Guestbook Entry for P. Manickam , United States
Name
P. Manickam
Country
United States
State
MD
Search
OPT eligibility requirements, F-1 status for one academic year, and Change of Status or visa stamping from back to H-4
Question details
My spouse is a dentist from India and converted to F-1 from H-4 on Sep 29, 2022. She pursued a few courses for MBA (non-stem) between March 2022 and Jun 2022. Now she is completing the remaining courses of her MBA on F-1 for the next 12 months.
My queries are-
1. Does she need to be on F-1 status for a min 365 days to be eligible for OPT?
2. If we ever need to change to H-4 status again (stamped till Aug 2024), can she travel to India and come back without F-1 stamping? or a COS application from F-1 to H-4 ( that may take 6 months) could be a better option for EAD application.
FAQ Transcript
1. The 365 days requirement is not required. What you need is one academic year or two if there is a need to change to H-4.
2. If she has an H-4 stamping already there is no need to go to India. All she has to do is drive to Canada or Mexico and return showing her H-4 visa stamping.
Note: To be eligible to apply for OPT, you must:
- Have been in full-time student status for at least one academic year by the requested OPT start date,
- Be maintaining F-1 status at the time of applying for OPT, and
- Have not used OPT at the same degree level previously.
What happens if I get laid off while holding a work visa (H-1B, L-1, etc.)?
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I appreciate the work you all done for getting our H-1B and H-4 visas for the second time. Thank you for Rajiv and his team With regards Manickam & family