Can F-1 international students or H-1B visa holders apply for green card applications during their studies or employment? Yes!
As long as they meet the eligibility, they can file for permanent residency while studying and/or working in the United States.
Having that said, I can’t emphasize enough how important it is for them to be aware of how the pending green card application can impact their F-1 and H-1B status.
If you hold an F-1 visa or H-1B visa and would like to apply for a green card application, please take a closer look at today’s post to learn more about the best practices, travel plans, and other visa benefits.
Content
- Case study scenario
- Answers based on the regulation
- Traveling as an F-1 student with a pending PR application
- Applying for OPT/H-1B as an F-1 student with a pending green card application
Case study scenario
Case 1: I entered the U.S. with an F-1 visa and my family applied for a green card as well as the Employment Authorization Document (EAD). Currently, my green card application (I-485) is in pending status. Can I continue my study or work with my F-1 visa?
Case 2: I was an F-1 visa holder and I successfully got the H-1B visa through my employer after graduation. Currently, I am pursuing an MBA program while working full time and I recently applied for a U.S. permanent residency. While the green card application is pending, can I continue my studies or work with my H-1B visa?
Answers based on the regulation
For college-enrolled international students who filed the green card application, it is the best practice to continue to comply with the current visa policy.
In other words, F-1 visa holders are encouraged to continue to comply with F-1 visa rules, and H-1B visa holders are encouraged to follow the H-1B rules.
This means that F-1 students continue to register full-time, and do not work using an EAD card that is based on the green card application, just to name a few. In the same vein, H-1B visa holders are not advised to work through an EAD card based on the green card.
Why? It’s because when they are not compliant with the current visa rules, they lose their current status and they are 100% relying on the green card adjudication result.
As an immigrant with PR Pending (= I-485 Pending) status, if the green card application is denied, they must depart the U.S.
On the other hand, if an F-1 visa or H-1B visa holder maintains their visa status, they can continue to legally study and stay in the United States even though their green card applications get denied and buy more time to appeal or seek alternative ways.
Although it is 100% the green card applicant’s decision, it is advised to keep their current visa status for international students. To learn more about important F-1 visa rules, check out the F-1 visa webpage.
In the following sections, we will take a closer look at how pending I-485 can affect F-1 international students.
Traveling as an F-1 student with a pending PR application
F-1 students who applied for permanent residency should refrain from leaving the U.S. and attempt to re-enter. It is because the traveler will be deemed to have abandoned their applications.
Since the student showed the intent to immigrate to the U.S. their re-entry may not be granted by the Customs and Border Protection Officers at the border. As some readers know, F-1 visa applicants must show a strong tie to their home countries to prove that they plan to go back to their home country after their studies.
When F-1 students with a pending PR application are under the circumstances where they must travel internationally, they can apply for the Advance Parole.
The Advance Parole allows green card petitioners to travel in and out before they hear back from the USCIS regarding their applications. If this is what you would like to do, it is advised to work with immigration attorneys.
Applying for OPT/H-1B as an F-1 student with a pending green card application
The pending green card application should not affect the green card applicant’s OPT or H-1B applications. Likewise, F-2 visa holder dependents should be able to request to change to H-4 status.
Even if the OPT/H-1B application is denied, the student can legally stay in the U.S. as a green card applicant.
Related blog post: How to file Form I-765 online for OPT, STEM OPT
If they would like to work, they can apply for the EAD card based on the green card application. In this case, please note that F-1 students would lose their student status when they work through the EAD card under the I-485 and must leave the U.S. if the green card application is denied.
