Help regarding Visa!!!!! Plzzzzzzzz - joydon

[ArchivalUser]

Hi Guys,
Need some advice on visa issues. I am an student on F1 visa (doing PhD) in the same institute for the last 5 1/2 yrs. My visa expired in may 2006. I have signed a prematch and now wish to visit my home country (India) before I join residency in july. So i will be needing to give a visa interview again. I wanted to know what are the chances of me getting the visa renewed? How long will it take? I have been advised by some not to go as they do a detailed background check and it may take few months. I will be finishing in may and this may affect my graduation and joining residency. Can some one advise me regarding these issues? Some say it wont be a problem to get it renewed as i have been in the same institute for all this period. Do u guys know of anyone who had visa renewed?
Thank You

[ArchivalUser]

If your visa expired in May 2006 and you continued to stay in the states on the expired Visa, you might be grilled on your stay in the country while on "OUT OF STATUS" .

I wish you the best

[ArchivalUser]

But I got my I20 extended and can stay here till I20 is valid...the issue arises when I leave the country and need to stamp the visa again...any one plz help!!!!

[ArchivalUser]

joydon,

as long as your I-20 is valid while you are in the US and even though your visa (stamp in passport) is expired....you are completely legal and IN-Status. Therefore you should not have a problem when converting to an H1 with your new program. If there is any gap between the time your i-20 and your departure from the US....then you might be subjected to a bunch of questions as to why you continued to stay in the country even though you were out of status.

[ArchivalUser]

yes.. as long as you got your I-20 extended you should be fine... Nothing to worry about.

[ArchivalUser]

u r fine
do a change of status here in the us.
go back to get it stamped later. i wuld do that.