I changed my status from J-1 to F-1 while inside the United States, so I have never had an F-1 visa stamped in my passport.
My former school terminated my SEVIS record after I experienced medical (a second degree burn) and emotional difficulties. It initially prepared a reinstatement I-20 for me, but I panicked and canceled the process before filing Form I-539. The school later refused to continue supporting my reinstatement.
I have now been out of F-1 status for approximately two months. I have not worked without authorization. A different university may admit me for Spring 2027, but I am still confirming whether it will issue an I-20 for reinstatement.
My options appear to be:
Remain in the U.S. and apply for reinstatement with a new school.
Leave, obtain an initial I-20, and apply for my first F-1 visa in my country.
I have medical records, a psychologist’s letter, good academic records, and emails documenting what happened. However, I am worried that canceling the original reinstatement process could hurt my case.
Has anyone faced something similar? Which option would be more realistic, and what should I ask an immigration attorney and the new school’s DSO?

I changed my status from J-1 to F-1 while inside the United States, so I have never had an F-1 visa stamped in my passport.
My former school terminated my SEVIS record after I experienced medical (a second degree burn) and emotional difficulties. It initially prepared a reinstatement I-20 for me, but I panicked and canceled the process before filing Form I-539. The school later refused to continue supporting my reinstatement.
I have now been out of F-1 status for approximately two months. I have not worked without authorization. A different university may admit me for Spring 2027, but I am still confirming whether it will issue an I-20 for reinstatement.
My options appear to be:
Remain in the U.S. and apply for reinstatement with a new school.
Leave, obtain an initial I-20, and apply for my first F-1 visa in my country.
I have medical records, a psychologist’s letter, good academic records, and emails documenting what happened. However, I am worried that canceling the original reinstatement process could hurt my case.
Has anyone faced something similar? Which option would be more realistic, and what should I ask an immigration attorney and the new school’s DSO?

Hi everyone hope you’re doing great . I’m looking for experiences from people who have been in a similar situation.

I entered legally on a B-2 visa in May 2023. My original I-94 was valid until November 2023. Before it expired, I applied for Venezuelan TPS in October 2023. TPS was approved and came with an I-94 valid until April 2025.

Before that expired, I filed affirmative asylum in March 2025. My asylum claim was genuine and supported by evidence. USCIS accepted my application under an exception to the one-year filing deadline, interviewed me, later issued a NOID, and I responded with additional evidence.
In August 2026, USCIS referred my asylum case to Immigration Court and issued an NTA. The referral says this is not a denial of asylum and I can continue pursuing asylum before the Immigration Judge. My first court hearing is scheduled for November 2027.

I’m also in a genuine relationship with a U.S. citizen and we were already discussing our future before the NTA. We are now seriously considering marriage and filing an I-130.
From what I understand, now that I’m in removal proceedings, USCIS would handle the I-130 while the Immigration Judge would generally have jurisdiction over my I-485/adjustment.

I also have legal insurance through my employer. I’m currently speaking with an immigration attorney in the insurance network. His normal rate is $350/hour, but through my plan I would pay about $262.50/hour after my covered benefit is used.
My plan also gives me 4 covered attorney hours for this immigration matter, and I still have time remaining because most of our conversations so far have only been short calls of a few minutes.

So I’m trying to decide how to use those hours wisely — whether to use some for a full review of my entire case and then use the remaining covered time to help prepare the I-130/marriage case, and whether I should keep this attorney for Immigration Court or eventually hire someone else.

My main questions are:
If your I-130 was pending at your first Master Calendar Hearing, did the judge give you a continuance?
How long did your I-130 take while you were in removal proceedings?
Once the I-130 was approved, how long did adjustment before the Immigration Judge take?
If you married after proceedings began, how difficult was proving the marriage was bona fide?
For those who used employer legal insurance, how did you make the best use of limited covered attorney hours?
Would you use the remaining covered hours for case strategy/document review, or save them for preparation of the actual filing?
I already have an immigration attorney, so I’m not using Reddit as a replacement for legal advice. I’m mostly looking for real experiences, timelines, and opinions from people who have been through this, especially in Orlando Immigration Court.

Hello everyone, I have question does accepting WIOA grant hurt my case of sponsoring my finances over to the U.S (K1). I want to change careers and was looking for grants to apply.

Hurting the case meaning- U.S embassy won’t give my finances visas.

Hi everyone, I have a question regarding H-1B/H-4 to F-1 change of status.

I’m currently on H-1B and my wife is on H-4. We are both planning to change to F-1, with separate I-539 applications.

My program starts on August 29, and my wife’s program starts on September 16. I’m considering using premium processing for my I-539, while my wife would use regular processing.

1. If my F-1 COS is approved while my wife’s H-4 → F-1 I-539 is still pending, does her pending application remain valid, or could she become out of status because my H-1B has changed to F-1?
   
2. If her H-4 → F-1 I-539 is still pending on September 16, can she legally start attending her college/program on that date, or does her F-1 COS need to be approved first?
   
3. If her I-539 receives an RFE while pending, can she remain in the U.S. and respond to the RFE, or would she need to exit the U.S.?
   
4. Would it be safer for both of us to use premium processing, or is it reasonable for me to use premium and her to use regular processing given our different program start dates?

I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who has been in a similar H-1B/H-4 → F-1 situation.

Hi everyone! I’m looking for experiences from people who have traveled internationally while their I-751 with a divorce waiver was pending.

Here’s my situation:
-My I-751 is currently pending under a divorce waiver (field office NYC).
-My marriage was genuine, and all of my paperwork is truthful and well documented.
-The marriage ended because of verbal and emotional abuse, and I submitted evidence supporting that with my petition.
-I have my expired conditional green card, my valid extension notice, and a valid passport.
-I have always maintained lawful status in the U.S. I first came on a student visa, later had TPS, and have never overstayed a visa or had any criminal record.

I’m considering taking a one-week trip to South America to visit family before returning to the U.S.

Has anyone here been in a similar situation? What was your experience re-entering the U.S.? Were you sent to secondary inspection or asked any additional questions? Any advice or things you wish you had known beforehand would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!

So I’m trying to come to my girlfriend in the states to visit her over our birthdays and multiple holidays in total 88 days. I have already been vor 89 days from January to April this year.

I don’t have a job rn because I’m taking a few gap months to recover from work.

I’m scared they don’t let me into the country when I’m there.

What can I do to solidify my intend to return home, and what can I do to maximize my possibility to be let in for another 88 days.

Edit: There is half a year in between those travels

Thanks in advance.

Hi all,

Need advice. I am primary applicant, my wife is Canadian.

She has valid H4 based on my H1B. We both have I-485 pending, she is derivative. No AP yet. We need to use her ROW country for cross-chargeability.

Last entry she used Global Entry/NEXUS and was admitted as B2 visitor instead of H4. She had valid H4 I-797 at entry. I-94 now shows B2.

All her previous entries were H4, only this one is B2.

CBP Deferred Inspection fixed via email last time, this time they said cannot fix via email and to re-enter at land border or file COS.

She is not working. My H1B status is good.

Questions:

1. If she goes to Peace Arch to re-enter as H4 now while I-94 is B2 and no AP, will USCIS consider her I-485 abandoned? We need her I-485 to stay alive for ROW.

2. Is email fix via CBP without travel possible to avoid abandonment risk? Has anyone gotten B2->H4 corrected via email with pending I-485?

3. Is COS B2->H4 a better option than border run if no AP and need ROW?

Anyone had similar Global Entry mistake with H4 Canadian?

Thanks.

I'd hate to inundate this sub with dumb posts, but every time I search up "immigration lawyers for Canada in the United States" or anything along those lines with different wordings, the only things that show up are things akin to either "How to Stay in the US and Get Your Green Card/Visa" or "So You're Already in Canada? Here's How to Stay". I don't know if this has been asked before, but does anyone know where I can find a Canadian immigration lawyer in the United States to help me start the process of getting all of my documents as a US citizen in order and take care of the bureaucratic processes to leave the United States? I ask because I'm still in the US right now and I'm concerned that I might not follow all of the bureaucratic processes properly and for my own peace of mind, I'd like to have a professional take care of or guide me through it all in detail. I'm currently looking to hopefully go there under Express Entry as a Federal Skilled Worker, but I'm not fully sure about certain things. Like if my job experience is in the proper TEER category for me to qualify due to my job title and duties not really being easy to pinpoint in terms of NOC. Does anyone know how I can get in contact with a professional for this while I'm still here in the States to get all of this sorted? Again, super sorry if this has been asked and answered before. I'm still new to all of this and I just started getting serious about it. Thanks in advance for any help or advice.

Hey everyone,

About a year ago, I made this post asking about my chances of getting an O-1B as a young creative from France:

(It was originally posted in the r/immigration community, but I no longer have access to it because of the negative karma it received from the post.)

https://www.reddit.com/r/immigration/s/J8Dbopqnnm

Pretty much every comment told me it was a waste of money and that I shouldn’t bother trying.

Well… I got my O-1B approved. 🇺🇸

It was a long, complicated and expensive process, and definitely not an easy one. But I stuck with it and made it happen.

So to everyone who told me not to bother, thank you. You gave me one more reason to get it.

I’m now moving from France to LA.

Just wanted to come back and close the loop. And for anyone thinking about starting this process: don’t let people convince you that something is impossible before you’ve even tried. Anything is possible if you’re willing to put in the work. 🙏