to apply for F1 Visa anyway. So consider these points in making a decision.
Having admission to a good school/program and ties to home country such as family, property etc. helps in getting F1 Visa.

[pgsangam]

Thank you!

Thank you for your valuable opinion. We really appreciate it!

Canceling an existing visa does not seem to make sense if they would not like to issue a new one. It might help if you could possibly let us know under what circumstances or legal provision do they revoke the existing visa?

Thanks again!!

[kabkaba]

There is no hard and fast rule, sometimes they cancel sometimes they don't.