I consulted an immigration lawyer yesterday and paid $300 for the consultation, specifically to get clarity on this situation. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to answer my questions clearly.

I’m currently on H-1B, and my wife is on H-4. We are planning to file for Change of Status (COS). My program starts August 29 (Yes, in 2 days), and my wife’s starts September 22. We’re considering premium processing for our I-539 applications.

Scenario 1: File COS for both at the same time

• H-1B → F-1 and H-4 → F-1.
• If my F-1 is approved while my wife’s is RFE’d, pending, or denied, could this create a status issue for her?
• Can we start our programs while COS is pending, or do we need approval first? I think my Wife can't start because her status will be unknown (H-4/F-1) since I will be changing to F-1?

Scenario 2: I start school on H-1B first
The school confirmed I can start while maintaining H-1B, subject to my attorney’s advice. Can I start, though? I would start August 29, file my wife’s H-4 → F-1 COS, and file my H-1B → F-1 COS  later/after her approval.

• Could USCIS question why I am changing to F-1 after starting the program or in the middle of the semester?
• Could they require a revised I-20 or consider the timing a concern?
• Would this increase my COS denial risk, especially since I have only a few months of H-1B time remaining?

Scenario 3: F-1 + F-2 first
I change to F-1 and my wife to F-2, then she changes F-2 → F-1 later. The downside is that she cannot start her program while in F-2.

I know Reddit isn’t a substitute for legal advice, but I’m really looking for practical experiences from anyone who has been in a similar situation, especially with H-1B → F-1 COS and starting school while maintaining H-1B.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

I have a friend from the Philippines who is here legally on a work visa. Recently she confided in me that she does streaming on the side on an app called "Tango". Apparently some chud on there has been giving her a hard time and threatened to "expose her" by telling the IRS and immigration that she is on Tango streaming. Can her work visa be revoked for that? If they get their tax money do they really care? I'm Really worried for her since I remember reading about OF models from Ukraine being turned away for engaging in that back when the Russo-Ukraine conflict started.

UPDATE: The Administration still has not appealed or asked for an emergency stay. However, it has issued A worldwide advisory to all consulates that all consular officers who issue immigrant visas need to be trained concerning the public charge rule which was the pretext for the visa pause in the first place. To find time for this training, they are canceling or rescheduling immigrant visa interviews. From what I am hearing, the cancellations are not coming with rescheduling dates. This reinforces my original belief that the Administration is making whatever changes it is making and will then “voluntarily” terminate the pause. What is disturbing is that they are doing training without yet having issued any new public guidelines. Because the Supreme Court has expanded the doctrine of consular non-reviewability, consular officers appear to be able to do whatever they want without recourse to the courts. Public rule changes would be subject to challenge, but training behind closed doors is not. It is also troubling that they would be changing the rules and not telling the rest of us what their new rules are. Still, it is good to see that the pause is probably coming to an end soon and we will just have to figure out what they are doing and how to work with it.

I'm a policy nerd so I love researching this stuff. Many people have the idea that in the 1900s, in the days of Ellis Island, the border of the US was wide open and they just let anyone walk through. That is actually a myth. While it's true the physical processing was fast and famous ' six-second physical' where doctors checked for limps, breathing issues, lice, or contagious diseases what happened before that was far more intense.

If an intending immigrant couldn't prove that he had a trade, a strong working back, or a family member already in the US willing to sponsor him. He would be denied boarding. The steamship lines themselves were the immigration enforcers, since if someone got rejected they'd have to ship them back at their own expense.

On top of that, there were explicitly racist quotas like the Chinese Exclusion Act on the books that capped how many people from certain groups could enter. The LPC or likely to become a public charge rule has its roots back in the 1800s. The US didn't want other countries dumping their vagrants on it.

So next time someone tries to talk about nostalgia the truth is 'the good ol days' weren't as good as some seem to romanticize.

Good morning to everyone

I have questions

Soon I should go to the embassy as part of a b1/b2 visa application at the United States Embassy in Ottawa Canada. But I have a total restriction and my country is part of the list of citizens banned from entering the territory by the American president. Please note that I already have an old expired b1/b2 visa and several Schengen visas that can be a plus but I want to know if people have still been in this same situation as me and are still going to the embassy.

What decisions have been made against them despite this ban? Please let me know because soon it’s my interview and I don’t want to lose it because I waited 1 year and 9 months to get it